“Please don´t talk while I am interrupting!” Voices heard in the construction of the ICT curriculum in Iceland Allyson Macdonald LearnICT project Iceland University of Education SERA Annual Conference, 25th-27th November 2004

The study In all 18 schools, grades 1-10  What are the implications of using ICT for Teachers and teaching? Learners and learning? The school as an organisation? Survey of pupil views Survey of teachers self-evaluated skills This particular study draws on four of these schools and a study of the development of the national curriculum.

The approach Curriculum issues Activity theory (ICT and leadership) Analysis Conclusions

The revision of the national curriculum Previous curriculum 1989 Revised  Project manager  Managament committee  Subject coordinators  Preparatory groups  Workgroups Two policy committees – curriculum and IT

The structure of the national curriculum 1999 Compulsory and secondary school produced at the same time Two new subjects – IT/ICT and life-skills Compulsory schooling 1st – 10th grade  Final goals 10th grade  Aims 4th, 7th and 10th grades  Objectives for every grade in most subjects

Data sources Documents – policy reports, preparatory reports, national curriculum, school curriculum Four semi-structured interviews with policy makers, one of them an e-interview Schools (four, urban, established)  On-site interviews with principals, ICT coordinators  Two focus groups of teachers with six teachers each  One focus group with six students  Analysis of school curriculum  On-site visits (11 lessons) Part of the larger LearnICT study – student survey, teachers’ self-evaluation of skills, observations, interviews, document analysis

The construction of the ICT curriculum Voices of teachers – professional and curriculum interests Voices of policy – official initiatives and programmes Voices of ICT – interests of software developers Voices of pupils – out of school use of ICT Disruptions in pedagogical spaces Robertson et al., 2003

Force fields Some of it relates to the competing discourses or “force fields” which operate in the context for classroom practices. Rather our work suggests that ICT seems to rupture more fundamental arrangements and as a result changes the relationships and relations these dimensions carry. Robertson et al. 2003

Activity theory – contradictions Mediating tools CONTEXT OUTCOME Subject or actor Object or task Rules Community Roles

Curriculum perspectives Dominant perspective  Institutionalised text  Aims and objectives  Learning experiences Reconceptualist perspective  Other approaches: historical, biographical, postmodern  Educational principles Individualism or traditionalism

Voices of teachers – professional and curriculum interests Voices of policy – official initiatives and programmes Voices of soft- ware developers Voices of pupils – out of school use of ICT Disruptions in pedagogical spaces – 2004 Robertson et al., 2003 Voices of principals? Voices of pupils – in school use of ICT School Class

Observations/ Interviews Documents/ Web-sites Interviews/ Observations

Schooling – view from outside Policy- makers ICT sectorPupils out- of-school Key contra- dictions Tools Rules Division of labour Community Voices

Teaching and learning PrincipalsTeachersPupils in school Key contra- dictions Tools Rules Division of labour Community Voices

Policy-makers Software Pupils  Outside schools  Inside schools Teachers Principals

Mediating tools – ICT and pupils Out-of-school ICT activities - pupils Collaborative (e.g. games, web-sites) Communicative (e.g. MSN, blogg) Creative web-sites (e.g. programming, web-sites) In-school use – pupils’ curriculum Microsoft software Technical, transmissive Tedious! The curriculum as tool The pupils as a tool

Rules – school curriculum The published curriculum The school curriculum Timetables  National standards  School options  Teaching contracts Facilities  Access  Supervision

Division of labour – pupils, teachers, principals Novices – experts Principal  Delegation  Subject leaders Class teacher/subject specialisation

Community – school culture Community  collaboration – pressure  just-in-time vs. CPD Commitment – to learning Computers – that work!! Vision of the principal  Managerial  Supportive  Authority

The principal’s voice Leadership, management and administration New rules  New laws  Technology Roles  Educational leader  Manager Community  Staff  Culture

The object /outcome Policy-makers  Wanted a curriculum for analytical thinking and for promoting a way of working  Wanted a cross-curriculum approach  Produced a curriculum which has been interpreted as prescriptive, with lists of things to know and do;  Creativity and applied knowledge and CDT are rarely found in school curricula or in practice Principals – want ICT for learning Teachers – not sure Pupils – capable but conservative

The object /outcome – the curriculum Twining – Computer Practice Framework  IT skills  IT for learning support extend transform The constructed curriculum  Support, extension, not oftern transformation  For IT skills, not for ICT as a tool in learning  Computer skills and information skills A cacophony of voices! Thank you!