Second International Information Technology in Education Study

1. Second International Information Technology in Education Study

2. ACKNOWLEGEMENTS This Study is undertaken by the Centre for Information Technology in School and Teacher Education and funded by the Hong Kong Quality Education Fund. Preparation for the Hong Kong SITES Study was started in November 1997 by Dr. Nancy Law. The Hong Kong SITES Study is a very large scale research project involving more than 500 schools. The Study Centre is very grateful to the support given by many principals , technology coordinators, teachers and students participated in the pilot and main studies. Without such valuable help from them, it would not be possible to complete the study so successfully. The Study Centre is also very thankful for the generous support given by the Director of the Education Department, and her staff , especially for helping the Centre to ensure participation from schools

3. ACKNOWLEGEMENTS • The Study is indebted to the Steering Committee for the Hong Kong Study: • National Research Coordinator • Nancy LAW • Steering Committee Members • CHAN Wing Kwong NG Hok Ling • KAN Wing Lok NG Sui Kao • KI Wing Wah PUN Sai Wing • LAI Suk Ming TONG Kai Hong • LAW Hing Chung TSUI Kim • LEUNG Shui Keung YIP Chee Tim • LI Siu Cheung YUEN Hoi Kau • The smooth coordination and administration of the Study had been made possible by various research staff involved at various stages of the project, especially, the project manager, Ms Yeung Lee and the research assistants, Ms. Angela Chow, Mr. Eric Tam and Mr. Erik Cheung. The study Centre is grateful to Mr. Sidney Kwok and Mr. Samson Liu for helping with the production of this report under tremendous pressures of time.

4. Content About SITES SITES Module 1: International Component Local Extension SITES Module 1 Full Report Key Findings Recommendations Conclusion Enquiry

5. SITES Module 1 Full Report ( in PDF Format) English Version (Full) Chinese Version(Summary) Back to Content

6. SITES Module 1 Full Report ( in PDF Format) English Version Executive Summary Chapter 7 Chapter 1 Chapter 8 Chapter 2 Chapter 9 Chapter 4 Appendices Chapter 3 Chapter 5 Appendices Chapter 4 Chapter 6 Appendices Chapter 5 Chinese Version Chapter 6 Back to Content

7. SITES Module 1 Full Report ( in PDF Format) Chinese Version Chapter 1 & 2 Chapter 3 Chapter 4 Chapter 5 Chapter 6 Chapter 7 Chapter 8 English Version Back to Content

8. Organized by: Centre for Information Technology in School and Teacher Education (CITE) Funded by: The Quality Education Fund About SITES

9. Steering Committee About SITES Mr. CHAN Wing Kwong Mr. KAN Wing Lok Mr. KI Wing Wah Mr. LAI Suk Ming Dr. LAW Hing Chung Dr. Nancy LAW Mr. LEUNG Shui Keung Dr. LI Siu Cheung Mr. NG Hok Ling Mr. NG Sui Kao Mr. PUN Sai Wing Mr. TONG Kai Hong Mr. TSUI Kim Mr. YIP Chee Tim Dr. YUEN Hoi Kau

10. ychow @ hkucc . hku . hk Research Team Members About SITES nlaw@hkusua.hku.hk Dr. Nancy LAW Project Director Mr. KI Wing Wah hraskww@hkucc.hku.hk Dr. LI Siu Cheung scli@hkusua.hku.hk Dr. YUEN Hoi Kau hkyuen@hkucc.hku.hk yleea @ hkusua. hku. hk Project Manager Ms. LEE Yeung Research Assistant Ms. CHOW Yin

11. About SITES Background • An international comparative study conducted under the auspices of the International Association for the Evaluation of Educational Achievement (IEA) • Collects quantitative as well as qualitative data about ICT in education from an international comparative perspective

12. About SITES Components SITES comprises of 3 modules: Module 1: Indicators Module Module 2: Innovative Practices Module Module 3: Survey Module Back to Content SITES Module 1

