The worldwide use of computers : a description of main trends

This paper examines some of the main findings from the IEA Computers in Education survey. The results show that with respect to the future of computers in education there is reason for optimism as well as for pessimism. The optimistic part of the story is that new technologies in the form of computers are nowadays available for many schools in most so-called developed countries, and that despite the complexity of this innovation educational practitioners and students are still very enthusiastic about this technology. The pessimistic part is that there is still much inequity of access to computers. Once computers are available they tend to be used most frequently as an add-on to the existing curriculum. It is probably this lack of integration of computers in existing curricula which is most challenging in determining our agenda for the future

Introduction of computers in education: State of the art in eight countries

In 1989, the IEA Computers in Education study collected data on computer use in elementary, lower- and upper secondary education in 22 countries. This paper presents some preliminary results for lower secondary education in Belgium-Flemish, Belgium-French, France, Greece, Japan, Luxembourg, The Netherlands, Switzerland and the U.S.A.\ud \ud The major questions that are addressed are related to the availability and the use of hard- and software, the problems experienced in introducing computers in schools and the attitudes of the principals towards computers. The results show that the number of schools equipped with computers and the number of computers available in schools increased dramatically over the past few years. Despite this fact, computers still are only used by a limited number of teachers, and mainly for teaching students about computers; the integration of computers in existing subjects is still limited. The major problems experienced in educational practice are the lack of sufficient software of high quality and insufficiently trained teachers

Influence of computer use on schools' curriculum: Limited integration

In the literature many claims are formulated about what might be accomplished in actual teaching practice when computers are used in a proper and intensive way. Therefore, in this study we analyse how three leading schools in the lower general secondary education sector in The Netherlands are using computers in their curriculum. The results show that these schools have hardly passed the stage of grassroot developments. To validate and possibly generalize these results we did, as a follow up study, a telephone survey with a larger group of leading schools. The survey confirmed the outcomes of the case studies

Status of introductory computer education in the Netherlands: results of a survey

The International Association for the Evaluation of Educational Achievement (IEA) is conducting an international comparative study on educational computer use in more than 20 countries. This paper analyzes some of the Dutch results of the IEA survey on the use of computers in lower secondary schools. The findings show that at present computers are mainly used for introductory computer courses, but that the integration of computers into existing subjects is still limited. The main problems identified in the study are: insufficient availability of courseware and hardware, time constraints and a high need for teacher training

English language proficiency and other factors influencing mathematics achievement at junior secondary level in South Africa

South Africa participated in the Third International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS)in 1995 and its repeat in 1999. In 1995, none of the data on school or teacher level could be analyzed to provide the context for the students' poor achievements in mathematics and science. With the 1999 data now available at both school and teacher levels in addition to the student level data, this backdrop to the results can be provided. Path analysis, using Partial Least Square analysis, was conducted on the TIMSS repeat study (TIMSS-R) data to explore the effect of language and other factors at school level within South African schools on the students' performance in mathematics. The work is currently in progress, but the initial results already indicate the strong relationship between English language proficiency and South African students' achievement in mathematics. The first results from the school level analysis reveals a relationship between the location of the schools, the number of first language speakers in the class, and the role of teacher unions influencing the curriculum to pupils' achievement in mathematics. These and other results of this research are discussed in the paper. (Contains 3 figures, 10 tables, and 43 references.) (SLD

The use of computers in education worldwide : results from a comparative survey in 18 countries

In 1989, the International Association for the Evaluation of Educational Achievement (IEA) Computers in Education study collected data on computer use in elementary, and lower- and upper-secondary education in 22 countries. Although all data sets from the participating countries had not been received at the time of writing, this paper provides some preliminary results from 19 educational systems in 18 countries. Countries participating in the study include Belgium (Flemish and French school systems), Canada (British Columbia), China, France, West Germany, Greece, Hungary, India, Israel, Japan, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Poland, Portugal, Slovenia, Switzerland, and the United States. The paper shows statistics related to: (1) the availability and the use of computer hardware, software, and peripherals; (2) the problems experienced in using computers in schools; and (3) the attitudes of administrators towards computers. The results show that drastic changes have taken place in the last few years in the number of schools equipped with computers, and the number of computers available in schools. It is noted that in most educational systems microcomputers are used by a limited number of teachers, and are used mainly for teaching students about computers. Major problems that appeared included a lack of teacher preparation time, the lack of sufficient computer software of high quality, and a lack of teacher education and training. It is suggested that the creation of short- and long-term implementation strategies could facilitate the integration of computers into existing subjects. (5 references) (DB

Results of the second international science study in the Netherlands

This chapter describes how the Second International Science Study (SISS) was conducted in lower secondary education (population 2) in the Netherlands and summarizes results from the international part of SISS, as well as findings from six national options and secondary analyses. The findings show that international comparative research can be tuned to the interest of quite different groups of educational researchers. The results show how Dutch students in different school types achieve in science subjects. The differences between the implemented curricula of the school types and the outcomes at student level are particularly clear. Moreover, the results show that even within school types large differences between schools exist. Even without performing international comparisons, these findings have, in particular, a mirror function within the Netherlands, as they show that achievement of particular groups of students is below expectation, despite differences in curricula that are meant to accommodate the learning abilities of students in different school types. The national options offered a large variety of interesting research findings and demonstrate the surplus value that can be gained by adding these options to the international core design