TY  - UNPB
ID  - discovery10020368
AV  - restricted
A1  - Vavouraki, Evgenia Agapi.
EP  - 308
Y1  - 2001///
UR  - http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.391129
N2  - The study explores the process of the introduction of computers into education as an
educational innovation.
The thesis distinguishes two fundamental categories of computer use in schools (IT and
ITE), and identifies the different rationales for their initiation at a national level, and the different
objectives they reflect at the school level. It also provides a conceptual framework to explore the
process of the innovation. It identifies the value that the computer use represents and the
complexity it involves as the main factors that influence its initiation into education. Moreover, it
explores the ways in which the meaning of the computer use as well as the context of its
implementation influence the computer use. The cases of England and Germany illustrate the
theoretical considerations of the thesis.
The case study of the introduction of computers into Greek general education attempts to
capture the complexity of the process as shaped by the characteristics of computer use and by the
specific Greek context. The Greek case study confirms that the value and the complexity of
computer use influence its initiation. However, it shows that their codification depends on the
specific characteristics of an educational system, the priorities of a country, and its infrastructure. It
indicates that the interrelations of these factors at particular points in time, is more important than
the factors themselves. It stresses the high levels of technical complexity of the particular
innovation. It indicates, however, that a highly centralised bureaucratic educational system can not
easily cope with this issue, while more flexible schemata are needed to combine local initiatives with
centralised support.
Next, it shows that the meaning of computer use is perceived differently by participants and
is shaped in the transition from policy to implementation. It demonstrates how policy documents are
often contradictory to each other, creating a lack of clarity about the meaning of the attempted
computer use. Additionally, the study illustrates that the proposed computer use is not always
implemented the way its initiators envisaged it. It suggests that the reasons for discrepancies may
differ among educational systems. In the Greek case study discrepancies were due to a lack of
clarity in meaning, as well as to a lack of resources. Moreover, the infrastructure provided by the
Greek prescriptive educational system to support the implementation of IT did not encourage
initiatives on behalf of the teachers.
Finally, the case study points that although the fast evolution of technology requires flexible
procedures to keep up with change, it also stresses the importance of continuity. Therefore, flexible
management structures need to co-exist with long term plans.
M1  - Doctoral
PB  - Institute of Education, University of London
TI  - Introducing computers into education : a case study of the Greek situation.
N1  - Thesis: (PhD) University of London Institute of Education, 2001.
ER  -