Educational Policies: An International Overview

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NOT FOR QUOTATIOX WITHOUT THE PERMISSION OF THE AUTHOR

EDUCATIONAL POLICES:

AN

INTEKNATIONN,

OVERVIEW*

R b o r Vasko

O c t o b e r 1985 WP-85-65

* P a p e r submitted t o c o n f e r e n c e "Kinder, Computer a n d Bildung" 22-24 O c t o b e r 1985, Vienna, Austria.

This p a p e r is b a s e d o n t h e r e s u l t s of a n I n t e r n a t i o n a l C o n f e r e n c e a n d Exhibition held in V a r n a , Bulgaria. 6-9 May 1985

W o r k i n g P a p e r s are interim r e p o r t s o n work of t h e I n t e r n a t i o n a l I n s t i t u t e for Appiied Systems Anaiysis a n d h a v e r e c e i v e d only limited review. Views or opinions e x p r e s s e d h e r e i n d o n o t n e c e s s a r i l y r e p r e s e n t t h o s e of t h e I n s t i t u t e o r of i t s National Member Organizations.

INTERNATIONAL INSTITUTE FOR APPLIED SYSTEMS ANALYSIS 2 3 6 1 L a x e n b u r g , Austria

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EDUCATIONAL POUCIES:

AN

lhTTERNPiTIONAL OVERVIEW*

R b o r Vasko

INTRODUCTIOK

The process of education is a s old as t h e human race. All through human his- tory this p r o c e s s h a s become increasingly formalized and socialized (one milestone being, f o r example, t h e introduction of compulsory education). These s t e p s made t h e responsibility of education f o r t h e f u t u r e of t h e whole society (a Nation) more explicit. In spite of t h e fact t h a t this responsibility h a s not been questioned f o r centuries, t h e r e a r e many very r e c e n t documents monitoring t h e disquieting state of t h e educational p r o c e s s which may not fulfill this responsibility. These signals a r e coming even from countries which devote considerable r e s o u r c e s t o education.

Because of i t s importance, education is a n inherent p a r t of development s t r a - tegies in most countries, industrially developed o r developing. Appropriate institutions (ministries) are designing policies aiming t o influence t h e behavior of individual a c t o r s in education processes in t h e desired direction. The efficiency of individuai measures taken in achieving t h e selected objectives i s difficult t o predict because t h e educational p r o c e s s at l a r g e i s a complex social phenomenon where s e v e r a l disciplines a r e involved. The resulting semantic and methodological differences make i t sometimes difficult t o achieve a fruitful communication through interdisciplinary b a r r i e r s . Because cultural f a c t o r s are also involved cross- national, cross-cultural and comparative studies might bring a specific insight into t h e process. This by no means proves t h a t one could easily t r a n s f e r experience from one country t o another.

SOURCES OF MCREASED INTEREST IN EDUCATION

One long-term s o u r c e of growing i n t e r e s t in modern education is c r e a t e d by even f a s t e r scientific and technological development. With a n increased amount of information circulating in t h e national economy and in modern products as pro- ponents of "information society" point out t h e knowledge t o handle t h e information by computers i s considered particularly important.

More generally speaking t h e importance of a n educated labor f o r c e h a s been known f o r centuries, but more e x a c t explorations made by Denison (1962) conclud- ed f o r t h e USA using methods which became known a s "growth accounting" t h a t :

Increased education is not only one of t h e l a r g e s t s o u r c e s of p a s t and prospective economic growth. I t also is among t h e elements most subject t o conscious social decision.

Five y e a r s l a t e r t h e study was r e p e a t e d f o r Europe and r e a c h e d a similar conclusion (Denison 1967):

The increase in education h a s been a principal s o u r c e of growth in t h e United S t a t e s and i t i s important t o know t h a t European countries have not been achieving more rapid growth by raising t h e education of t h e la-

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b o r f o r c e more rapidly.

