Strategy for IT in schools needed
In the article "No need for a national school strategy", CS 16/3 -12, State Secretary Bertil Östberg (FP) dismisses the need. It is a depressing sign that Anna-Karin Hatt's ambitions do not have the support in the government that is necessary to achieve the government's goal: Sweden should be the world's best at using the opportunities of digitization.
If the government believes and considers that the use of IT as a tool in schools is a matter for the school principals, the municipalities, and that the government has no strategic responsibility for pursuing the issue, one cannot come to any other conclusion than that the government is abdicating its responsibility for a fundamental part of school policy: how should schools take advantage of the opportunities that IT and the Internet provide for better pedagogy, more efficient administration, better contact between school and home, and students' preparation for adult and professional life.
In response to a question about the requirement for a national IT strategy, State Secretary Bertil Östberg said: "We have updated the curricula, which also include IT". On the one hand, this only applies to certain subjects, and on the other hand, this is not the point of a strategy. The point is to highlight how IT should be used as a tool for pedagogy, administration and teacher support in today's digitalized society.
The Government's Digital Agenda for Sweden (page 33) provides important clarifications on the strategic issues that need to be addressed, as examples of points in a strategy. It is not about how curricula are designed.
Mr. Östberg also says that it is not the government's responsibility to provide teachers with modern tools. That is indeed the responsibility of the municipalities. But the government has clear expectations of municipalities regarding schools in many other contexts.
One of the cornerstones of the policy is to raise the status of the teaching profession. Isn't the teachers' working environment and access to modern computer support an important part of this work?
"It can be a part - in a way of raising the competence of teachers - as a way of making teaching interesting," says the Secretary of State.
Wrong, wrong, wrong. This is not about making education interesting. It's about making teaching in Swedish schools - where pupils are prepared for their adult lives - so good that Sweden becomes a leading school nation. Then IT is an integral part of the school's activities, not a distraction.
One might ask how this attitude contributes to the goal of Sweden being the world's best at using the opportunities of digitization?
Anna-Karin Hatt says that the Digital Agenda is a tool for coordinating the government's efforts and measures in the IT area. Isn't the Ministry of Education, headed by Jan Björklund, part of the government?
Achieving the government's overall goal of a world-class IT Sweden requires a national strategy for IT in schools. Now is the time.
Mikael von Otter, Industry Policy Expert IT&Telecom