“Will investment in ICT/Digital technologies raise standards?” The wrong question?, Bob Harrison Reports, December 2011

Will investment in ICT/Digital technologies raise standards?” The wrong question?

When Kenneth Baker, the first Minister for Information Technology in 1981, became Secretary of State for Education in 1986 and the first to recognise the need for investment in ICT for schools, he approached the Treasury for investment. 

Unfortunately and unwittingly he based his request on a “false premise” which has haunted his successors and continues to distort the debate about learning and the use of digital technologies to this day.

You can imagine his conversation with the then Chancellor of the Exchequer, or more likely a conversation between two Yes, Minister civil servants:

“So Ken, you want how much? … HOW MUCH? That’s an awful lot of taxpayers' money you know… and what will we get in return…improvements?  … I should say old chap….a rise in standards is the least we will expect?”

And here comes the crunch and the root of our current problem which so irritated Karen Cator at the ALT conference this year, as covered on Agent4Change.

Instead of Sir Humphrey from the DfE  responding with “I am sorry, that is the wrong question”, he was so desperate to get the money and please his boss he replied  “Of course…raised standards of attainment and achievement…otherwise why would we be asking!”

The precedent was set and consequently every financial negotiation between education and the treasury which has had the letters ICT in it has been predicated on the false assumption that investment in technology will automatically raise educational outcomes.  Plainly, with hindsight, and a wealth of research under the bridge, that is just WRONG! And this debate has continued to bedevil and distract from the real question, as asked by many including the New York Times.

In his defence, Baker could not possibly have foreseen at that time the innovations and advances in technology that have impacted on society in recent years. Who could? But why is the education system so slow to catch up with the rest of our digital lives and get the real value from the technologies which we take for granted in everything else we do as human beings and digital citizens?

Sadly some of us still remember the days of overhead projectors, VHS video, Banda machines, (oh the smell comes back to me now) and the excitement of unpacking the boxes of the shiny new BBC micro, ZX Spectrums, Tandy TRS 80 and RM 380Z’s. But we didn’t know a deal had been done with the standards devil and it would haunt us and all future generations of teachers, lecturers and policy makers across all education sectors.

Of course there is abundant evidence (sadly much of it is archived now since the closure of Becta) here in the UK, at the OECD and in the USA that investment in ICT/Digital technologies will have an impact on teaching and learning.  But evidence of a causal link between investment in ICT and better SATS, GCSE, AS or A level or any other test results is more difficult to track down.

This Government has been reluctant to acknowledge that technology might improve education. Recently however there is a glimmer of light in Michael Gove’s epiphany, illustrated by his speech at The Schools Network annual conference and an interview with the pupils from Catmose College, Rutland (again covered on Agent4Change).

But do we need to be alert to Baker's false premise and attempt to ensure it is not still driving the agenda?

Kenneth Baker can be congratulated for his endeavour, which incidentally he continues to pursue to this day in his work with UTCs, but he could not have foreseen the developments of the world wide web, the age of Google and Microsoft, let alone Facebook, Twitter, virtual reality and Skype. Nor could he, or we,  predict how soon we will have paperless, wireless, no handwriting, voice recognition, learning analytical, online anytime assessment schools (real and virtual) in the future.

So what should the question be? How about:

“What will be the cost if we do not invest in our children to ensure they are able to survive and thrive as a digital citizen and contribute to the world constructively, collaboratively and economically?

What would your response to the treasury question be?

Bob Harrison is a teacher, former Principal and currently a School and College Governor. He is a consultant to the National College and Education Advisor, Toshiba Information Systems (UK) Ltd, the sponsor of the Nottingham University Technical College, which will specialise in STEM subjects and Digital technology.  He can be contacted on www.setuk.co.uk you can follow him on twitter as @bobharrisonset