Implementing government policy on ICT in education: Lessons learnt
Sarah Younie2006, Education and Information technologies
Sign up for access to the world's latest research
checkGet notified about relevant papers
checkSave papers to use in your research
checkJoin the discussion with peers
checkTrack your impact
Abstract
This paper examines lessons learnt from national research and evaluation studies of ICT in schools in the UK. From research on policy implementation and reform in education, it is well known that change is either very slow or tends to fail. Implementation is a complex procedure, not a direct translation from government policy to practice. Alongside documentary analysis of national evaluation reports, the analysis provides a framework for understanding the implementation process, which exemplifies the structural procedures involved. Government policy has to be filtered through macro, meso and micro levels, as policy is mediated through national agencies (macro), regional agencies (meso) down to individual schools and teachers at the micro level. The analysis identified five key areas that were problematic regarding government policy implementation. These related to management, funding, technology procurement, ICT training and impact on pedagogy. Specifically these were (1) the multi-agency nature of the initiatives in the UK and their leadership; (2) funding disparities that emerged and (3) how these impacted on differential technology resourcing and procurement between schools; (4) the UK's national ICT training programme for serving teachers; and (5) the impact on pedagogy, of which the latter to date, has been more limited than politicians had hoped. The analysis indicates that policy aims can be achieved if an awareness of the complexity of the implementation process is maintained. This necessitates an understanding of the fact that it is a fluid, nonlinear, reiterative process in which key factors are dynamically inter-related: namely, ICT needs to be implemented on multiple fronts, both materially in terms of an ICT infrastructure and culturally in terms of generating an ethos that values ICT for classroom practice. Attending to the multidimensionality of ICT policy implementation aids the management of the change process at the local level of the school. This allows for an understanding of the ways in which teachers interpret policy and engage in implementation of ICT at the local level.
Related papers
ICT policy planning in a context of curriculum reform: Disentanglement of ICT policy domains and artifacts
Researchers and policy makers around the world are increasingly acknowledging the importance of developing a school-based ICT policy plan to facilitate the integration of information and communication technology (ICT) in education. Despite this interest, not much is known about how schools can develop their local ICT policy capacity and how to establish an ICT policy plan. In order to fill the gap in research on ICT policy planning, a multiple case study analysis with a mixed-method design was carried out with three Flemish primary schools. Primary schools in Flanders are encouraged by the government to develop local ICT policy planning in a context of ICT curriculum reform. Data from multiple sources (e.g. interviews with school leaders and ICT coordinators, focus group interviews with teachers, school policy document analysis, and a teacher questionnaire) were gathered and analyzed. The results indicate that ICT policy planning in schools should be considered as a multifaceted phenomenon grounded in school culture. ICT policy consists of different policy domains: vision development, financial policy, infrastructural policy, continuing professional development policy, and curriculum policy. Each policy domain can be described in terms of policy artifacts (tools, routines, and structures), and differences exist between schools concerning the involvement of teachers in the policy planning process and in the distribution of management tasks. As such, the study illustrates a distributed leadership perspective on ICT school policy planning. The results are of particular importance for school leaders, ICT coordinators and professional development trainers, and illustrates that ICT school policy is as much about developing shared meanings among stakeholders for ICT, and coordinating their relations and interactions in keeping with the school’s culture as it is about content related decisions.
