Becta releases Harnessing Technology schools survey 2008
Reduction in number of schools turning to Local Authorities for advice
The Harnessing Technology schools survey is an annual, nationally representative survey intended to assess the uptake and use of ICT in schools across England. It aims both to give a broad overview of the 'state of the nation' of use of ICT in the school sector, and explore, and further clarify, what it means for educational institutions, notably schools, to be 'e-mature'. The focus of the survey is particularly wide, with topics including ICT leadership, infrastructure and impact on learning and teaching.
The 2008 survey, which followed on from the Harnessing Technology
schools survey 2007, was conducted on behalf of Becta by the National
Foundation for Educational Research (NFER). It employed questionnaires
for three target groups (school leaders, ICT co-ordinators and subject
teachers) and data collection ran from December 2007 to January 2008.
An innovation to the 2007 survey was that special schools were included
in the sample, in addition to primary and secondary schools. 
The overall picture emerging from the survey is that while ICT equipment for learning and teaching is to an increasing extent in place in schools, efforts to fully exploit these affordances would now be a valuable next step.
Specific findings include the following:
Average numbers of interactive whiteboards in schools have considerably
risen since last year. The average numbers of interactive whiteboards
rose in both primary schools (18 compared with just over six in 2005,
and eight in the 2007 survey) and secondary schools (38, compared with
18 in 2005 and 22 in 2007). The fitness for purpose of interactive
whiteboards is also rated very positively in all sectors.
There
was also some improvement in computer to pupil ratios. In primary
schools in 2008, there was an average of 13.9 pupils to every desktop
computer and an average of 31.8 pupils for every laptop. In secondary
schools, there were on average of 4.3 pupils for every desktop
computer, but an average of 61.4 pupils for every laptop.
Schools' use of learning platforms is increasing. In all sectors, the
percentages of schools with learning platforms had increased from 2007,
with secondary schools experiencing the biggest increase. The most
common uses for a learning platform were, firstly, as a repository for
documents for learning and teaching and, secondly, as a store for
digital learning resources.
Nonetheless, the integration of technology into educational delivery in
many schools may still be improved. There is, for example, scope for
the development of the use of social software for learning; at present,
social software is reportedly used for learning in only one in 20
schools.
In terms of strategy, improving communication with parents remained a
high priority for around one-third of primary schools and just under
half of secondary schools. Using technology for personalising learning
was a priority area for 40 per cent of secondary schools in 2008
compared with one-quarter of primary schools.
For the purposes of support and advice, local authorities still seem of
paramount importance for schools. This was true across each of the
three school sectors. However, there was a reduction in the proportion
of schools using their local authorities for information and advice
compared with a year ago. The 2007 survey found that 94 per cent of
primary schools and 83 per cent of secondary schools used their local
authorities for accessing information and advice, compared with 69 per
cent of primary schools and 60 per cent of secondary schools in 2008.
Teachers were largely positive about the potential contribution of new
technologies to learning. For example, around three-fifths of teacher
respondents agreed with the statement that pupils enjoy lessons more if
they use ICT than if they do not.
Findings indicate that home access is by no means universal. According
to school leaders' estimates, the average proportion of pupils across
the three school sectors who did not have home access to a computer was
30 per cent. ICT co-ordinators were also asked whether their schools
had a home access scheme, and 4 per cent of them in primary schools
reported having this, compared with 17 per cent of respondents in
secondary schools and 5 per cent in special schools.
School leaders across all sectors were asked what they thought would
happen over the next 12 months regarding home access to computers. The
majority of school leader respondents (ie 58 per cent) took the view
that the proportion of pupils with home access will increase slightly
in the next 12 months, with around a quarter indicating that it will
stay about the same.
To access the report please click here
