ICT in European schools: emerging issues from the ValNet project

Abstract

The introduction of ICT into schools represents one of the largest and most complex curriculum innovations that has ever been attempted. This article reports on the progress to date of one European initiative (the ValNet project) that sets out to analyse some of these complexities. The article considers these questions: How is the introduction of ICT being seen at the OECD and EU levels? What does the ValNet work to date reveal about how the introduction of ICT is perceived at national level? What light do the ValNet reports throw upon how the introduction of ICT is being planned and implemented at city and regional level? What future problems and possibilities are indicated by the findings to date? The picture that emerges is a curriculum innovation where new developments can originate at school, local community, regional, national or European levels and be disseminated to other schools through a variety of routes. It is unclear whether the communications network that allows this dissemination will eventually link nearly all European schools or only a minority of them, but either outcome will make new organizational demands upon the existing and very different national approaches to curriculum planning and control within Europe.