THE STATUS OF INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY IN NATIONAL CURRICULUM FOR COMPULSORY EDUCATION

1
THE STATUS OF INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION
TECHNOLOGY IN NATIONAL CURRICULUM FOR COMPULSORY
EDUCATION

• Marina Štibric
• Branislava Baranovic
• cerd_at_idi.hr

2
Knowledge based society and ICT

• innovations in ICT, networking and rapid
  expansion of the Internet - key factors of
  transformation into knowledge society
• ICT - a ground for effective usage and exchange
  of information and knowledge
• ICT - one of the key contemporary educational
  requirements

3
Digital competence

• one of the key competencies necessary for work
  and life in the knowledge society
• in The European Key Competences Framework
• involves knowledge and skills in ICT, attitudes
  towards available information and a responsible
  use of the interactive media

4
ICT and compulsory education

• introduction of ICT into compulsory education was
  one of the most complex curricular innovations
• ICT - a significant part of transforming the
  teaching and learning process
• an agreement about the necessity of introducing
  and developing ICT in curriculum, but different
  countries have found different solutions

5

• The Status of ICT in National Curriculum for
  Compulsory Education
• the research results

6
Research methodology

• aim to find out what is the current status of
  ICT in compulsory education
• an analysis of national curricula in 16 countries
• ways of conceptualizing ICT in each country of
  the sample were compared to each other, and with
  the current situation in Croatia

7
Research methodology

• criteria for choosing the countries- members of
  EU- their educational heritage- achievements of
  their students in international comparative
  evaluations
• the status of ICT
• - isolated as a separate subject
• - ICT taught as a part of a few different
  subjects
• - ICT as a cross-curricular area

8
Finland, Sweden and Norway

• broad curriculum frameworks, with ICT being
  taught within mandatory subjects
• Norway - subject Art and Crafts
• has the least ICT related content
• Sweden subjects Crafts, and Technology
• Finland - subject Crafts, and cross-curricular
  themes Media skills and communication, and
  Technology and the individual

9
Scotland, Ireland, England, Canada (Alberta),
Australia (New South Wales) and New Zealand

• both national curriculum frameworks and a subject
  curriculum
• content of each subject and area is mandatory
• Scotland cross-curricular area Environmental
  studies, and later a separate subject ICT
• Ireland subjects Technology, and Technical
  drawing cross-curricular areas Social,
  environmental and scientific education, and Art
  ICT is a tool for teaching Science and Arts

10
Scotland, Ireland, England, Canada (Alberta),
Australia (New South Wales) and New Zealand

• England - interdisciplinary areas ICT, and Design
  and technology
• Alberta subject ICT whose program of studies is
  structured as a curriculum within a curriculum,
  and it is infused within core subjects of English
  Language Arts Math Science and Social Studies

11
Scotland, Ireland, England, Canada (Alberta),
Australia (New South Wales) and New Zealand

• New South Wales - key learning area Science and
  technology, later Technological and applied
  studies, with a mandatory subject Technology-
  connected with elective subjects Information and
  software technology Design and technology, and
  Graphics technology

12
Scotland, Ireland, England, Canada (Alberta),
Australia (New South Wales) and New Zealand

• New Zealand - essential learning area Technology
  which has application to all subjects of the
  curriculum, but some make a particular
  contribution to learning in technology, such as
  Science Mathematics Home economics, Social
  studies, Workshop technology Music Art
  Graphics and design, and The study of information
  systems

13
Austria, Hungary, Slovenia, and Singapore

• ICT is separated into (mandatory) subject
  curricula
• Austria subjects Technical education, and
  Technical education, textile education
• Technical education contributes to each of the 5
  educational areas Man and society Nature and
  technology Language and communication
  Creativity and shaping and Health and exercise
• Hungary subjects Technology and the way of
  living, and ICT

14
Austria, Hungary, Slovenia, and Singapore

• Slovenia cross-curricular area Information
  literacy mandatory subjects Perceiving
  environment, and later Science and technology
  Technics and technology, and elective subjects
  Robotics and technics Electronics with robotics,
  and Electro technology
• Singapore mandatory subjects Mathematics, and
  later Design and technology- in technical
  stream Computer Applications Technical studies
  and elective subject Computing

15
The Netherlands, and USA (New York)

• flexible curriculum that has a high degree of
  decentralization
• the Netherlands - learning areas Technology, and
  Drawing, art and crafts
• New York - a curriculum based on the national
  learning standards
• area Mathematics, science and technology which
  includes Standard 2 - Information systems, and
  Standard 5 - Technology with a Computer
  technology as its integral part

16
Situation in Croatia

• a tradition of a centralized prescriptive subject
  based curriculum consisted of teaching programs
  for each subject
• between 5th and 8th grade
• - mandatory subject Technical culture- elective
  subject Information science
• a possibility for extra-curricular activity in
  the area of Information science in the first 4
  grades

17
Situation in Croatia

• in the curriculum for compulsory school it is
  recommended that while teaching the elective
  subject Information science, teachers should
  encourage the use of ICT in other subjects
• by planning to bring the focus on outcomes and to
  introduce ICT as a cross-curricular area,
  Croatian curriculum is coming closer to the world
  standards in education

18
Conclusions

• most of the countries have national curriculum
  framework which serves as a base for developing
  detailed school curriculum
• Croatia still has fragmented subject based
  national curriculum
• Croatian curriculum still isnt oriented towards
  learning outcomes as in most of the analyzed
  countries

19
Conclusions

• using ICT through the curriculum is an example of
  the way to acquire digital competence
• even though approach to planning and curriculum
  control differs among countries, ICT is
  recognized as an important segment of education
  in all of the countries

20
Conclusions

• while in some national curricula ICT is being
  taught as a separate subject, in other curricula
  it is a part of a few different subjects or a
  cross-curricular area
• acquisition of knowledge and skills is
  fundamental, but
• more and more countries are recognizing the
  advantage of using ICT in teaching other subjects

21
Recommendations

• ICT should be included in national curricula as a
  compulsory cross-curricular area
• it can also be retained as a separate subject
• in the constantly changing environment there is a
  need to possess knowledge and skills, but also
  attitudes concerning ICT
• every curriculum should emphasize the digital
  competence

22
Recommendations

• to elaborate the status of ICT in curriculum of
  every system
• to ensure adequate infrastructure and Internet
  access in every school
• to provide network and multimedia materials
• to develop teachers skills in using ICT
• teachers ought to be given support in getting
  those skills in order to fully exercise potential
  that ICT has in making learning easier