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3 Use of ICT in Scottish schools The overall picture which emerges from Scottish teachers is a relatively positive one. There is a great deal of interest and motivation to learn more about the potential of ICT and an acknowledgement that this is the direction things are likely to take in the future. Indeed the vast majority of primary and secondary teachers currently say they make use of some computer-based resources at some time in their professional life. Ninety-eight per cent of primary teachers use computers, very close to the recent figure of 96% computer user reported in the Scottish Office Annual Statistics for 1996/97 (Scottish Office, 1998). The figure for secondary school teachers who use computers (97.5%) is higher than that reported in the 1996/97 Scottish Office Annual Statistics and may be an overestimate due to the difficulties of encouraging survey responses from non-users. Nevertheless it is quite clear that computer users are in the majority. Not only that, but of those who use computers the majority consider themselves generally competent. On the face of it these findings would initially indicate very little cause for concern. However these results do not mean that the vast majority of teachers use ICT resources often, nor that they use a variety of resources, nor that they feel competent enough to use ICT as core teaching resources. In fact the majority of teachers make very limited use of ICT, and express a strong interest and need to learn more. Teachers were asked to indicate their frequency of use for each of 15 types of ICT resources listed in each of four contexts: classroom practice, professional development, personal use and administration. Their responses were scored as follows Daily=4 Weekly=3 Monthly=2 Termly=1 with 'never' and no responses being given a score of zero. An average score was then derived for each resource in order to compare frequency of use of the different resources. As Figure 1 shows, for most primary teachers the use of ICT is restricted to word processing, followed by externally produced educational software packages. Educational software packages are clearly being applied across the 5-14 curriculum in primary schools. Teachers quote examples of educational programs being successfully used in, for example, language, mathematics, environmental studies. Even then primary teachers are a long way away from making daily or weekly use of ICT in a full range of professional contexts. |
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Fig 2 Use of ICT by primary teachers. [Key to abbreviations:- WWW: World Wide Web; Networking: network computer conferencing, e.g. First Class; Video conf: video conferencing; DTP: Desktop publishing; Ext software: externally produced educational software packages (e.g. simulations and educational games); Int software: internally produced educational software packages; Online: online information sources (e.g. British Education Index)]
Video conferencing, digital cameras and online information sources are rarely used by primary teachers. Use of the Internet and WWW or e-mail is also very low. This can be explained by the lower availability of the Internet in primary schools. Although authorities all report plans and targets to put the Internet into all schools, it is clear that the early focus has been on secondaries. As with many other ICT initiatives, as one education authority representative reported "we had limited funds and we had to start somewhere. There are fewer secondaries....". In secondary schools (Figure 2) teachers' overall levels of ICT use are higher than for primary teachers |
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Fig 3: Use of ICT by secondary school teachers
Word processing is again the most frequent use made of computers by secondary teachers. Secondary teachers make slightly less use of educational software packages than do primary teachers. On the other hand they make more use of a range of generic software such as spreadsheets and DTP. Although higher than in the primary school sample, the level of use of ICT by secondary teachers is still not high given that no single form of ICT is used at anything like its maximum potential score of 16 (i.e. daily use across all four contexts). This was echoed in an interview with a secondary teacher: "We are certainly not by any stretch of the imagination exploiting the possibilities of IT. We aren't even scratching the surface as far as pupils are concerned. We are just at the very simple basic level of allowing them to word process, and that's as far as it goes." (Secondary)
Interestingly, although the Internet is available in the majority of secondary schools (the figure was 60% in 1996/97 [Scottish Office, 1998]), the level of use of WWW and e-mail is still relatively low. This is likely to be a combination of lack of knowledge and lack of what many teachers would regard as ready access, i.e. close to the areas they teach in. Nevertheless, it could be argued that opportunities for teachers to use the Internet are much greater in Scotland compared to the rest of the United Kingdom, given that the proportion of school libraries offering cross-curricular access is much greater than elsewhere in the UK. (The Library Association, 1997) Video conferencing and computer conferencing are the least frequently used resources amongst secondary teachers. In order to compare frequency of use in each context, the individual scores for use of each type of ICT resource were summed within each context (classroom practice, professional development, personal use and administration) allowing an average score for use to be derived for each context. The scores can range from 0 (never use any of the resources listed in a particular context) to 60 (daily use of each of the 15 resources in a particular context). The results can be seen in Figure 3 for primary teachers and Figure 4 for secondary teachers.
