Book reviews

The role of information and communications technology (ICT) in widening participation in lifelong learning, and thereby establishing the UK as a bona fide ‘learning society’, is now enshrined in a series of multi-million pound government initiatives such as the University for Industry, learndirect and UK Online. Although politicians and educationalists have been quick to herald such initiatives as revolutionizing post-compulsory education and extending learning opportunities to ‘anyone’ on an ‘anytime, anywhere’ basis, there has been little empirical analysis of how ICT is actually impacting on patterns of lifelong learning in the UK. With this in mind, the present paper presents an analysis of data from the 2002 National Institute of Adult Continuing Education (NIACE) survey of 5885 households, focusing on learners' access to technology and the role that technology is playing in facilitating learning.     

Independent learning crossing cultures: learning cultures and shifting meanings

This paper contrasts the notion of ‘independent learning’ as perceived by two informant groups at a UK institution of higher education: (1) teachers, educators and providers of education and (2) their students or ‘consumers’ of education. Both informant groups are staff and students studying in a culture different to that of their first education. They are identified in their receiving institution as ‘international’, or have identified themselves as such. The experience of transition into a UK University was explored with both informant groups, through interviews and focus groups, over a cycle of two years. ‘Independent learning’ as rhetoric and practice emerged for both groups as an issue in their transition from familiar to unfamiliar learning culture. Three key insights emerged. Firstly, a mismatch is identified between teacher perceptions and student interpretation of ‘independent learning’ expectations and practice. Secondly, it emerges that student experience of the learning culture is in a state of continuous flux, evolving between first arrival and end of programme through cycles of bafflement and empowerment. Finally, both students and teachers identify a number of strategies for dealing with this experience of ‘transitional’ independence. The paper concludes by recommending a notion of ‘phased scaffolding’ that might inform educational practice and by reflecting on the implications for the educator in revisiting received educational discourse from the perspective of participants negotiating a second learning culture.     

The role of the ‘technical fix’ in UK lifelong education policy

The integral place of information and communications technology (ICT) in UK lifelong education has been established by a series of technology-based initiatives introduced by the New Labour government since 1997. Initiatives such as the University for Industry, learndirect, People's Network and National Grid for Learning are being implemented as part of a coherent lifelong education policy-agenda fundamentally based upon the use of ICT. Yet, beneath the political enthusiasm for technology-based education, the role of ICT in lifelong learning remains largely unexamined and unproblematized, with many policy-makers and educationalists content to view technology as providing a ‘technical fix’ for many of education's problems. From this background, the present paper provides a critical perspective on the technological foundations of the UK government's lifelong education agenda. In particular, it examines the nature and form of the policies that have been introduced and then contrasts them with the rhetorical claims that are being made by government and other official actors. In this way the paper discusses how such policies continue to be shaped within a restrictive technocratic and determinist discourse of the ‘technical fix’, thus conforming to traditional narratives of society and technology. The paper then goes on to explore how such construction juxtaposes social and economic elements of the policy-drive and threatens, ultimately, to restrict the eventual educational effectiveness of these ‘new’ lifelong learning initiatives.     

Two viewpoints on the challenges of ICT in education: knowledge-building theory vs. a pragmatist conception of learning in social action

The paper contrasts two different approaches to the educational challenges of the ubiquitous, rapidly developing information and communication technologies (ICT). The first is the constructivist ‘knowledge building’ theory spearheaded by Carl Bereiter and Marlene Scardamalia and recently further developed by Kai Hakkarainen and Sami Paavola; the second is a pragmatist standpoint drawing in particular from John Dewey’s ideas about learning as a natural part of human social actions and transactions. The knowledge builders have set their approach out as a suitable answer to the challenges of the present-day, ICT-characterised ‘Knowledge Age’. But here it is argued that a pragmatist approach can be advanced that avoids the over-intellectualisation of education characteristic of knowledge builders and thereby offers a viable alternative for improving present-day educational practices in ways that promote appropriate utilisation of ICT in schools in particular.     

How does principal e-leadership affect ICT transformation across different school stages in K-12 education: Perspectives from teachers in Shanghai

With the continuous deployment of ICT in K-12 education, strong access but weak uptake has become the greatest challenge for ICT implementation in schools. As the pioneer of China’s K-12 educational reform, Shanghai draws our attention in terms of the critical factors and the underlying mechanism of ICT transformation in K-12 schools. The study used questionnaire survey data collected from 2894 Shanghai teachers (971 primary, 990 middle and 933 high school teachers) to investigate the relationships between government ICT policy, school principal e-leadership, ICT implementation in schools, teacher attitudes towards ICT and pedagogical change and changes in student learning. The structural equation modelling results revealed a significant influence of e-leadership by school principals on ICT transformation in schools, confirming the critical role of e-leadership in ICT transformation model. In addition, the higher the school stage, the more personal rather than organisational factors affected the changes in teaching and learning. The findings imply a profound sociocultural and technological dilemma due to the pressure of getting into college and risk-taking in ICT-related educational transformation. The study contributes to our knowledge in terms of a more nuanced ICT transformation mechanism between school stages.     