Transforming Education: The power of ICT policies (chapter 6)
Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) constitute a topic of growing importance for public policies, notably in the fi eld of education. The integration of ICT in our everyday life transforms our relationship to information and knowledge. It also modifi es citizens’ engagement with public services and the interaction between schools and learners. The opportunities offered by the use of technology in education are many. It transforms the pedagogy and can lead to an improved and more engaging learning experience. These effects are not limited to the classroom, for example, the transformation of distance education into e-learning and blended learning offers new options for delivery and new opportunities for in-service teacher training and support. The capacity of ICT to build borderless networks represents possibilities for innovative peer learning across territories and countries. In addition to redefi ning access to knowledge and instructional design and provision, the penetration of ICT in all dimensions of economic, social and cultural activities has far-reaching implications in terms of the skills required to become an active member of society. The ability of students to utilize ICT has become a new requirement for effective education systems. Beyond education, ICT can also represent a new source of economic growth and a powerful tool for social transformation. Hence, through their economic and social effects, ICT contribute to creating a knowledge society and economy. In this context, a major concern for policy-making relates to the modalities for designing and implementing plans and strategies likely to produce such results. This publication aims at addressing precisely this question by illustrating, on the basis of case studies analysis, the importance of having clear policy goals, and of their translation into appropriate strategies and plans. The country experiences reviewed in this publication suggest that effective ICT in education policies depend on three main pillars, namely: access to ICT infrastructures and equipment; teacher capacities; and monitoring. Access to equipment, networks and quality resources is a prerequisite for the deployment and utilization of ICT. Therefore the integration of technologies in the education system requires a supportive environment. This underlines the importance of policy consistency and the need to take advantage of a broader movement of ICT infrastructure development. In many countries this also implies forging innovative alliances between the public sector and private companies which often control the ICT sector. In that respect ICT in education policies offer a rich example of the potential for public-private partnerships. Once the technological infrastructure is in place, a major challenge relates to the capacity of teachers to take advantage of the tools and new teaching opportunities offered by ICT. This involves developing teachers’ professional capacities but also to establish adequate support mechanisms. Furthermore, beyond technical competences and coaching, effective utilization of technologies in the classroom ultimately depends on the motivation of teachers. The major challenge always remains to transform teacher training into improved teacher practices in the classroom. The best incentives for teachers come from the evidence of improved and more efficient teaching practices. Yet, addressing this challenge often involves a cultural change for teachers which cannot always happen rapidly. Effective implementation of public policies requires proper monitoring. The introduction of technologies into the education system on a large scale involves setting up mechanisms and tools to monitor implementation processes and outcomes. In particular, it is essential to develop approaches and indicators to monitor how ICT investments and policies affect teaching practices and students’ abilities and knowledge. In other words, policies on ICT in education require the complementing of existing educational management information systems (EMIS) by specific data and indicators. The cases analysed in this publication are taken from different regions of the world – Africa, Arab region, Asia and Latin America – illustrating the global dimension of the changes that ICT bring to education systems and policies. The wide diversity offered by the selected countries - Jordan, Namibia, Rwanda, Singapore and Uruguay – in terms of economic and educational development, suggests that the issues at stake are not limited to a particular group of privileged countries. ICT can have a transformative effect on education regardless of the economic conditions, in very advanced school systems as well as in poorly resourced ones. The choice of the policy mix varies according to particular circumstances but the vision and the potential of ICT to transform education is universal. This is the key message that this publication attempts to articulate.
A Critical Analysis of Selected Policy Making Decisions in the US and the UK with Regard to the Implementation of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) in National State Primary and Secondary School Education Systems
Open Journal of Modern Linguistics
Information and Communication Technology has played an important and pervasive role in modern business and everyday living over the last decade and more. The industry accounts for trillions of annual revenue. Yet, it has proved hard for a similar role for Information and Communication Technology (ICT) to emerge in education. In this paper, I will argue that policy regarding ICT use at national state levels in the UK and the US has striven to create, and continues to perpetuate, a system of education with technological divisions of labour, and marginalized innovative and communicative practical uses of technology for enhancing education in schools.
School‐based ICT policy plans in primary education: Elements, typologies and underlying processes
British Journal of Educational …
School-based ICT policy plans in primary education: Elements, typlogies and underlying processes
Schools are more and more encouraged to write a school-based information and communication technology (ICT) policy plan. In such a plan, a school describes its expectations, goals, content and actions related to the future role of ICT in teaching and learning. Although this is encouraged by researchers and policy makers, the literature on ICT policy plans and ICT policy planning is rather general and underdeveloped. In this study, the content of school-based ICT policy plans and underlying policy processes is explored. Data were gathered in 31 primary schools in Flanders: the schools' ICT policy plan was submitted to a content analysis, and a semi-structured interview was administered to the school leader or the ICT coordinator. Using a framework of ICT leadership practices to guide the analysis (setting direction, developing people and making the organization work), we identified three types of ICT policy plans: (1) an ICT policy plan as a vision blueprint, (2) a technical inventory and (3) a comprehensive ICT policy plan. Although the last type takes into account all ICT leadership practices, we found a variety of different approaches in the processes used to create and execute such plans, such as the support of ICT training activities, data-driven decision-making processes and monitoring activities.