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Fig 4 Frequency of use of ICT in each context - primary schools
Where ICT resources are used at all by primary teachers they are used most often in the classroom (95% of teachers used at least one resource at least once a term) and least often in administration, with very low levels of use in relation to professional development or personal use (Figure 3).
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Fig 5 Frequency of ICT use in each context - secondary schools
While the overall levels of ICT use are higher amongst secondary teachers, it can be seen from Figures 3 and 4 that the levels of use in the classroom are similar between primary and secondary (non-computing) teachers. The difference comes in the use of ICT in professional development, personal use, and administration, all significantly higher for the secondary sample. In order to examine any patterns in use of ICT, teachers were divided into "low", "medium" and "high" use categories based on average scores for use of ICT across all contexts. (It should be remembered that the terms "low", "medium", and "high" use are relative, and that the actual levels of use overall are relatively low.) While there are proportionately more primary teachers from rural schools, fewer from city schools, and proportionately more from small schools, in the "higher" use category than in the sample as a whole, it is very difficult to see clear patterns. It could be argued that small rural primaries, with access to fewer community-based information sources such as libraries or museums may find ICT offers an immediate way of enriching the information base. One interviewee, having taught in a number of rural primary schools, was strongly of the opinion that computers tend to be more readily available in smaller rural primaries than in larger ones. In the secondary sector, there is a significant correlation between use of ICT and size of school: the larger the school, the higher the frequency of use of ICT perhaps explained partly by access to generally higher numbers of computers, although this is by no means clear. Perhaps more interesting are the relationships between ICT use and both subject taught and gender. The subjects taught by the secondary sample were grouped as follows:
As may be seen from Table 1, proportionately fewer of those who teach mathematics, sciences and languages were in the high scoring user group compared with other subjects. Mathematics teachers had the lowest use scores while teachers in business and management subjects tended to have the highest use scores.
Table 1 Extent of use across different subject groups (% teachers)
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As may be seen in Table 2, frequency of ICT use is also related to gender. Table 2 Cross tabulation of gender of secondary teachers who do not teach computing with frequency of use
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Clearly there are more male non-computing teachers in the high user group and fewer in the low user group, than females. This is not explained by the subjects taught. A cross-tabulation of gender with subject taught revealed that more women than men in the sample teach languages, a low user subject. Yet it is also the case that more men than women teach in two other low user subject areas, mathematics and science. In the relatively high use subjects, slightly more women than men teach social subjects, more men than women teach aesthetic subjects, and more women than men teach business and management subjects. It would appear, therefore, that ICT use is related to both gender and subject taught. A recent survey of final year student teachers in Scottish TEIs (Simpson et al, 1997) did not find a gender divide and it is likely that the gender split will disappear as new teachers enter the profession. Amongst primary school teachers, the use, or non-use, of ICT is not confined to any particular group of teachers. For primary teachers, the use of ICT resources is not related to age or time in teaching. It cannot be assumed that newly qualified teachers will be any more or less inclined to use ICT in the classroom. In interviews, experienced teachers talked of the widely varying ICT skills and knowledge levels they saw in new teachers entering the profession. Again, the recent study of final year student teachers suggests that, while the majority of new graduates going into teaching will have a reasonable level of basic ICT competence, many feel they lack competence and confidence in applying and integrating ICT within classroom practice. Teachers of the upper primary stages (primary years 6 and 7) seem less likely to be 'low' users (i.e. they showed a slight inclination towards higher frequency of use generally) than teachers of the lower primary stages (primary years 1 and 2). While the relationship is not a clear one, discussions with teachers suggest a variety of reasons which may contribute to slightly greater levels of ICT use in upper primary. They include an acknowledgement of the importance of developing ICT literacy in preparation for secondary school; a prioritising of scarce equipment towards older pupils who may already have greater confidence through the use of home computers; or lack of suitable resources for younger age ranges. All of these, and more, are identified by teachers, as possible factors in the general equation of matching resources to needs. However, it should be stressed again that comparisons of use are all relative - even the high users within the sample are using relatively narrow ranges of ICT and at low frequencies. The majority of use of ICT within the primary sector is within the classroom with only a small proportion of primary teachers using ICT in other areas such as the school office or a teaching base. On the other hand, access in secondary schools is more varied as shown in Table 3. Table 3 Where secondary teachers use ICT resources - per cent of teachers
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Proportionately fewer secondary teachers use ICT resources in the classroom compared with their primary school colleagues, and rather more of them use ICT resources in areas in school outside the classroom such as the library. Computing teachers, have more access to ICT resources, or use this access, in the computing lab and at home. Home use can be important. Just over half of primary teachers and 65% of secondary teachers (64% non-computing secondary teachers) use a computer at home. There are clear differences in ICT use in school between those teachers who do and do not use a computer at home. As Table 4 shows, those who use computers at home use ICT more frequently in school and this is true across all four contexts: classroom practice; professional development; personal use and administration. (Frequency scores based on use of 15 types of ICT resource on a daily, weekly, monthly or termly basis across all four contexts; thus scores can range from 0 (never use any ICT in any context) to 240 (daily use all 15 types of ICT in all contexts)).