13. About SITES Module 1 Module 1 (M1) includes two parts: • The international component • Local extension

14. M1 Action plan and time-line TaskCompletion date • Main data collection (international component) 30/11/98 • Data entry & cleaning 31/01/99 • Data collection for student& teacher questionnaire 28/02/99 • Select schools for the case study 31/03/99 • Preliminary data analysis of the main data 30/04/99 • Preliminary data analysis of teacher questionnaire 30/5/99 and student questionnaire • Press release of the international results 22/11/99 • Release of first national report for the H K Study 11/12/99 • Seminar for teachers and principals on implementing 11/12/99 ICT in school • Disseminate the full report to schools 31/1/2000 • In-depth interviews and field observations 31/1/2000 in the case study schools • Development of two booklets and two videos 1/5/2000 Back to Content International Component

15. International Component This study comprises 2 surveys - a principals’ survey and an ICT coordinators’ survey

16. International Component Aims • describe the status of Information and Communications Technology (ICT) in 26 countries/ regions • collect information on the application of information and communication technology (ICT) in school education for international comparison • investigating how teachers and students use ICT in teaching and learning both in school and at home, as well as their self-evaluation of their own ICT competence • Provide a basis for in-depth discussion of the development of ICT in education in Hong Kong

17. Belgium-French Bulgaria Canada China Hong Kong Chinese Taipei Cyprus Czech Republic Denmark Finland France Participating Countries/Regions International Component • Hungary • Iceland • Israel • Italy • Japan • Latvia • Lithuania • Luxembourg • New Zealand • Norway • Russian • Federation • Singapore • Slovenia • Slovak Republic • South Africa • Thailand

18. Population 1 The three grades containing the most students of the target age (aged 10 in the eighth month of the school year) Population 2 The three grades containing the most students of the target age (aged 14 in the eighth month of the school year) Population 3 The final year of secondary school education International Component Population definition Back to Content Local Extension

19. Local Extension • It is inevitable that in such a large-scale international study, different countries are in different stages of development and have different concern. The local extension aims to provide support to schools and teachers in their efforts to integrate IT into the school curriculum • It comprises two components: survey and case studies

20. Survey of teachers Local Extension and students Aims: • Study the consistency/diversity of beliefs and perceptions between school leadership, teachers, IT coordinators & students • Find out the diversity in levels of IT literacy amongst teachers, amongst students and differences in profile between these two groups

21. Case Studies of Local Extension Good Practices Aims: • Conduct in-depth 15 case studies (10 for secondary school level and 5 for primary school level) • Establish local models of IT use that can act as plausible models for other schools • Produce school and teacher professional development resource materials to disseminate good practices • Study factors contributing to successful implementation Back to Content Key Findings

22. Key Findings ICT-related Curriculum Goals & Pedagogical Practice Paradigms • Many countries have already drawn up their master plans for the development of ICT in education, the emphasis of which is to develop in the younger generation the competencies required of citizens of the information era. This includes: the capabilities for life-long learning, (such as taking control of one's own learning, setting one's own learning goals and paths, and monitoring learning progress), the ability to undertake autonomous learning and to engage in open-ended learning tasks which involve collaboration and communication with peers and experts. • New pedagogical practices, such as innovative ways of organizing classroom learning, new roles for teachers and improved evaluation procedures are hence indispensable for the attainment of these new goals.

23. Pedagogical Practices Focusing on Autonomous Learning of Students Key Findings Average values on an indicator of pedagogical practices focusing on autonomous learning for lower secondary students in some countries

24. Key Findings Student-Centered Pedagogical Practice 1.Present situation (Primary) 2.Present situation (Secondary) 3.Realized via ICT (Primary) 4.Realized via ICT (Secondary) Percentage maximum medium Median minimum The present situation of secondary and primary schools in HK adopting ‘student-centered pedagogical practice’ and the situation realized through the use of ICT

25. Key Findings ICT in Education & Pedagogical Practice Paradigm Shift • Both in Hong Kong and across all countries, the prevalence of emerging pedagogical practices in classes using ICT is higher than that in other classes, indicating a promising beginning of a pedagogical paradigm shift. • Large dispersions, however, are found among Hong Kong schools regarding the prevalence of ICT-realized pedagogical practices. • Better communication and coordination among schools regarding the use of ICT in teaching and learning will expedite the paradigm shift in pedagogical practices.

