Vol. 17 No. 2 (2026)
Special Issue: SI_TGEO

When GIS Succeeds: Fostering Critical Spatial Thinking through Geography Education on Rural Depopulation

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Maria Angeles Rodriguez-Domenech
University of Castilla La Mancha; Department of Geography; Ciudad Real, Spain. CP: 13002
Angel Ignacio Aguilar-Cuesta
National Distance Education University; Department of Geography; P.º de la Senda del Rey, 7, Moncloa - Aravaca, Madrid, CP: 28040
DOI: https://doi.org/10.48088/ejg.m.ang.17.2.302.317
Categories

Published 2026-06-27

Keywords

  • powerful geography,
  • pre-service teachers,
  • Story Maps,
  • geographical competencies,
  • demographic decline,
  • geospatial technologies
    • ...More
    Less

How to Cite

Rodriguez-Domenech, Maria Angeles, and Angel Ignacio Aguilar-Cuesta. 2026. “When GIS Succeeds: Fostering Critical Spatial Thinking through Geography Education on Rural Depopulation”. European Journal of Geography 17 (2):S.302-S.317. https://doi.org/10.48088/ejg.m.ang.17.2.302.317.

Copyright (c) 2026 Maria Angeles Rodriguez-Domenech, Angel Ignacio Aguilar-Cuesta

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

Received 2026-02-02
Accepted 2026-06-21
Published 2026-06-27

Abstract

Rural depopulation is one of the most significant territorial challenges facing many European regions and provides a relevant context for geography education. This study examines the impact of a GIS-based teaching intervention on the development of geographical competences among pre-service primary teachers. A quasi-experimental pretest–posttest design was implemented with 95 students enrolled in a Primary Education Teacher Training Degree. The intervention combined geohistorical sources, official demographic data, GIS tools, scientific literature, and the creation of Story Maps. Learning outcomes were assessed across five dimensions: conceptual understanding, spatial thinking, quantitative competence, digital competence, and metacognitive awareness. The results show substantial improvements in digital (g = 0.71), quantitative (g = 0.62), and conceptual (g = 0.57) competences. In contrast, spatial thinking (g = –0.53) and metacognitive awareness (g = –0.43) did not show immediate gains. Rather than indicating learning loss, these findings suggest a process of cognitive readjustment associated with more complex spatial and reflective tasks. The study indicates that GIS-based approaches are effective for strengthening technical and procedural competences in teacher education. However, the development of higher-order geographical thinking and critical territorial awareness appears to require longer interventions and more explicit reflective strategies. These findings contribute to powerful geography education by providing evidence on both the potential and limitations of GIS for addressing complex territorial issues and by offering a transferable teaching model for European educational contexts.

Highlights:

  • GIS improves teachers' digital, quantitative and conceptual skills
  • GIS empowers future teachers to tackle demographic vulnerabilities
  • Deep spatial thinking requires more time and reflective strategies
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