Table 4 Mean scores for frequency of use of ICT for teachers who use and do not use computers at home
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Education authority representatives are strongly of the opinion that providing teachers with access to computers at home is a key to successful training and development. In the past, authorities have operated schemes to allow teachers to buy hardware at subsidised or interest-free phased payments. Currently some authorities are keen to encourage teachers to borrow school equipment. From the evidence of this study it would appear that this does indeed encourage greater use of ICT by teachers in school. However, as can be seen in Section 5, it cannot be assumed that providing computers for home use will change attitudes towards ICT. It seems more likely that home access provides those who are already motivated with more opportunity to develop their skills and enhance the production of materials for themselves and their pupils.
3.2 The value and impact of ICT in the curriculum Overall it would appear that the use of ICT in the primary and secondary classroom is patchy. Nevertheless, even when teachers experience problems and draw-backs in using ICT, the majority report some benefits to themselves as teachers and to their pupils. Half of primary teachers and 69% of secondary teachers report that ICT has a positive impact on their teaching. Only 1% primary teachers and 4% of secondary teachers report that ICT has a negative impact. The secondary response varies across subjects. Amongst subjects other than computing, mathematics and science teachers are least positive (54% report an overall positive impact) while teachers in business and management subjects are most positive. Primary teachers report that ICT provides them with suitable backup and extension material for pupils, indicating a still strong perception of ICT as an "add-on" or reward rather than integral to their core teaching. Secondary teachers report a wider range of positive benefits. While they also talk about the provision of backup, reinforcement or extension materials, they are more inclined to report support for specific curriculum areas or needs, and information sources. Secondary school teachers are also more inclined to mention specific forms of ICT as being useful (e.g. Internet, fax, particular software packages) and generally give the impression that they have a more detailed awareness of the possibilities of ICT. Both primary and secondary teachers talk about the positive impact of ICT on their own record keeping and administration although levels of use in these areas is higher amongst secondary teachers than primary teachers. While virtually no teachers think that ICT has had a totally negative impact of their teaching, 40% primary and 20 % secondary teachers report a mixed reaction. For example, teachers find that ICT is "time consuming" or presents them with difficulties related to shortage of hardware/software and faults in equipment. Many of the more negative responses appear to be more related to teachers' own lack of confidence than any evidence that ICT is a problem in itself. This lack of confidence is allied to their worries that they will be unable to cope if things go wrong. Primary teachers are particularly worried about their ability to cope with unreliable hardware and software and also report a wider range of problems related to class or time management, their own lack of skills and confidence, and limited access. These are examined in more detail in Section 4, Problems and Challenges. Despite these concerns, the majority of teachers (62% primary and secondary) think that ICT has a positive impact on pupils' learning. Again this tends to vary between subjects at secondary level. More specifically, primary teachers report that ICT can encourage independence with pupils working at their own pace, but can equally encourage groupwork. Word-processing packages are considered to offer many benefits. Primary teachers use word-processors in the classroom to help with "spelling and capital letters"; "presentation of pupil work"; and "design and planning". Examples reported by secondary teachers include benefits to pupils in providing more information, helping with presentation, and benefits accruing from the more professional production of materials by teachers themselves. "It is used in English for instance, for children to word process work so that they have got a nice professional looking copy for their own self esteem at the end of the day." (Secondary) Words such as "fun", "motivating" and "stimulating" are common amongst primary and secondary teachers. The 'fun' or game element of many programs is particularly welcomed in the early years. "They just think it is a nice game" (Primary) was the view of a primary teacher, talking about a simple program she uses at early primary stages to develop mouse skills, reading skills and number skills. Another said: "I could see it [the computer] used in nursery and infant P1-P2. I would automatically come in in the morning, set out everything, take