Children disappointed but not downbeat about school ICT
05 February 2010
New study reveals pupils' concerns over 'low-tech' primary schools, but suggests that only minor improvements are needed
According to a newly published research study, the current generation of high-tech primary school pupils feel increasingly disappointed by the low-tech nature of their schools.
However, despite demands from many industry professionals to rebuild and restructure schools to suit upcoming cohorts of "digital natives" the vast majority of children reckon that only minor changes would be required to make their schools' use of technology more engaging and exciting.
The year long study of over 600 pupils in primary schools across England asked children how they would prefer technology to be used in their learning.
"While we expected children to be making radical demands for virtual classes or robot teachers, the majority simply wanted the occasional chance to bring their own devices into school", says Dr Neil Selwyn from the University of London's Institute of Education.
"They also wanted a greater say in the rules and regulations that surround ICT use in schools. The kids in our study were remarkably 'school-savvy' as well as being 'technology-savvy'. Most accepted the need for school ICT to be more serious and perhaps less exciting".
More than half of the 7-11 year olds in the study had their own mobile phone, and nearly 90 percent had their own games console at home. The study found that more than 80 percent of children regularly play computer games, and more than one-in-five make regular use of social networking sites such as Bebo, Habbo or MySpace in their spare time. In contrast, the most frequent school ICT uses were word processing and internet searching.
Selwyn concluded: "This study does highlight an obvious difference between home and school technology use. However, schools shouldn't panic about making drastic changes to pander to what they think students might want. Despite their high-tech activities at home, most pupils seem to want relatively low-key changes at school – most notably a moderate 'loosening' of the restrictions on their ICT use.
"Schools should concentrate on ways of getting kids more involved in the decision-making processes surrounding what devices can be brought into school or what websites are filtered. Any big changes to a school's ICT provision should be gradual and consider the views of everyone in the school."
The study also found a continued need for schools to work with children on issues of internet safety. Only one third of the pupils surveyed were knowledgeable about staying safe when using the internet. Similarly, more than 60 percent wanted more help from their teachers in terms of learning about 'e-safety'.
Notes to editors
[1] Neil Selwyn is a senior lecturer at the Institute of Education. Contact - tel: 0207 763 2151 email: n.selwyn@ioe.ac.uk
Contacts at the IOE press office:
Diane Hofkins, interim press officer, 020 7911 5423, d.hofkins@ioe.ac.uk
James Russell, press assistant, 020 7911 5556, j.russell@ioe.ac.uk
[2] The other members of the research team were John Potter and Sue Cranmer – based in the London Knowledge Lab, a division of the Institute of Education, University of London
[3] The book from the research project - 'Primary schools and ICT: Learning from pupil perspectives' - is published on 15th February 2010 by Continuum [ISBN 1855395789].
[4] All primary schools in the UK are compelled to provide learning opportunities through the effective use of technology. The recent Rose Review of the primary school curriculum committed primary schools to "strengthening the teaching and learning of ICT to enable [pupils] to be independent and confident users of technology by the end of primary education". The current 'Building Schools for the Future' programme aims to rebuild or remodel every state secondary school in England - around 3,500 in total.
[5] The Institute of Education is a college of the University of London, specialising in teaching, research and consultancy in education and related areas of social science and professional practice. Last year's Research Assessment Exercise judged almost two-thirds of the work submitted by the IOE was internationally significant, and 35 per cent was regarded as "world leading". The IOE is a member of the 1994 group.
