Consensus on computers in education: do teachers, parents and pupils share the same expectations and attitudes towards computers?

Abstract

Attitudes and expectations are important factors for the use of new information and communication technologies (nict) in education. This study comprises three sets of data on attitudes towards nict, collected in 1990 from teachers (N = 500), parents (N = 800) and students in primary and lower secondary schools (N = 2,100). The same basic set of questions is used in the different samples, with relevant modifications according to characteristics of the three different populations.

The aims of this paper are (a) to study if teachers, parents and pupils share the same expectations and attitudes towards computers, and (b) eventually find some important factors influencing active use of computers in education.

The study is part of a parallel survey of parents', students' and teachers' attitudes towards new facets and content of curriculum (home economics and computers) in primary and lower secondary education in Norway.