Perceptions of inequalities in access and usage of ICT in Islamic faith schools

Although the educational experiences of South Asian Muslim women have been studied, little is known regarding the role of technology and its effects on education in this population. This study explores the use of information and communication technologies (ICT) in British Muslim girls’ schools and its effect on learning. It uses primary data from semi-structured interviews with 14–19-year-olds in three Islamic faith schools. Template analysis was used to identify emerging themes. Participants had access to a wide range of technologies and applications; however, access was often limited to classroom settings. Participants also used subject-specific resources available from learning platforms, although this was not consistent across schools and subjects. The participants felt that the range of resources was limited because of their gender and religion, and wanted greater access to ICT, and more online collaboration and social communication. A didactic approach to instruction was prevalent and for many, exacerbated a ‘digital disconnect’. Our findings suggest that Islamic faith schools reinforce lack of home ICT use. The current didactic approach highlights differences with the student-centred pedagogical techniques of early Qur’anic schools. This study encourages a discussion of the challenges of open access to information, religious freedoms and ensuring equality of learning.     

教师信息技术应用能力国际比较及提升策略 ——基于TALIS2018上海教师数据

教师信息技术能力(简称ICT能力)是信息技术推动教育变革的关键要素。经济与合作发展组织开展的教师教学国际调查(简称TALIS)呈现了教师在理解、准备和应用信息技术能力三方面的表现。基于TALIS 2018的调查数据,本研究运用方差分析和多元线性回归方法,呈现了我国教师信息技术应用能力的表现及影响因素,以寻求提升教师信息技术应用能力的可行策略。研究发现,与国际数据相比,上海教师理解和准备信息技术能力表现良好,信息技术应用能力欠缺。不同性别和学历的教师信息技术应用能力表现没有显著差异,不同教龄教师信息技术应用能力有显著差异,教龄越高的教师信息技术应用能力越强;在已有的专业发展活动中,相比阅读专业发展文献、课程研讨会、线上培训和教育专家论坛等活动,正式的资格证书或学位培训、参观考察以及加入教师专业发展学习小组等对教师信息技术应用能力的正向影响更大。本研究建议应不断深化信息技术能力培训的实践导向、促进多元主体的参与、构建系统化的信息技术能力学习路径及重视经验型教师的引导作用。     

Reconsidering change and ICT: Perspectives of a human and democratic education

Has ICT changed education? Has the reformative, humanistic and emancipatory role that many educators have envisaged for ICT in education been realized in the reality of classrooms? Bearing in mind these two critical questions, the present paper attempts to approach the visionary narrative of the so-called information society (in recent times also referred to as knowledge society) and the rhetoric underlying the role of ICT as an agent for change and a substitute for education. Latest international facts and figures are examined with the purpose of assessing the realization of this role and raising critical arguments against the idea of perceiving ICT as the totem of educational change. From this evidence, it is argued that educational media and tools cannot revolutionize, but can only strengthen, further and reinforce established educational goals, curriculum contents, teaching and learning methods. This leads us to conclude that, as the educational use of ICT becomes assimilated, it mirrors and to a certain degree broadens or exacerbates prevailing socio-economic problems and current educational conditions. Thus the main focus of the paper is to attempt to redefine and re-approach the role of ICT from a human and democratic standpoint. It concentrates on ICT success stories, which seem to whisper the critical pedagogy tale. These stories serve as an avenue for reflecting upon the liberating possibilities of ICT, which can flourish when they are embedded in an alternative and progressive educational setting. In such an educational context, ICT represents an interesting, challenging and essential educational theme, one of the necessary keys for unlocking, understanding and participating in a competitive, demanding and insecure world. On the other hand, critical use of ICT tools enhances, promotes and extends democratic curriculum practices, processes and structures by offering students and teachers a multiple set of media and tools for expression, interaction, creation, reflection, analysis, construction, communication and meaning making. Focusing on students’ participation in common life as critical, knowledgeable, conscious and able citizens appears to bring about a new conception of ICT, namely a critical pedagogy and pedagogy of praxis perspective towards ICT. Yet, for such a focus to prevail we need to change our view of what it means to educate and what it means to be educated.     