More r e c e n t l y Drs. Millendorfer and Hussain (1985) t r i e d t o c o r r e l a t e t h e la- b o r f o r c e qualification by means of neoclassical production function and as t h e y ciaim ( s e e Figure 1) received a reasonable c o r r e l a t i o n between t h e economic growth (in GDP/capita) and qualification of t h e l a b o r index (including developing countries), even if w e neglect t h e time lag between t h e causal f a c t o r s . Recent economic decline only i n c r e a s e d t h i s challenge. I a m inclined t o call t h e s e a "pull"

f a c t o r s .

T h e r e are valid even more f o r modern technologies. A f t e r s e r i o u s studies S o e t e and Freeman (1984) e x p r e s s e d important views t h a t education and training in a high technology environment are sometimes a more important ("intangible") investment t h a n t h e physical capital investment and should not b e considered as con- sumption o r c u r r e n t cost.

Out of curiosity I cannot avoid a quote f r o m t h e e a r l y work of K. Marx made around 1857 when h e wrote r e f e r r i n g t o t h e i n c r e a s e of t h e free time of t h e society: "The savings of work-time is equal t o i n c r e a s e in free-time, i.e. time f o r full development of an individuai, who acts back on t h e productivity of l a b o r as t h e g r e a t e s t productive force. H e can b e considered from t h e point of view of immedi- ate production p r o c e s s as production of capital f i x e ; t h i s capital is t h e man him- self." (Translation and italics a r e mine).

Among "push" f a c t o r s one c a n include influences of t h e f a c t t h a t r e s o u r c e s devoted to education are l a r g e and in some national institutions managing public funds are predominant. Higher expenses t h e n f o r g e n e r a l education are r e c o r d e d f o r vocational training. Authorities responsible for education often s t r i v e t o de- crease t h o s e r e s o u r c e s and y e t t o m e e t t h e increasing requirements. This is a n o t h e r f a c t o r pushing innovation into t h e education p r o c e s s .

Educational policies have t o deal with i n t r i c a t e economic, political, manageri- a l , and technical problems where t h e introduction of computers i s only one issue among many o t h e r s . To i l l u s t r a t e i t I would like to mention a most r e c e n t i n t e r e s t - ing study of educational policies of seven countries (Hough, J.R., 1984) where no one expiicitly mentions t h e introduction of computers.

SOME POLICY RESPONSES

. A fragmented overview of some policy r e s p o n s e s of d i f f e r e n t c o u n t r i e s is out- lined in t h e following p a r a g r a p h s .

UNITED STATES OF

AMERICA

In t h e USA pioneering e f f o r t s in computer applications have been developed and a c l e a r vision of applying computers t o education have been pursued.

Numerous studies s u p p o r t e d by t h e government (US Office of Education, National Science Foundation) and s e v e r a l foundations (Exxon, Sloan) have t r i e d t o make t h i s vision a reality.

A t t h e same time opposing views were voiced arguing t h a t computers are ex- pensive gadgets which d o not i n c r e a s e t h e quality of education. What is more, r i - gidly programmed machines may lead t o idiosyncrasies and c a u s e t e a c h e r s t o s e l e c t only those problems which can b e comfortably t a u g h t by computers.

In 1984 i t w a s estimated t h a t t h e number of microcomputers in American schools w a s o v e r 630,000 which could b e taken as a n indication t h a t virtually e v e r y school in t h e USA had a microcomputer (in t h e USA t h e r e are 83,334 public and 21,749 p r i v a t e schools, and 3,453 colleges). A more r e c e n t estimate (Clark 1985)

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D i a g r .

1: Q u s L E i c a t m n

^of

labour irriex

ag~sinst

real

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Figure 1. (Source: Millendorf e r and Hussain, 1985)

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showed t h a t t h e s e computers were allocated t o approximately 7 5 p e r c e n t of scnool buildings. However, t h e aistribution of computers in schools is not uniform all o v e r t h e country. In s p i t e of this number of computers t h e r e is no overall policy of computer applications, though t h e r e are some measures t a k e n t o enhance t h e computerization of schools ( f o r example, a 25 p e r c e n t t a x write-off is available f o r equipment supplied t o colleges).