Transforming Education: The Power of ICT Policies
Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) constitute a topic of growing importance for public policies, notably in the field of education. The integration of ICT in our everyday life transforms our relationship to information and knowledge. It also modifies citizens' engagement with public services and the interaction between schools and learners.
ICT Policies and Educational Transformation
The dissemination and use of information and communications technologies (ICT) in schools has come to be seen by education policy-makers as a significant opportunity. They are attracted to the prospect that ICT can improve student achievement, improve access to schooling, increase efficiencies and reduce costs, enhance students' ability to learn and promote their lifelong learning, and prepare them for a globally competitive workforce. As the power and capability of computers have increased, as they have become interconnected ...
Ict in Primary Schools: Explaining the Integration in Relation to the Context
Even though large amounts of government budgets have been devoted to embedding Information and Communications Technology (ICT) in schools, teachers do not appear to use these to transform teaching and learning, a goal declared by policy agendas. Previous studies focused on the capacity of policy itself, and especially on the implementers to explain the level and outcomes of implementation. This paper turns the attention to the context in which implementation takes place and views implementation from an institutionalist perspective. Schools are seen as organisations within the broader educational system and therefore, the paper focuses on a specific case to explore implementation. This paper integrates the results of two studies looking at ICT implementation in the Cypriot centralised and bureaucratic educational system, and attempts to interpret them differently from previous studies. It is suggested that unless the system is transformed and modernised, the institutionalisation of innovations, such as ICT, faces the threat of failure. ß Beta ß Beta ß Beta * p.<..10, ** p.<..05, *** p.<..
Modelling and supporting ICT implementation in secondary schools
Computers & Education, 2001
In many countries the use of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) in education has been stimulated. To explore the implementation process and its support within secondary schools, research was conducted on modelling aspects of ICT implementation in Dutch secondary school practice. Case studies were carried out in 10 secondary schools by interviewing the school board, school leader, ICT co-ordinator, some teachers, pupils who liked ICT, pupils who did not like ICT, and some parents. In addition, relevant school documents were studied and lesson practice was observed. The information was subjected to a qualitative analysis from multilevel and school development points of view. The empirical results suggest ®ve successive phases of ICT implementation within schools, which constitute ®ve models representing the gradual ICT transformation of educational and learning processes. The ®fth model, however, was designed theoretically as this phase had not yet been realised in educational practice. Finally, educational and policy support actions to the ICT transformation process in school are presented in a structured way. The results are worthwhile for school practice and national policies, but they also need further underpinning and validation through research in other schools. #
Mooij, T., Smeets, E., & de Jong, F. (2000). Modelling and supporting ICT-implementation in secondary schools. Paper and presentation at the ´European Conference on Educational Research´ in Edinburgh, Scotland, 20-23 September 2000. Nijmegen, The Netherlands: University of Nijmegen, ITS.
In many countries governments stimulate the use of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) in education. To explore the implementation process within secondary schools, research was concentrated on modelling aspects of ICT impleme.ntation in Dutch secondary school practice. Case studies were carried out in ten secondary schools by interviewing the school board, school leader, an ICT coordinator, some teachers, pupils who liked ICT, pupils who did not like ICT, and parents. Also, relevant school documents were studied. The information was subjected to a qualitative analysis from a general as well as more specific points of view. The empirical results suggest five successive phases of ICT implementation within schools, which constitute five models representing the gradual ICT transformation of educational and learning processes. The fifth model, however, was designed theoretically as it has not yet been realised in educational practice. Finally, multilevel educational and policy support actions to the ICT transformation process are presented and discussed.
The rhetoric of reform and teachers' use of ICT
British Journal of Educational Technology, 2014
During the last two decades, the Cyprus Education System has been undergoing systematic reform efforts. Within the spirit of change, efforts have been made to equip all public schools with computers and provide them with access to the internet. Compared to other EU countries, Cyprus infrastructure is one of the most developed. However, as our research shows, the adoption of technology does not match the rhetoric of reform that dominates education discourse. In order to examine the challenges and opportunities primary school teachers face in efforts to integrate technology in the classroom, four in-depth case studies of schools were developed and a large scale survey was conducted across public schools. This paper discusses the method, the design and the results from our research, drawing on both survey findings and rich qualitative data. Theoretical discussions provide further empirical grounding of technology adoption models and illustrate barriers to effective adoption of ICT.