Systematic educational change and teacher skill-building in developed and developing countries: the importance of teacher peer learning groups

Many developed and developing countries are seeking to systematically transform their education processes through Information and Communication Technology (ICT). The aim of this paper is to present findings from one aspect of a larger ICT study in a particular location in a developing country, with the specific focus presented here being ICT professional development and impacts. Research methods in the study included teacher and school leader surveys, targeted interviews and also case studies. Findings at a systems level generally indicated insufficient coordination of training and minimal follow-up occurring. In case study situations in which the school leader ensured a schoolwide approach to the professional learning of teachers, ICT was more embedded into student learning processes in classrooms. Considering ICT and other professional learning relevant to education, this paper has relevance for policy developers and school leaders in developed and developing world contexts. The need exists for using coordinated professional development processes, with more centralised ‘one-off’ training supplemented by schools and districts. The establishment of peer learning groups or mentors to support skill-building over time is also needed. Through these ongoing processes, teachers can more effectively make changes in their teaching practices, with potential impacts on student learning.     

Promoting Mr. ‘Chips’: the construction of the teacher/computer relationship in educational advertising

The £1 billion government drive to integrate information and communications technology (ICT) into UK schools and colleges has been firmly focused on the technological transformation of the teaching profession. In particular, the establishment of a National Grid for Learning (NGfL) remains dependent on the successful ‘selling’ of ICT to teachers; many of whom have previously proved unwilling to use computers. In practice much of this task has been left to IT firms, eager to promote their products to a potentially lucrative educational marketplace. From this basis the present paper takes a detailed examination of educational computing advertising material currently being produced by IT firms in the UK. In particular it concentrates on how advertisements construct both the process of education and the teacher as a potential user of ICT. Four dominant themes emerge from this analysis: ICT as problematic for teachers; ICT as a problem solver for teachers; ICT as a futuristic form of education; and ICT as a traditional form of education. Despite the conflicting, and often contra-factual, nature of these four discourses the paper argues that educational computing advertising is consistent in its disempowering portrayal of the teacher at the expense of both the computer and IT firm. This ‘demotion’ of the teacher is likely to have negative effects on the way that teachers approach ICT as part of their professional routine, running contrary to the underlying aims of the National Grid for Learning initiative.     

Ysgolion Cymraeg

The pace of Information and Communications Technology (ICT) development necessitates radical and rapid change for education. Given the English prevalence for an economically determinist orientation for educational outcomes, it seems pertinent to ask how learning in relation to ICT is to be conceptualised. Accepting the view that education needs to both transform and be transforming, simple input-output methods by which professionals might judge the veracity of learning–teaching moments need to be challenged. Considering new technologies, it could be said that proponents of input-output rhetoric suggest that the acquisition of technologically oriented skills and behaviours is an educational end in itself. In contrast, others adopt the position that technological advances are important for what they have to offer as means to transform the learner. This paper considers this dualism and proposes that new technologies offer exciting ways to understand and repopulate professional discourse on learning and teaching.     

Use of ICT in education in the South Pacific: findings of the Pacific eLearning Observatory

The Pacific eLearning Observatory at the University of the South Pacific (USP) conducted an online survey of educational technologists (n = 60) to assess levels of access to information and communication technologies (ICT) in education and identify ways of lowering the barriers to ICT in the Pacific region. Almost half of USP’s 22,000 students are distance based, and access to ICT defines their learning activities. The survey addressed perceptions of educational ICT, development strategies and initiatives, and ‘guesstimates’ of ICT accessibility.

Results show ICT access between 1 and 11%, with tertiary‐level access at 70%. Capacity building, curriculum development, infrastructure, policy, and government support are the most important development factors. Findings are analysed through eight barriers to education, and proposals are made to help USP improve access to ICT in the region.     

When group work leaves the classroom does group skills development also go out the window?

In moving towards what Lemke (1996) terms the ‘interactive learning paradigm’, higher education has adopted two key principles consistent with group learning technologies:

• ? learning is always mediated by and occurs through language ( Falk, 1997 ; Gee, 1997 ); and
• ? learning is distributed across a range of other people, sites, objects, technologies and time ( Gee, 1997 ).

A third and relatively recent principle to emerge on the higher education scene that seems to ‘contradict’ accepted views of group learning technologies is that:

• ? many universities now choose to offer ‘learning resources’ online.

This paper asks whether Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) are ‘robust’ enough to support, sustain and address industry, employer and government calls for greater attention to group skills development in university graduates. Data features an examination of respondent feedback (n = 171) in an ‘ICT‐rich’ group work setting, and the subsequent ratings of group skills development over a 13‐week period. This discussion offers an account of learner outcomes by adopting Kirkpatrick's (1996) four levels of evaluation of learning as a classification scheme for determining learner satisfaction (Level One), the effectiveness of learning transfer (Level Two), its impact on practice (Level Three) and the appropriation of learning behaviours by participants (Level Four). The contrasting patterns of ICT use between female and male users in the data are discussed in relation to building social presence and producing social categories online. Differences reported here indicate that ICT group work is moving forward, but opportunities to challenge rather than reproduce existing learning relations and differences, remain largely unresolved.     

