ICT-EDUCATION

ICT-Education

Name of Student

Name of Instructor

Date

ICT-Education

Introduction

Information and communication technology (ICT) plays an important role in society when we take into account the social, cultural and economic role of computers and the Internet. Considering that all youngsters move through compulsory education, school is the appropriate place to develop crucial ICT competencies. In order to cope with the demands of the knowledge society, a concrete list of ICT competencies has been put forward by the national educational authorities of Flanders (the Dutch-speaking region of Belgium). In contrast to countries such as the United Kingdom (Qualification and Curriculum Authority/Department for Education and Employment, 1999) and Canada (Alberta Learning, 2000), where ICT competencies have been included in the formal national curriculum, the ICT competencies have not yet been formally integrated into the Flemish national curriculum. They are merely presented as guidelines for schools to direct their educational innovation process while adopting the use of ICT (Ministry of the Flemish Community. Department of Education, 2004).

The Presbyterian Boys' Secondary School (popularly referred to as PRESEC) is a prestigious all-male academic institution founded in 1938. It was originally located at Odumase - Krobo in the Eastern Region of Ghana. It was started as a secondary school for boys by the Presbyterian Church of Ghana.

The school's crest has a shield with the Presbyterian Symbol (the St Andrew Cross-Scottish flag with the Swiss Flag embedded and a burning torch in the middle) with the motto of the school 'In Lumine Tuo Videbimus Lumen' meaning 'In Thy Light We Shall See Light' scrolled beneath.

Statement of Problem

The absence of a formal and established ICT curriculum leads to an ambiguous situation, because there is nevertheless an observable policy towards the adoption of ICT in schools. This policy fosters the integration of ICT in teaching and learning processes, but builds on the professional attitude and willingness of the individual teacher and school principal. The current situation of informal policy expectations cannot guarantee that all pupils will achieve, to a comparable extent, the ICT competencies set forward.

The present study investigates how and to what extent schools in general and teachers in particular already implement the new expectations arising from the national authorities. In particular, it examines which ICT competencies teachers actually adopt (actual use) and which competencies they intend to adopt in the future (preferred use).

Significance of the study

National ICT policies have reached an established position in both developed and developing countries. A study funded by the Australian Department of Education, Science and Training revealed that most national ICT policies focus on the educational sector (Kearns & Grant, 2002). Education is put forward as the central actor to pursue and attain the objectives of the ICT policy; other sectors are expected to benefit indirectly from this approach. Educational ICT policies have been designed in a variety of ways, depending on the dominant rationales that drive curriculum development. As early as 15 years ago, Hawkridge (1990) discerned four different rationales that drive policies related to the integration of ICT and the use of computers in ...