The 'framing' of teachers in national ICT policies
2009
This paper reports on how school teachers are being positioned in Australian ICT policy. Through an analysis of national policy documents beginning in the 1990's with the release of the Learning in an Online World suite of policies and statements, to the 2009 release of the Digital Education Revolution policy by the current Commonwealth Government, this paper suggests that the common representation of teachers is largely the same and continues to be inadequate. Drawing on examples from policy documents, the paper explores how teachers are usually mentioned fleetingly, are often envisioned as requiring qualities of 'dedication' and being 'up to date', yet are usually found 'wanting' or 'at fault' for their perceived slow rate of progress in the use of ICT in Australian schools. In the paper, a comparison of this representation of teachers is made in relation to ICT and to learners. In relation to ICT, the paper explores how it is often portrayed as...
Pedagogic Innovations with the use of ICTs. From wider visions and policy reforms to school culture.
Universitat de Barcelona, 2005
The overall purpose of this work is to contribute to the strengthening of links, collaboration and the development of shared understanding and action among teachers, researchers, administrators and policy makers in the design, implementation and diffusion of pedagogic innovations with the use of information and communication technologies (ICTs). Its specific aim is to build a framework for identifying and understanding crucial factors, conditions and processes inherent in the emergence, sustenance, diffusion and adoption of ICTs-related pedagogic innovations in schools.
Transforming Education: The power of ICT policies. Chapter 6. Case Study: Uruguay
All rights reserved ISBN: 9 789231 042126
Implementation of ICT at School Scheme: A Case Study
International Journal For Multidisciplinary Research
Indian education system is governed by Ministry of Human Resource Development (MHRD) at center and by various departments at the states. A significant amount of fund is allocated for usage of technology in education under key Government schemes. Schemes such as ICT @ Schools have potential for fostering academic growth and upgrading skills of students, which help immensely in their future employability. Several such schemes exist which pertain to technology in education and executed either directly by the state or through private entities. A policy for implementation of ICT was thought out and designed at national level. One of the UT, Jammu and Kashmir has significant ICT-related interventions in education system through e -content delivery and ICT based teachers’ training and monitoring. The current research study evaluates the ICT policy and assesses its implementation at School level in terms of effectiveness towards mass education of the UT J&K. It recommends suitable measures ...
How do school leaders navigate ICT educational reform? Policy learning narratives from a Singapore context
International Journal of Leadership in Education, 2014
Policy impacts on pedagogical practice and ICT use: an exploration of the results from SITES 2006
2010
Abstract The Second Information Technology in Education Study (SITES) 2006 results reveal that principals' perceived presence of lifelong learning-related pedagogical activities in their schools had changed markedly since the same data was collected in 1998 in SITES-M1.
A framework for leading school change in using ICT
Over the last three decades many models explain the processes involved in the adoption and use of ICT in education. Based on this literature, a three-tiered framework and associated instruments were developed to use with Western Australian teachers to measure and support change in using ICT. This framework can be used to support, describe and promote good practice in the use of ICT in learning and teaching in schools and is multi- faceted and flexible enough to be used by individuals, groups, schools or educational organizations. The aims and purposes of the framework were to describe quality pedagogy in the use of ICT to effectively support student learning in schools; to assist teachers in planning to integrate ICT into learning environments; to describe progress by teachers as they move towards the integration of ICT in quality pedagogy; to assist teachers in the development of their own practice in the use of ICT to support student learning; and to provide a tool for teacher dia...
School Teachers' Perceptions and Views about the Use of Technology in Relation to Government Education Policy
2021
Following the invasion of Iraq in 2003, the ICT sector was liberated after many years of restrictions and Iraqi teachers were expected to use ICT regularly in their teaching. This thesis sets out to examine the Iraqi English language teachers' perceptions of using ICT in their teaching in relation to the government education policy and the future of ICT in their schools. Using a sociocultural approach, data was collected by utilising semi-structured interviews. A total of 12 English language teachers and 12 headteachers from 12 schools in two districts in Baghdad were selected.While there has been extensive research into the usage of ICT in teaching, much of this has concentrated on stable education contexts where reforms normally undergo systemic transition. However, this has not been the case in unstable contexts, like the Iraqi one, which seem to have been overlooked by research. This research attempts to address this gap by studying the Iraqi context in which ICT-novice teac...
Related topics
Loading Preview
Sorry, preview is currently unavailable. You can download the paper by clicking the button above.