the cover off and get it going. Because it would be like a game..." (Primary) It is interesting that, despite this confidence with the younger pupils, the same teacher has some (not uncommon) anxiety about her own ability to use ICT as freely with the older age ranges: "..because my knowledge is limited how to set up these programs....". (Primary) As pupils progress through primary school it is the interest or motivational element which teachers value in computer-based resources. For one teacher, the computer can provide a stimulating learning environment for "...anything like language or maths. I quite like some of the interactive programs. The children really like that.....anything that is a bit different for them." (Primary) Another describes her success in using the computer in health education: " We used it successfully with our health education. They enjoyed going in to the body...it is probably more interesting than looking at books, you could see how the blood circulated. We got a lot of discussion out of that." (Primary) Teachers clearly expect ICT to offer different learning opportunities as pupils progress through primary and into secondary. At upper primary levels teachers are no longer looking for what they see as "games": "I don't use games at the P6 stage..........if we are doing the rain forest, then we would be using the Crystal rain forest disk, if we are doing Victorians then we would be using the Victorian disk."(Primary) "I can see the computer being used as a source of information more in the upper primary and secondary school. The lower and the middle [primary] rely more on prepared materials...." (Primary) ICT is also seen as a motivator to learning in secondary school. A teacher of modern languages commented: "Kids love machines, and if we had the multimedia angle it would be something that would provide an incentive, and motivate pupils of whatever level, not just those who feel they can achieve and go beyond Standard Grade." (Secondary) "We did get video conferencing last year and we had a project set up in management studies where pupils linked up with other schools to discuss the projects on-line." (Secondary) Teachers also find that the multimedia nature of many packages which combine text, graphics, and sound can support a range of learning abilities. As one primary teacher commented: "It's great for the children that have problems with reading and recognising words. They can click on it and it will put the word up and say the word at the same time so they know exactly what they are using." (Primary) The value of multimedia for pupils with learning difficulties is recognised at both primary and secondary level: "For pupils who have hand writing difficulties, the whole business of mechanics and technical accuracy becomes much less of a chore if they are able to word process." (Secondary) Despite the low levels of use of the Internet, the value of the Internet as an information source is being recognised by secondary teachers. One teacher in a small rural secondary school (single teacher department with no local access to a school library) commented: "The Internet can be helpful in History where sometimes we are trying to find out obscure points. I've got a boy at the moment who's looking into shinty for some local history. If he were able to use the Internet he would be able to find a lot of information that I can't give him." (Secondary) Other examples of the use of the Internet as an information source include: "... good visual information for [Higher] design projects, ..." (Secondary) "... topical information [for languages] ... we don't get newspapers or periodicals anymore, because they are too expensive, so the Internet is a real life saver." (Secondary) However not all teachers see the Internet as a valuable resource: "The Internet is a gimmick, it only tells you where information is. I've used Internet for three years. A lot of it is a waste of time." (Secondary) The use of e-mail among secondary teachers varies. Some teachers are recognising the potential which e-mail offers, others are finding it difficult to persuade others of these benefits: "It would be nice even to find a linked school in another country and then you could maybe send a daily bulletin, and they would send one back. That sort of thing, real contact, makes the language more real...... e-mail pals instead of pen pals." (Secondary) "I am disappointed at the level of communication that is going on at the moment with e-mail." (Secondary) In general, teachers who are using ICT in the primary school classroom are convinced of its benefits for the learner. They are slightly less convinced about the overall benefits to them as teachers, largely due to the fact that they still experience lack of confidence in their own abilities, and worry about lack of support generally. Secondary teachers, while on the whole being positive about the impact of ICT, are more inclined to see more benefits for themselves in planning, managing and producing materials, and slightly more sceptical about the benefits to their learners.