The distribution of computers depends on individual s t a t e s as t h e state is responsible f o r education. F o r example, in Minnesota t h e r e w a s one computer f o r e v e r y 50 children (in 1983). There are states where only 50 p e r c e n t of t h e schools have computers. On t h e o t h e r hand, f o r example, in California because of t h e pos- sibility f o r t a x deductions, p r o d u c e r s donated 13,000 microcomputers t o schools

(in 1983). The situation i s d i f f e r e n t f o r university education, where some universi- t i e s a l r e a d y r e q u i r e t h a t a student owns a microcomputer and o t h e r s are t o follow soon. Some of t h e s e universities e x p e c t t o interconnect microcomputers into net- works ( R e r e i t e r 1983). However, in g e n e r a l , affluent children in t h e USA find more home s u p p o r t f o r microcomputers than in many o t h e r countries.

There a r e excellent analytical studies depicting t h e r e a l impact of computer based education at college level in t h e USA (Kulik, Kulik, Cohen, 1980).

CANADA

A s education is t h e responsibility of provincial governments t h e policy may d i f f e r from province t o province. In 1984 a n interesting experiment w a s s t a r t e d in Manito'oa Province. S e v e r a l aepartments jointly established t h e Manitoba Educa- tional Technology Program (ETP). This program h a s t h r e e aims (Prokopanko 1985):

t o e n s u r e access t o new information technology, t o s u p p o r t curriculum and professional development,

t o stimulate t h e development of courseware f o r t h e use and needs of t h e national and international markets.

An Educational Technology Resource Center w a s established t o coordinate:

centralized h a r d w a r e purchasing,

responsibility f o r promotional courseware licensing, network distribution f o r Manitoba schools.

To fulfill i t s functions t h e c e n t e r is equipped with t h e most up t o d a t e hardware, courseware, and s u p p o r t s t a f f . It a l s o acts as a preview c e n t e r .

Applying computers t o education is a p a r t of national s t r a t e g y in Japan denot- e d by t h e t e r m "Information Society" (Masuda 1972). P a r t of t h i s p r o j e c t w a s a Computer-Oriented Education in a n Experimental School District (cost $266 million). This plan conceived of conducting computer-oriented education in p r e - school, k i n d e r g a r t e n , primary school, junior and s e n i o r high schools, university playing a c e n t r a l r o l e . The plan includes rationalization of school office work, a n iridiviaual education guidance system, computer-oriented education, and a n educational science r e s e a r c h c e n t e r . The p r o j e c t planned t o help solve problems con- cerning f u t u r e computer-oriented education, measuring t h e educational e f f e c t of t h e intelligence network, planning a s t a n d a r d education system, and developing a new indiviaual educational system. I t w a s conceived as a n experiment, permitting

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objective scientific d a t a collection and analysis of d i f f e r e n c e s between t h e computer-oriented, p r i v a t e instruction, problem-solving t y p e of educational sys- t e m and t h e contemporary group uniform education system.

In t h e e a r l y s t a g e s , a computer-aided instruction (CAI) system model classroom h a s been t e s t e d in primary schools under t h e direction of Tsukuba Universi- t y ; training programs in computer operation and programming were begun in public commercial high schools. But Japanese children are a l r e a d y in c o n t a c t with com- p u t e r s when t h e y a t t e n d k i n d e r g a r t e n s , which t h e y a t t e n d until t h e y r e a c h t h e a g e of five (in Japan t h e r e are 14,893 kindergartens). From five until 1 2 y e a r s of a g e t h e y a t t e n d elementary schools amounting t o 24,945). This i s followed by lower secondary schools (10,780) and t h e n by u p p e r secondary schools. Ninety p e r c e n t of t h e population continue t h e i r education until t h e a g e of 18. In Japan t h e state- r u n schooling follows a national curriculum and p r i v a t e schools provide education t o 7 p e r c e n t of t h e population.