Pedagogy before Technology: Re-thinking the Relationship between ICT and Teaching

This paper addresses a conundrum: despite the ubiquity of technology in the business world, no clear role has emerged in education. After many years of national policies and investment in Information Technologies in the UK and elsewhere, technology is still an imposed and novel 'outsider' in the pedagogy of schools. This paper charts a series of experiences and failures in the UK, and highlights the unresolved dichotomy of purpose about why Information and Communication Technology (ICT) should be used in education. Understanding the problematic of using Information Technologies demands a consideration of some more fundamental educational issues. ICT is often perceived as a catalyst for change, change in teaching style, change in learning approaches, and change in access to information. Yet the rhetoric for change has been too associated with the symbolic function of technology in society, which sits uncomfortably with teachers' professional judgements. So educational computing, it would appear, has yet to find its own voice. This paper explores this notion.     

ICT and play in preschool: early childhood teachers’ beliefs and confidence

This study investigated early childhood teachers’ beliefs about information and communications technology (ICT) and play in preschool, as well as their confidence in integrating ICT in the classroom. A 28-item questionnaire was compiled and administered to 190 early childhood teachers in Greece. Although ICT play (which can provide learning opportunities) has largely replaced traditional childhood play, in Greece, there is inadequate integration of ICT in early childhood education. In this study, two factors were extracted: ‘playing with ICT as an effective mode of learning and developing children's technological competence’ and ‘ICT use as free play’. The fewer the years of teaching experience and the higher the teachers’ computer self-efficacy, the stronger was the view that ICT play is not just free play. Teachers’ beliefs and confidence affect their classroom practices and, consequently, the children's learning. Viewing ICT as a mode of learning that should be embedded in the curriculum is expected to lead to ICT integration in a teacher's daily practices. The implications for in-service teacher training are therefore discussed.     

Bodies and affect in non-traditional learning spaces

Abstract

This paper considers the ‘knowledge economy’ as it is used in education rhetoric to establish social and educational consent for significant changes both to the spatial organisation of classrooms and their affective economies. We draw on ethnographic data from a study of ‘non-traditional classroom spaces’, where the spatial organisation of schooling emerged as a potential fulcrum through which the imaginary of the conventional primary classroom was being reconceptualised. Traditionally configured classroom spaces and the learning that takes place within them were being challenged and replaced by notions of twenty-first century learning in ‘agile’ learning environments. In the context of this reform agenda, these open-plan spaces were seen as offering new prospects for participation in a globally connected and competitive economic world that requires students to continuously adapt, innovate and respond creatively to a range of different problems. We consider how these everyday moments function as conceptual encounters between affective, embodied experiences and educational reform discourses that rationalise the implementation of non-traditional classroom spaces in ways that have very little to do with children and their futures. This cultural approach takes a step aside from numerous, and necessary, critiques of recent educational policies per se, in order to consider what might be learned from the uncanny spectres of child bodies that haunt them. The paper draws attention to examples of children’s affect in non-traditional classrooms and what that may tell us about current educational reform when sacrifice forms part of the missing account of educational reorganisation for the knowledge economy.     

Evaluating the potential of teacher-designed technology-based tasks for meaningful learning: Identifying needs for professional development

With technology increasingly being introduced into classrooms worldwide, stakeholders are asking whether ICT provides educational value. It is not simply having access to technology but how teachers use it that will determine its worth to education. Thirty-three teacher-designed technology-based tasks from eight subject areas were analysed for their effective use of ICT, and their potential to involve students in constructivist learning. Few of the tasks made effective use of ICT for meaningful learning, for reasons associated with teachers’ beliefs, attitudes, and missing TPACK components or competencies. These factors provide the basis for a model of areas to target when structuring professional development courses to help teachers better utilize educational ICT to design meaningful learning tasks.     

The value of using ICT in the education of school students with learning difficulties

This article argues that whatever the 2015 OECD report says about the value of ICT in relation to PISA results, our research has shown that using ICT in the education of students with Learning Difficulties has great value in interesting, enthusing and inspiring these students, so leading to better educational outcomes. The term ‘Learning Difficulties’ (LD) is used to refer to a condition of a large group of children who need extra assistance with schooling and arises from a vast range of cognitive and physical impairments. The reported research was conducted in two Special Schools in metropolitan Melbourne with the goal of investigating whether, and if so how, ICT could be used to support school communities involving students with learning difficulties, and whether it could help these students with their learning. This research found that ICT certainly does improve LD students’ attitude to learning and equips them with adequate skills to allow them to enter the workforce or continue with further study through various pathways. It provides evidence that for LD students, a significant attainment in skills and academic knowledge is facilitated by the adoption of ICT in the classroom.