Geographic Information Systems (GIS)

Definition
‘A Geographical Information System is a computer program which combines two databases. The first one holds numerical data and is as such very similar to the information base you will find in a programme such as Dbase or Access. In the case of an education system, these would be the ‘traditional’ education management data on schools, teachers and students. The second database files geographic data, such as the location of schools, the boundaries of districts, the location of villages and cities, of roads, rivers and mountains, and other relevant geographical characteristics. The GIS links these two sets so that statistical data can be presented not only as tables and graphs but also as maps, which helps the reader to look for spatial patterns’ (Attfield et al., 2001: 9).

References
Attfield, I.; Tamiru, M.; Parolin, B.; De Grauwe, A. 2001. Improving micro-planningin education througha Geographical Information SystemStudies on Ethiopia and Palestine. Paris: IIEP-UNESCO. Retrieved from:  https://unesdoc.unesco.org/ark:/48223/pf0000129288/PDF/129288eng.pdf.multi