I t i s claimed t h a t no o t h e r nation's children devote s o much time t o computers as Japanese children. However, i t is a l s o claimed t h a t , f o r example, even if a l l Upper Secondary Schools in Japan have computers, only 2 p e r c e n t of t h e s e schools have more t h a n 20 computers, e.g. in e v e r y classroom (Shiba 1985). Some c r i t i c a l comments have pointed out t h a t education in Japan h a s been t o o application orient- e d , not fostering c r e a t i v e , logical and philosophical thinking. To remedy t h i s i s one of t h e t a s k s of t h e new, almost legendary, fifth generation computer p r o j e c t in Japan. Also a n a d hoc committee h a s been established, under t h e supervision of t h e Prime Minister, with t h e t a s k t o draw a plan f o r basic changes in t h e education- a l system. F i r s t findings indicate a t r e n d into individualization, internationaliza- tion, elimination of "gakureki shakai", and a common test scheme, etc. (Japan Times, April 2 5 1985, p . 3).

FRANCE

The French National Experiment in Educational Computing s t a r t e d in October 1970 but initially focused on secondary education. F r a n c e i s a l s o following a national curriculum, which h a s t h e advantage of a coordinated a p p r o a c h with r e l a t e d education of t e a c h e r s . One of t h e r e c e n t schemes assumes 10,000 computers in Ly- cees. The s t a n d a r d of t h e f u t u r e is eight computers and a p r i n t e r in e a c h classroom.

FEDERAL REPUBLIC OF

GERMANY

A s education is not a f e d e r a l issue i t s policy i s handled by individual states, which allows f o r regional differences. I t i s r e p o r t e d t h a t Bavaria h a s gone f u r t h e s t toward computer l i t e r a c y and compulsory informatics in t h e lower Secon- d a r y level. All gymnasiums with mathematical orientation are offering 28 h o u r s of informatics in t h e 1 0 t h c l a s s within mathematics. Special programs f o r t e a c h e r education have been initiated f o r elementary schools (Grund and Hauptschulen), gymnasiums (5-13th school y e a r ) and vocational schools. T h e r e are (in Bavaria, f o r example) 3-4 microcomputers in o n e classroom.

Computerization i s relatively slowly finding a foothold in educational policy f o r s e v e r a l r e a s o n s

-

o n e r e a s o n is t h a t t h e complicated p r o c e d u r e s , g e n e r a t e d by t h e complicated s t r u c t u r e , only slowly muddle through t h e n e c e s s a r y s t e p s ( t e a c h e r training, curriculum development, etc.). (Gorny 1983).

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UNITED KINGDOM

The National Development Programme in Computer-Assisted Learning began a sustained effort in 1973 in t h e United Kingdom, with a modest budget of 2 million pounds sterling. In 1982 a new schemed (3 million pounds sterling) w a s s t a r t e d to p e r s u a d e e v e r y secondary school t o buy a microcomputer. This scheme seems t o have been a success: in t h e f i r s t y e a r 8 0 p e r c e n t of s t a t e - r u n secondary schools bought a microcomputer (with a 5 0 p e r c e n t subsidy from t h e government). In 1982 a similar scheme (estimated t o c o s t 9 million pounds sterling) w a s focused on 27,000 primary schools.

A consistent program: "Microelectronic Education Programme 1981-85" (As- ton 1985) deals with two a r e a s :

using computers as a learning and teaching a i d f o r individual children, g r o u p s , or whole classes;

introducing t h e topics of information technology into t h e curriculum (new s u b j e c t s o r existing ones).

Secondary schools are t h e main t a r g e t s of t h i s programme.

SWrr ZEReAND

In t h i s confederation decisions on education lies in t h e hands of 26 sovereign states. H e r e a c o h e r e n t policy s t a r t e d in 1975 when Training Center for Swiss T e a c h e r s in s e c o n d a r y education set up a n informatics coordination group:

t o initiate t h e introduction of informatics t o secondary schools;

t o organize training c o u r s e s ;

t o s e r v e as a n information "clearinghouse".

