Has ICT come of age? Recurring debates on the role of ICT in education, 1982–2004

Abstract

Information and Communication Technology (ICT) has now been used in science and technology education, and in other areas of the curriculum, for over 20 years. ICT has been introduced into school education through a series of heavily funded government initiatives since the launch of microcomputers into schools in 1981. This spate of initiatives has involved a mixture of hardware, software and teacher‐training, though not always in a coordinated fashion. A number of issues raised by the advent of ICT have specific relevance to those involved in science and technology education at all levels, but equally, the issues and debates highlighted in this paper are of a generic nature and are applicable to ICT use across the curriculum. I argue that the debates raised by ICT use fall into three categories: the vocational, the pedagogical and the societal. These debates are likely to be perennial and recurring, whatever the advancement made in the technology itself.

Acknowledgements

I would like to thank Carol Franks for alerting me to several of the references included in this article and the anonymous referee for valuable comments on the first draft of this paper.

Notes

* School of Education, University of Sheffield, S10 2JA, UK. Email: [email protected]

Note the use of ‘actually’ in the last phrase, reminding us now that a 16‐year‐old using a computer was something to be remarked upon in 1981.

See also the BECTa bibliography on ICT and attainment: A review of the research literature relating to ICT and attainment. This includes references outside the UK and to the DfES report, Measures for assessing the impact of ICT use on attainment. Both are in the research section of the BECTa website.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Jerry Wellington *

* School of Education, University of Sheffield, S10 2JA, UK. Email: [email protected]