26. Key Findings Infrastructure Median of student:computer ratios in lower secondary schools Average percentage of multimedia computers in lower secondary schools

27. Key Findings Internet/WWW & E-Mail Percentage of lower secondary schools with instructional use of Internet/WWW and percentage where more than 50% of students would have used e-mail

28. Key Findings Software Provisions & Pedagogical Applications • The majority of school principals and technology coordinators consider the lack of teaching and learning software the main obstacle in promoting the use of ICT in education. • Compared to other countries, Hong Kong schools have less variety in their provision of computer software, most of which were designed for general use instead of subject-specific teaching purposes. • Among the primary and secondary school teachers surveyed, less than 10% have conducted computer-mediated learning activities in either computer rooms or classrooms.

29. Key Findings Correlation between Student:Computer Ratio & Emerging Pedagogical Paradigm It is found that there is no significant correlation between: 1. Student:computer ratio and emerging pedagogical practices in schools ( r = 0.00 p = 0.991) 2. Student: computer ratio and teachers’ attitude towards making use of ICT to implement emerging pedagogical practices with ICT ( r = 0.122 p=0.188)

30. Key Findings Staff Development Percentage of lower secondary school principals reporting that teachers lack ICT-knowledge Percentage of lower secondary school principals reporting that all teachers had received training in the use of ICT

31. Key Findings Staff Development • Most school principals point out that teachers' lack of ICT knowledge and training are the major barriers to ICT development in schools. In addition, over half of the technology coordinators considered the low quality of the existing ICT training provision for teachers at primary, junior lower secondary and upper secondary schools the main obstacles to ICT development. • The research also finds that most teacher training courses focus on basic computer operations rather than advanced computer skills and subject-specific pedagogical applications. • Training most requested by over half of the teachers included using multimedia in teaching, word processing, designing and writing software, indicating teachers' preference for using ICT as a teachers’ tool.

32. Key Findings Strategies for the Implementation of ICT in Schools • The most common component in the ICT policy of the schools in Hong Kong concerns staff training and development. Items like Internet policy and equity of access to computers in primary schools, and policies related to the application of ICT in teaching for the current and future school year in secondary schools were less found in Hong Kong than other countries.

33. Key Findings Organization of ICT Coordination in Schools • Only 7% of primary schools and 9% of secondary schools revealed that they did not have any one responsible for the coordination of ICT in their schools • More than 48% of the principals indicated the presence of an IT coordinating team consisting of an average of five members in their school. 12% of the surveyed principals also reported the involvement of school principals or other senior administrative personnel in the coordination of IT in their schools. Furthermore, the employment of a full-time technology coordinator was reported by 15% of primary school principals and 8.4% of their secondary counterparts.

34. Key Findings Computer Ownership at Home maximum Median minimum The percentage of teachers and students owning computers

35. Key Findings Computer Ownership at Home • There is a strong correlation between teachers’ ownership of computers at home and their uses of computers in teaching. • There is a significant correlation between teachers’ and students’ ownership of computers at home and their self-proclaimed ICT competence.

36. Key Findings Ways of Seeking Help • The higher the grade level, the greater was the proportion of students seeking help from the Internet and media, and a correspondingly lower proportion who would ask teachers or parents for assistance. • 6% of the P6, 11% of the S2, 17% of the S4 and 21% of the S6 students would resort to the Internet for help when encountering difficulties, and the ratio of such students was much higher than that of their teachers (only 5%), implicating that students have developed a stronger inclination to acquire knowledge from the Internet. Back to Content Recommendations

37. Recommendations

38. Education System Level School Level Individual Level Policies on * networked IT rich environment for education * professional development * research and resources development * change in curriculum and assessment * implementation plan * monitoring & review mechanisms POLICIES & STRATGIES School governance School policy Execution structure Monitoring & evaluation School management Monitoring & evaluation Monitoring & evaluation LEARNING OUTCOMES *Cognitive *Affective IMPLEMENTATION Curriculum & assessment factors *curriculum goals *curriculum content *curriculum methods *assessment goals *assessment methods School implementation factors *physical & technological infrastructure *teaching & learning resources *teachers’ vision & expertise Family & personal factors *social economical background *personal SUPPORT from *SAR Government *PTAs *schools *universities *private sector *voluntary agencies *professional organizations *publicly funded organizations *community centres & public libraries A Systems Model of Leadership for IT in Education