SWEDEN

In Sweden in 1974 t h e Swedish Board of Education s t a r t e d a p r o j e c t called DIS (Computers in Schools) where t h r e e distinct functions were followed:

g e n e r a l knowledge (what e v e r y citizen should know) about computers;

t h e computer as a tool f o r d i f f e r e n t s u b j e c t s in secondary schools;

what h a r d w a r e and software should b e used.

DENMARK

In September 1983 a Committee w a s set up t o work with Informatics in Folk- eskole (primary and lower s e c o n d a r y education). I t s t a s k w a s t o (Jensen 1985):

p r o p o s e aims f o r teaching informatics

write guidelines f o r curriculum and teaching informatics

propose t h e integration of informatics elements into o t h e r subjects.

A s a r e s u l t a new s u b j e c t "Dataleare" w a s introduced in August 1984. The introduction of computers into schools i s backed up by interesting r e s e a r c h initia- tives.

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FINLAND

The Government of Finland e s t a b l i s h e d a National Data Delegation as a n ad- visory a n d liaison body f o r issues r e g a r d i n g information technology. In t h e s c o p e of t h i s a c t i v i t y t h e Delegation recommended:

t h e introduction of c o u r s e s f o r t h e 9-12 a g e g r o u p s to familiarize them with t h e use of computers;

m e a s u r e s t o i n c r e a s e t h e s u p p o r t f o r information technology in g e n e r a l . These a c t i v i t i e s are p a r t of t h e o v e r a l l r e f o r m of t h e educational system, which s t r i v e s , among o t h e r s , to i n t e g r a t e s e c o n d a r y a n d vocational education (Raasio 1985).

NORWAY

The Norwegian Government launched a n a c t i o n p r o g r a m which comprises:

t e a c h e r education;

introduction of e x p e r i m e n t a l technology in s e l e c t e d schools;

development a n d t e s t i n g of s o f t w a r e ;

i n t r o d u c t i o n of c o m p u t e r technology in vocational education.

These a c t i v i t i e s c o v e r t h e most important i s s u e s r e g a r d i n g t h e introduction of computers i n t o s c h o o l s (Wibe 1985).

AUSTRIA

Computers in Austria are used predominately in post-compulsory education. At t h i s s t a g e t h e r e are t h r e e main t y p e s of schools which give access to university, and also post-compulsory vocational schools which d o n o t give access to university. The c u r r i c u l a , which is e d i t e d by t h e Ministry of Education a n d A r t s , states t h a t "the aim of t h e s u b j e c t i s to promote knowledge a n d t h e ability t o solve dif- f e r e n t problems with t h e a i d of computers." Computer education f o r t e a c h e r s was a l s o instituted. T h e r e are a l s o p r o j e c t s , (computer camps) o r g a n i z e d by a p r o f e s - sional s o c i e t y (The Austrian Computer Society) t h a t s t r i v e to t e a c h a more c r e a t i v e use of t h e c o m p u t e r , beyond numerics, d u r i n g vacation p e r i o d s . I n t h e p a s t y e a r much h a s b e e n done, f o r example, microcomputers h a v e b e e n given to gymnasiums (3-8 a c c o r d i n g to size).

SOVIET UNION

Computers were i n t r o d u c e d to s c h o o l s i n t h e USSR v e r y e a r l y o n , s t a r t i n g at t h e university l e v e l in t h e e a r l y 1950s ( f i r s t g e n e r a t i o n computers). L a t e r secon- d a r y schools a l s o r e c e i v e d computers, g e n e r a l l y a microcomputer. At t h e s a m e time t h e c u r r i c u l u m w a s c h a n g e d , accommodating s e v e r a l c o u r s e s of programming a n d c o m p u t e r s c i e n c e o n d i f f e r e n t levels. N e w specializations h a v e a l s o b e e n in- t r o d u c e d .

In t h e mid-1970s more e l a b o r a t e schemes were worked out. To i l l u s t r a t e t h e point, w e c a n d e s c r i b e t h e scheme a p p r o v e d by t h e Ministry of Higher Education of t h e USSR d a t e d J a n u a r y 1 2 , 1 9 7 8

-

t h e so-called "Automated Teaching Systems".

