Only a few countries are currently trying to embed ICT in a revision of the school curriculum, assessment and pedagogy, to ensure that their education system delivers the broad competences needed for a transition to life and work in the 21st century.

National school systems in developing countries can be described as falling into one of three broad groups. Some countries are investing heavily in computers and, and sometimes in broadband access, to put a better infrastructure in place. Greece is a typical example, moving from a ratio of one computer to well over 1300 pupils to one for every 35, in only two years. Spain operates a national ‘Internet in School’ programme. Infrastructure investments are seen as a prerequisite to the development of teacher competence.

According to Blamire and Balanskat (EUN, 2002 (1)) the European Commission’s eLearning initiative (May 2000) and their eLearning Action Plan (March 2001) have had the effect of shifting the attention of some countries from infrastructure and connectivity issues, towards consideration of how to develop ICT as a pedagogic tool. These countries are thinking about the quality of elearning products and services, the need for effective partnerships, organisational change and the acceptance of changing roles in and outside schools.

The next group, which are in the transition to a knowledge economy, are beginning set ICT in the context of broader educational policies, including a vision for lifelong learning. They are trying to coordinate movement on the infrastructure/connectivity front on the one hand, and teacher competence and curriculum/assessment reform on the other: Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Estonia, the Czech Republic, Slovenia, are all examples.

There is a growing recognition in most countries that improvements in infrastructure and connectivity, as with road networks, have to be system-wide, and even in traditionally federal systems with much local autonomy, such as Switzerland, overarching strategic collaboration is being put in place. However, Northern Ireland remains unique, not so much in taking a regionally coordinated approach, but in adopting a system-wide ICT managed service solution. Many aspects of policy elsewhere, including in the rest of the UK and Ireland, are concerned with how to achieve the sustainability, affordability and value-for-money which has been assured here.

The Eurobarometer (2) study gives a European average of 24 pupils per online computer, which compares with a C2k average for Northern Ireland of 1:10, or an average of 1:5, if linked legacy systems are accounted for. The European average for access to the internet in schools is 80%, with ISDN access at 72% and broadband access at only 15%, compared with all schools in Northern Ireland on broadband. Norway, Iceland, Denmark and Sweden come closest to the rates of access in Northern Ireland.

The Commission stated, in July 2001, that the key challenges for counties in the third stage are:

• greater emphasis required on demonstrating the added value of elearning
• decision-makers need relevant benchmarks and indicators
• emphasis must now be placed on quality, standards and pedagogy
• organisational issues and teacher/tutoring need greater consideration
• research must be strengthened with great emphasis on sharing experience and best practice
• public-private partnerships need to be explored
• the market for elearning content needs to be developed
• the use of elearning needs to be encouraged as a mechanism for addressing the skill gap (3)

There are few countries in the third phase of policy and strategy development. In addition to the UK, Sweden and Denmark have also attempted mass-scale, national teacher education programmes. Sweden has, for instance, reached 75% of its teachers in a national programme, and Denmark has developed a skills programme (a pedagogic version of the European Computer Driving Licence, with similarities to the NOF programmes in the UK) which incorporates an understanding of educational purpose and classroom context with the more traditional ICT skills training. Sweden, other Nordic Countries, the Netherlands (and also Canada, with which they have formed the ICT League), France and the UK are evolving a longer term vision about the innovative potential arising from the development of online learning environments and are setting a context to ensure that there can be worthwhile educational return on the investments in hardware and software. Outside Europe, a similar stage of evolution in thinking to that found here can be seen, especially in New Zealand, Western Australia, Singapore, Hong Kong and Japan.

It is noticeable that smaller regional governments and administrations, which are closer to schools, are better placed to act quickly, to allocate resources coherently, to create a culture of engagement and foster and disseminate innovation in educational practice through technology. The trend for schools to be seen as increasingly autonomous in their own governance provides fertile ground for innovation, provided that they are not isolated. The developments of networks of autonomous schools is emerging as a goal in several countries. It is in these smaller jurisdictions where the most interesting innovations are being piloted, with, for instance, immersion projects (every learner with a wireless tablet) for 16-year olds in the Limburg region of Belgium, and in a whole primary school in Aragon.

The recognition of the need for partnership is a key feature in several systems, with a wide range of partners, both public and private, active in the development of elearning. The Netherlands, for instance, provides financial incentives for schools to work together with cultural institutions and companies. Initiatives to address the digital divide are important aspects of policy across Scandinavia, Iceland, Canada, Belgium, France, Germany, Ireland and Israel.

The model for the development of ICT in schools Northern Ireland, and the pioneering developments in elearning, are regarded internationally as a world-class case study of considerable interest to educators and policy-makers alike.

References

1  Equipped, Trained…and now what? Trends and issues in elearning in European school systems
2  http://europa.eu.int/information_society/europe
3  Commission Staff Working Paper, eLearning: designing tomorrow’s education. An interim report for the Council Resolution, July 2001