39. In order to bring about the emerging pedagogical paradigm, a major curriculum reform is in fact necessary. It is thus very opportune that the Hong Kong Education Commission is undertaking a major curriculum review of the entire school curriculum with the key goal of developing the life-long learning abilities of the younger generation. We recommend that the curriculum review should take into account the role that ICT should play in the reformed curriculum. We recommend that both in the conceptualization of the intended curriculum as well as in the provision of support for implementation, the integration of ICT should be a key consideration on the agenda. Recommendations Curriculum Education System Level

40. Recommendations Curriculum School Level All Schools should be required to development explicit ICT policies and implementation plans to ensure that all students have the opportunities to benefit form the use of ICT in their learning. The schools that are more advanced in using ICT for emerging practices should be encouraged and supported to share their experiences in order to speed up the process of school based curriculum change.

41. We recommend that the pace of improving ICT infrastructure provisions in schools be accelerated so that Hong Kong can reach the international average as soon as possible. In particular, the networking and internet facilities should be a major priority as this is crucial for conducting learning activities involving the emergent paradigm. Physical, Technological & Information Infrastructure Recommendations Education System Level

42. Great care must be taken to ensure that the software so developed would not be designed to support the traditionally important paradigm but rather the emerging paradigm. Some tertiary institutions and more recently the Education Department have developed on-line databases and networks to provide curriculum resources to teachers as well as support teacher collaboration. However, how such networks can promote the emerging paradigm shift should be seriously looked into. Physical, Technological & Information Infrastructure Recommendations Education System Level

43. Attention should be given to the installation of computers in normal classrooms and other curriculum rooms so that students have easy access to them for various learning activities during the school day. Physical, Technological & Information Infrastructure Recommendations School Level

44. Staff development programs should focus on ways of organizing teaching and learning activities that makes use of ICT tools to bring about the development of the kind of learning outcomes required for life-long learning. Training should help teachers to understand and make their role change that is required to realize the emerging paradigm. Recommendations Staff Development Education System Level

45. Staff development programs should incorporate examples and case studies of actual ICT implementations where the technology empowers the learner and brings about students-centred learning. Staff development should foster the collaborative culture among teachers and the formation of an ICT-mediated and ICT-enabled teacher professional communities. Recommendations Staff Development Education System Level

46. Staff development should be tightly coupled with efforts to develop school-based ICT development policies and plans and to bring about the kind of institutional change Staff development should be coupled with encouragement and support for developing a collaborative culture amongst teachers. Recommendations Staff Development School Level

47. Schools should be guided and supported (possibly through staff development provisions) to develop such policies and plans that can take account of the school’s specific contexts and be able to keep the goal of eventually bringing about a paradigm shift through the use of ICT in the school curriculum. Professional development programs should be organized specifically for school principals in order to help them take up the challenge of taking on a leadership role in the information age. School Policies & Organizational Support Recommendations Education System Level

48. There is no indication that schools with good ICT provisions have a greater inclination to using ICT for emerging practices. Proper monitoring, evaluation and pedagogical guidance and staff development support should be given so that the resources and efforts would not be wasted. Mechanisms should be set up to facilitate sharing between schools so that schools can learn through each other’s successes and failures, accelerating education developments in Hong Kong. Effective sharing will narrow the widening gap between schools, accelerating institutional renewal in the process. School Policies & Organizational Support Recommendations Education System Level & School Level

49. Government and schools are recommended to put more resources to address the inequity issue. For example, government can consider the provision of a computer purchasing subsidy scheme for the economically less favored students, providing more computer and Internet accesses for students in community centres, public libraries or youth centres. As the inequity is not confined to the issue of access, various forms of community-based support should be established to provide technical and learning facilitation support to students who come from deprived family backgrounds. 。 Home & Community Support Recommendations Education System Level & School Level Schools can consider opening the schoolcomputer facilitiesfor student access at night.

50. Government should set up monitoring and evaluation mechanism to accelerate education developments in Hong Kong. The implementation of IT in Education should be founded on educational research. Government should encourage and support different levels of educational research, such as basic research on learning,experimental research on educational outcomes, and program evaluation research. While Hong Kong is a late starter in the use of ICT for teaching and learning across the curriculum, our ability to pursue a fast course of development that lead to our desired vision relies critically on our ability to continually evaluate and learn from our efforts so that we stay on an effective course in the right direction. Recommendations Research andEvaluation Education System Level Back to Content Conclusion