Tne scheme i s b a s e d on t w o s t a g e s . The f i r s t (up to 1982) a i m s : t o develop c o m p u t e r systems custom-made f o r schools;

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t o start r e s e a r c h and development into t h e psychological and didactic is- s u e s r a i s e d by t h e application of such systems;

t o work o u t a methodology f o r developing algorithmic and semantic s t r u c - t u r e s of teaching c o u r s e s and a p p r o p r i a t e monitoring systems. Among t h e f i r s t are some a s p e c t s of physics, chemistry, mathematics, and programming languages;

t o develop ianguages f o r teaching, u s e r control languages, and interac- tive (dialogue) programming languages.

The second s t a g e counts with interconnecting t h e individual functional systems into a n i n t e g r a t e d network.

Last y e a r ( P r a v d a , J a n u a r y 4, 1984) a major policy p a p e r w a s p r e s e n t e d in t h e USSR on "Basic r e f o r m directions of g e n e r a l and professional schools" initiat- e d by t h e Central Committee of t h e Communist P a r t y of t h e Soviet Union (CPSU).

The p a p e r states t h a t t h e grandiose t a s k s of t h e end of t h e c e n t u r y and at t h e be- ginning of t h e n e x t o n e will b e solved by those who are sitting behind school desks today. Among many recommendations intended t o improve t h e efficiency of education one c a n mention t h e t a s k to:

...

equip t h e students with t h e knowledge and h a b i t s t o use modern com- p u t e r technology, to s e c u r e wide applications of computers in t h e educational p r o c e s s , to build f o r t h i s purpose s p e c i a l school and interschool cabinets.

On March 28 of t h i s y e a r , t h e Politbureau of t h e CPSU and t h e government ap- proved a d e c r e e which p r o p o s e s t o introduce, into a l l secondary schools, a new s u b j e c t "Basis of informatics and computer technology," a l s o t o use computers ex- tensively for teaching o t h e r s u b j e c t s , and t o start c o u r s e s f o r training t e a c h e r s (from September 1985).

Computers should a l s o b e used in out-of-school environments, in technical c r e a t i v e activity, youth clubs, c e n t e r s of c u l t u r e , etc. I t w a s s t r e s s e d t h a t t h e intensive mastering of computers by t h e younger generation should b e a n important factor in speeding up scientific and technical p r o g r e s s .

To help t h i s program t o materialize, t h e r e s u l t s from many p r o j e c t s which are now underway in t h e whole Soviet Union will b e used.

OTHER SOCIALIST COUNTRTES

In t h e o t h e r socialist c o u n t r i e s t h e introduction of computers a l s o s t a r t e d in t h e e a r l y 1950s at t h e university level. L a t e r , secondary schools were equipped with microcomputers. Now with t h e wide availability of t h e 8-bit micro-processor.

microcomputers are being widely applied t o secondary schools. A s t r o n g i n t e r e s t i s a l s o devoted t o vocational training which i s being coordinated with secondary school education. In Bulgaria t h e activities are coordinated by government bodies like t h e S t a t e Committee f o r Science and Technology, t h e Academy of Sciences, t h e Ministry of Education, and a l s o Youth Organizations ( f o r more details, see Vasko 1985). Also important are t h e activities of professional organizations which, f o r example, in Czechoslovakia, c r e a t e d 39 regional c e n t e r s t o s p r e a d knowledge on t h e use of computers t o t h e widest audience. Similar activities are being p e r - formed in Hungary by t h e Neumann Janos Society. In Poland a government scheme h a s been adopted t o apply computers in education in t h e y e a r s 1986-90 (Petshak 1985).

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TENTATrYE PRELIMINARY CONCLUSIONS

In my p a p e r I could not give an exhaustive r e p o r t on t h e s t a t e of t h e introduction of computers into education in individual countries. I r a t h e r presented a p a r t of t h e situation. Nevertheless, some preliminary conclusions can be attempted.

