UNESCO:Transforming Education: The Power of ICT Policies

©UNESCO

The Education sector recently published a new book “Transforming Education: The Power of ICT Policies”. The result of a programme of studies, consultation and exchange on policies, this publication aims at providing useful information on contemporary challenges for and approaches to public policies in the field of Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) in education.

Indeed, ICT in schools are seen by education policy-makers as an opportunity. Yet, once policy-makers consider making significant investments in ICT, a host of questions emerge, from how many computers are needed in a school to how teachers can use them. While such questions represent important implementation issues, they should not frame ICT policy. ICT can have a greater impact when the policies and programmes designed to implement them are crafted in the broader context of social and economic goals and aligned to a vision of economic development and social progress - in other words, when ICT policies and programmes support educational transformation.

This book reviews policies, programmes, and experiences in a range of regional and developmental settings – Jordan, Namibia, Rwanda, Singapore, and Uruguay. Each brings a unique historical, cultural, political, social, and economic context to bear on policy and its formulation. These case studies provide models and lessons that can help other countries in formulating their own policies regarding ICT in education. In addition, drawing on the analyses of the findings across case studies, the book considers their implications for educational policy, change, and transformation.

06.10.2011
Source: Education Sector