Many teachers (excluding computing teachers) are in the early stages of introducing ICT into their classrooms. As they describe their experiences and their current practice they are clearly exploring options, and working out for themselves what the main issues and questions are. While they tend to recognise many potential benefits and want to be able to use ICT within the curriculum, for many ICT is still seen as new and different. In other words, in the majority of cases ICT is still an additional element rather than an integral element in the delivery of the curriculum. Some feel that it is better to ensure certain basic skills and knowledge are developed in tried and tested ways first. As one primary teacher commented: "Obviously it is the way forward and I'm of the old school, because I still believe that I would rather spend the time teaching how to use a dictionary and encyclopaedia and reading skills. If they master those then they can always reach higher." (Primary) while another considers that: "It is just an extra. I wouldn't want the children to be taught solely from computers. But they enjoy it because they see it as a game." (Primary) The importance of not relying totally on ICT is highlighted by secondary teachers too: "It's only one area of teaching, it's not to take over completely. You can't forget that there are other skills." (Secondary) "Enhancing teaching not taking away from teaching." Some teachers find it difficult to avoid using the computer as a reward, given the difficulties they experience in trying to manage mixed ability classes with a limited range of hardware. As one primary teacher says: "You don't want to see it as a reward.....Of course the children who race through the work, get it all right with no corrections, they are the ones who are constantly at the computer anyway. You have to consciously say no to them...." (Primary) For many teachers ICT is still seen as a new addition to their teaching practice. While, for many, the integration of ICT within the curriculum is a goal, there is still a tendency to focus on 'teaching ICT' rather than 'teaching with ICT'. This is understandable given that teachers are conscious that they have a role in developing ICT skills across the curriculum. "I think there is a right for pupils to get those computing skills, it's an entitlement which has massive implications for IT in any school." (Primary) In primary schools, without a dedicated computing department, many teachers feel that they must focus on the development of pupils' ICT skills before they can gain maximum benefit from the resources. One teacher has scaled down what she hopes to achieve with her class. When using a word processing package she now focuses on: " ....different fonts, rather than getting them to sit and type out stories. At my stage it would take them so long. I would rather that they just typed out 'danger' by 'Rob Smith', so that they are familiar with the keys...so that they get knowledge of the keyboard." (Primary) For another it can be a dilemma: "I don't know if I would say 'right, go for it on the BBCs' from the point of view of reinforcing lessons ..... or whether you say 'right forget that, let's just do keyboard skills'" (Primary) Teachers are aware that they have a role to develop ICT literacy in pupils through other subjects but there is clearly some preoccupation with teaching ICT rather than teaching with ICT. This may be a symptom of the fact that most are still in the early stages of using ICT where the technology itself is the natural focus of attention for teachers and pupils alike. Primary teachers are particularly aware of their need to teach ICT. Unlike secondary schools they do not have a specialised computing department on whom they can rely to teach the basics. However, there is also some focus on 'teaching ICT' amongst secondary (non-computing) teachers. Both in the questionnaire survey and in interviews, teachers often expressed an interest in finding out more about how to teach, monitor and assess ICT skills. "They are concentrating very much on teacher access and delivery but the other aspect is, of course, getting the kids to the stage where they can actually understand for themselves." (Secondary) "A large percentage of your time will be spent training pupils how to work computers. So your instructions have got to be absolutely clear..." (Secondary) As well as making more use of a broader range of ICT resources than primary school teachers, there are more examples generally of secondary teachers taking a critical stance on the value of ICT for pupils. They also show more evidence of reflection on the impact of ICT on the learning process. Where they are using ICT in the classroom, secondary teachers provide more examples of a move towards integrating ICT into the teaching and learning process rather than seeing ICT as an "add-on". "The point being if you are focusing on the use of a computer in this art room, it's no different from a lump of clay or a pencil. My advice to a student [teacher] would be to become familiar with the courses, become familiar with units of work within the courses and see where the clay and clay tools are kept as well as the computer. It would be no different from anything else." (Secondary) "It's just another way I think that youngsters can learn." (Secondary) "Somebody said to me last night, I never knew there were so many ways of teaching exactly the same thing; that's what it amounts to. They are motivated and they look forward to it..." (Secondary) One teacher talking about the potential of using ICT in the classroom considers that: "The sky is the limit!" (Secondary) While it cannot be said that secondary teachers are all significantly ahead of their primary counterparts, it does seem that those who have had greater opportunity to use ICT in the classroom are beginning to focus more on the application of ICT within the learning process and less on the technical aspects of "teaching ICT". However, this study clearly shows that there is still a long way to go before ICT across the curriculum is fully achieved. Use of ICT to date
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