1 ) A s with t h e g e n e r a l application of computers t o t h e o t h e r s o f t e r applications, f o r example, management we could d e t e c t s e v e r a l s t a g e s of computer diffu- sions (Nolan 1973; Nolan 1975).

Stage I initiation

S t a g e I1 contagion

Stage I11 c o n t r o l

Stage IV integration

(acquisition)

(intensive system development) (proIiferation of c o n t r o l measures)

( u s e r / s e r v i c e orientation)

(Similar s t a g e s can be d e t e c t e d in innovation diffusion in g e n e r a l (Brown 1981).

Different countries can b e in different situations, but a l s o within a country some institutions might b e in different stages. For example, in s e v e r a l countries computerization a t t h e university level is in a higher s t a g e than t h a t in t h e secon- d a r y o r elementary level. Yet i t i s important t o analyze and identify t h e p r e s e n t situation system-wise b e f o r e making any policies f o r t h e f u t u r e . S o much f o r t h e dynamics of t h e p r o c e s s .

2) One can d e t e c t s e v e r a l directions as f a r as a p p r o a c h e s are concerned.

P e r h a p s t h e most distinct ones a r e :

t h e computer as a tool a n d / o r aid in teaching and learning;

informatics as a scientific b r a n c h , and t h e computer as one of i t s imple- mentations; development of corresponding c u r r i c u l a ;

T h e r e are also, of c o u r s e , mixed s t r a t e g i e s .

3) On t h e organizational level s t r a t e g i e s f o r computerization a r e dependent on t h e s t r u c t u r e of t h e national educational system and i t s management. However, t h e causal relations seem t o b e fuzzy. They r u n from fragmented policies (Nether- lands, Rushby 1981), t o more c o h e r e n t ones (FRG, UK), t o centralized ories (France, USSR. Poland, regions of t h e FRG , Canada, etc.).

4) Components of t h e policy are among o t h e r s :

-

Overall educational policy s t r a t e g y , centrally defined, (Japan, France, USSR, etc.):

including

-

standardized hardware, software, courseware;

t e a c h e r s education;

curriculum;

guidelines;

-

Financial support:

special funds, g r a n t s , e t c . (UK, France, USSR, etc.);

t a x allowances (USA);

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subsidies (Austria, U K , USA, Norway, etc.);

-

Organizational response:

t h e c r e a t i o n of specialized institutions (Canada, Europe-ATEE);

funding of R&D in existing organizations (Finland);

-

Societal measures:

involvement of p a r e n t s (Austria, Bulgaria);

use of leisure-time activity (Austria, USSR);

Useful activities c a n emerge from new international organizations such as ATEE (Association f o r T e a c h e r Education in Europe). I t p r e p a r e d a syllabus and c o u r s e s f o r t e a c h e r s , in d i f f e r e n t areas, on Information Technology and Society, Problem Solving by Algorithmic Means, etc. The syllabus is being implemented, ex- perimentally, in t h e FRG, Denmark, and t h e Netherlands (Gorny 1985).

Many new policy measures have been introduced recently. Certainly a most interesting topic for f u r t h e r r e s e a r c h could b e t h e efficiency and effectiveness of t h e s e measures, as well as t h e most efficient forms of t h e i r implementation. All of t h e s e measures have t h e ability t o guide and enhance t h e known positive impacts of computer use in education.

Education systems s e e m t o b e p a r t i c u l a r l y r e s i l i e n t t o innovations. Although t h e computer is v e r y specific, i t s impact, in s p i t e of wide studies, is not well known.

Recently, i t h a s been pointed out t h a t t h e impact of television i s only now becoming a p p a r e n t a f t e r 30 y e a r s of use. I would s u b s c r i b e t o t h e claim of t h e Armenian So- cialist Republic's Minister of Education who said:

Miracles are not taking place. Especially in education. I t t a k e s h a r d work t o t e a c h pupils useful knowledge, but i t i s c l e a r t h a t t h e computer can help.

(Achumyan 1984).

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