ABSTRACT
Traditionally, GIS has been used in school geography to promote the development of spatial skills, to map and locate geographical phenomena, and to support geographical enquiry. The advent of WebGIS has transformed the potential for geospatial technologies to be embedded into the geography curriculum to enhance students’ geographical learning, although the role of GIS in developing students’ geographical knowledge remains relatively under-explored. This chapter, therefore, addresses the question: To what extent can geographical knowledge developed through GIS be powerful? Using Maude's (2016) typology of powerful geographical knowledge as an analytical framework, the chapter reviews the use of WebGIS in the development of geographical knowledge. A case is made to consider how teachers can embed GIS within their repertoire of practice, so as to ensure students are not denied their curriculum entitlement to GIS or the epistemic access afforded by geospatial technologies.
