Comparative Analysis of Policies for ICT in Education

Abstract

National policies and programs can be an important tool for the realization of ICTs promise in education and some of their major components are the focus of this chapter. The chapter presents a framework of alternative rationales and program components that can be used by researchers and policymakers to analyze, formulate, revise, and compare national ICT efforts. The framework consists of four alternative policy rationales-or “strategic” policy positions-and five components of ICT programs, or “operational” policies. Strategic and operational policies of various countries are used to illustrate these rationales and components. The chapter concludes with recommendations that countries can use when formulating or updating their educational ICT plans.