Computers In Third World Schools

The reasons why governments of developing countries should put computer technology in their schools are highly controversial, but no less than the actual use being made of these comparatively expensive machines and their software. This book looks at experience in African, Asian and Arabic-speaking countries that already have computers in some of their schools. It is based mainly on research in China, Jordan, Kenya, Mauritius, Sri Lanka and Tunisia. The authors debate policy and practice in the light of experience to date. They identify the rationales commonly deployed by Ministries of Education and international agencies, but argue themselves for a long-term view of the potential of computers to liberalise education, and through such education to reduce dependency and inequity.

Deryn Watson CapBIT 97, Capacity Building for Information Technologies in Education in Developing Countries, from which this publication derives, was an invited IFIP working conference sponsored by Working Groups in secondary (WG 3. 1), elementary (WG 3. 5), and vocational and professional (WG 3. 4) education under the auspices ofIFIP Technical Committee for Education (TC3). The conference was held in Harare, Zimbabwe 25th - 29th August 1997. CapBIT '97 was the first time that the IFIP Technical Committee for Education had held a conference in a developing country. When the Computer Society of Zimbabwe offered to host the event, we determined that the location and conference topic reflect the importance of issues facing countries at all stages of developmen- especially Information Technologies (IT) development. Information Technologies have become, within a short time, one of the basic building blocks of modem industrial society. Understanding IT, and mastering basic skills and concepts of IT, are now regarded as part of the core education of all people around the world, alongside reading and writing. IT now permeates the business environment and underpins the success of modem corporations as well as providing government with cost-effective civil service systems. At the same time, the tools and technologies of IT are of value in the process of learning, and in the organisation and management of learning institutions.

This book is quite different from existing 'Western' books on school effectiveness. It describes and analyses the way in which schools operate in developing countries and also tries to explain why they are as they are. Examining them at three levels - the macro, the meso and the micro - the authors use a theoretical framework that they have termed 'post-bureaucracy.' The book has four interlinked sections. First the authors examine the existing economic and theoretical contexts around school effectiveness, including an analysis of the causes of economic crisis and its impact on school management. In the second section the analysis of schools as bureaucratic facades is proposed. The reality of school life, from which any theory of school effectiveness must derive, is illustrated by an ethnographic account of the job of the headteacher in developing countries. The third section explores different ways to understand this reality, operating on three levels: global relationships, national and community cultures, and individual agency. In the final section Haber and Davies draw these levels and realities together. They argue for the democratization of schools as the only way forward for effective education fordevelopment.

This volume examines the many aspects of the integration of ICT into the school of the future. It describes the experiences of different countries in developing models of schools of the future with ICT at the foundation. It provides insights into the essential conditions for developing future new learning environments supported by ICT. It includes perspectives from both developed and developing countries as they prepare for future educational systems of the Information Age.

In this book about a hundred papers are presented. These were selected from over 450 papers submitted to WCCE95. The papers are of high quality and cover many aspects of computers in education. Within the overall theme of "Liberating the learner" the papers cover the following main conference themes: Accreditation, Artificial Intelligence, Costing, Developing Countries, Distance Learning, Equity Issues, Evaluation (Formative and Summative), Flexible Learning, Implications, Informatics as Study Topic, Information Technology, Infrastructure, Integration, Knowledge as a Resource, Learner Centred Learning, Methodologies, National Policies, Resources, Social Issues, Software, Teacher Education, Tutoring, Visions. Also included are papers from the chairpersons of the six IFIP Working Groups on education (elementary/primary education, secondary education, university education, vocational education and training, research on educational applications and distance learning). In these papers the work in the groups is explained and a basis is given for the work of Professional Groups during the world conference. In the Professional Groups experts share their experience and expertise with other expert practitioners and contribute to a postconference report which will determine future actions of IFIP with respect to education. J. David Tinsley J. van Weert Tom Editors Acknowledgement The editors wish to thank Deryn Watson of Kings College London for organizing the paper reviewing process. The editors also wish to thank the School of Informatics, Faculty of Mathematics and Informatics of the Catholic University of Nijmegen for its support in the production of this document.