Social studies teachers' perceptions on geographical information systems

The aim of this research is to reveal the Perceptions of Social Studies Teachers about Geographic Information Systems. Throughout history, the branch of geography has enabled people to know the world they live in.Humans have produced the geographical information systems in order to benefit from this systematic branch of science in a more practical way. This system is used in many places around the world and also in our country(Türkiye), it has started to be used by teachers in courses at many levels, especially in its own field. Geographical Science is included in the field of social studies, which is a multidisciplinary field. This correlation has brought Geographic Information Systems to an important position for Social Studies Teachers. The model of the research was determined as a survey model based on quantitative research. These data were collected through a scale from 480 Social Studies Teachers working in Adana. These data were collected with a 5-point likert type GIS perception scale. The data collected from the scale were made suitable for analysis with the SPSS 27 package program. Socio-demographic information of the data obtained was determined and T-test and Anova (Post-Hoc) tests were applied to the determined variables. The result shows us that some of the Social Studies Teachers received GIS training and that these people gave more positive answers to the GIS Concept Perception scale. This situation also occurred in some other variables. Significant differences also emerged between variables such as the institution where the participants work, the socio-economic levels of the institution, material adequacy and frequency of use of materials. According to these results, some improvements can be made, such as organizing training programs and courses for teacher candidates or teachers, and supporting active duty teachers with in-service training.