Roig Vila, R. (2012). Spanish policies on Information and Communication

Technologies in Education. REM - Researches on Education and Media, 4(2),

205-218. http://riviste.erickson.it/rem/view/18/december/2012/rem.html

Spanish policies on Information and Communication

Technologies in Education

Rosabel Roig Vila

Universidad de Alicante

Abstract

The present paper focuses on analysing the rules which guide Spanish educational

policies, more specifically those related to integrating Information and Communication

Technologies (ICT) into education. Along these lines, it examines the different

programs and initiatives developed by various political institutions in the last few years

both the central government and the governments of Spains Autonomous Regions. This allowed us to appreciate how these education policies have significantly improved

the equipment and infrastructure of schools; however, the profound educational change

announced by such policies has still not arrived. The said policies have indeed generated

action programs and technological investment but, unfortunately, teacher training and

methodological innovation were forgotten along the way. An overview of educational

policies is therefore badly needed to ensure the proper integration of ICTs into the

classroom.

Keywords: System of education, teaching and training, administration of education, Information and Communication Technology (ICT)

Introduction

Governments and public organisms have become aware of the strategic importance that

comes with development of Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) and

of facilitating their access to everyone (Balanskat, Blamire and Kefala, 2006). Political

leaders, Europeans in our case, are laying the foundations of the educational

communication policy as a central issue for the economy, the industrial

competitiveness, education itself and the general well-being of European citizens. This

requires close cooperation between educational institutions, government agencies and

the business world through an ongoing, flexible and effective collaboration, adapted to

the immediate challenges of globalization (Kozma, 2008). Since the early nineties,

discussions on cultural and educational policies in the European Union have intensified,

also in Spain. In order to establish the basis of a nation framed by the Information

Society, there have been numerous political efforts to set the guidelines that should

control the actions required to set up a society in such context, as the e-Europe plan

suggests.

Policy initiatives on ICT programs in the Spanish educational system

In order to understand the different active policies in Spain, a brief mention of the

Spanish territorial organizational structure that was adopted with the 1978 Constitution

is rendered necessary. The political division of the Spanish territory in 17 Autonomous

Regions was the start of a new period in the nation's territorial decentralization.

Therefore, the political regulations in education started to be dictated at a national and

an autonomous level and at a European level too by: a) The Ministry of Education's legislation that regulates the general normative -mainly existing educational laws and

national programs of education policy and used to regulate the specific issues on education that had not been transferred to the Autonomous Regions in the past; b) The

institutions of the Autonomous Regions, which were then delegated all competencies

on education. Thus, the political initiatives related to the integration of ICT in education

in Spain have arisen firstly from the central institutions -mainly the Spanish Ministry

responsible for common topics in education that affect the whole country and on the other hand, institutions of the Autonomous Regions which have their own

competencies regarding the regulation of educational issues within their territory.

Since the 80s, the Spanish Ministry of Education has been aware of the need to have a

general framework suitable to coordinate the initiatives regarding an education framed

within the Information Society (Area, 2006). Some general objectives were thus

established, as well as the methodology to follow, the teacher training model and all the

issues that came up with the evolution of technology through the years. In this regard,

the Spanish Ministry of Educations Atenea Project should be mentioned, as well as some of the major plans that have been developed in the different Autonomous

Regions: Andalusia's Plan Zahara, Project baco-Canarias, the Computer Education

Program in Catalonia, Abrente and Estrela Projects in Galicia, the Basque Educational

Computing Plan, etc.

Even though they are all different independent plans, there are some aspects that are

shared by all. They all intend to introduce new media as a pedagogical too to be used in

the different areas of the curricula. In fact, this initiative started after the 1992 Education

Reform, in which the General Law of the Education System (LOGSE, for its initials in

Spanish) already recognised Computing as an elective subject in high school, and as a

compulsory subject in some branches of Vocational Training. Still, some specific

aspects of each plan and of the political performance of each autonomous community

should be mentioned.

The program e-Europe led in Spain to the plan Info XXI. In 2003 the plan comes to an

end and is substituted by the plan Espaa.es, approved in December 2005. The main

objective of both plans was to generalize the use of these technologies among the

population. As a result of these plans (Gonzlez, 2011, p. 42) the number of computers

available for students increased (7.3 computers per every 100 students, compared to an

average of 6.3 in Europe) but not regarding their usage (0,7 hours a week in Europe,

compared to the 0,4 hours in Spain).

Also, in 2005, the Plan Avanza I (http://www.planavanza.es) was approved, a program

run jointly by the Government and the totally of the Autonomous Regions for the

development of the Society of Information and Knowledge. From the budgetary point of

view, Avanza has involved the investment of more than 6,500 million euros between

2006 and 2010 by the Ministry of Industry, Tourism and Commerce and has been co-

financed by the Autonomous Regions.

The second phase of the Plan Avanza called Plan Avanza 2 incorporated the actions that

were being carried out at the time and updated the initial objectives in order to adapt to

the new challenges of the networked society. Red.es was constituted within this context,

a public entity responsible for the consolidation and the development of the Information

Society in Spain. Its objective is then to implement ICT projects according to the

strategic priorities of the Secretary of State for Telecommunications and the Information

Society in collaboration with the Autonomous Regions, local entities and the private

sector. The following table indicates the relationship between the Spanish and European

initiatives on ICT in education policies (Gonzlez, 2011, p. 39):

Fig. 1. Relation between Spanish and European programs on ICT (Gonzlez, 2011, p.

39).

Spanish Ministry of Education ICT programs

During the 1985-96 academic year, the former Spanish Ministry of Education and

Culture (MEC) launched two pilot projects: the Atenea Project (on digital media) y the

Mercurio project (on audiovisual media). In 1986 the MEC officially expressed its firm

commitment to ICT (MEC, 1986) and in 1989 it took the initiative to create the ICT

applied to education program (BOE [Official State Gazette], 17th November 1989, no.

276). According to the development of the Atenea and Mercurio projects developed

since 1985, the Ministry admitted it was necessary to create a stable structure to ensure continuity of the training process, along with the development of material to enable

proper extension and intimate connection with the [then] proposed Educational

Reform. The intention was then to create a specific program that should be able to perform these tasks with a high level of competition, involving the specialization of

functions and the ability to generate rapid responses in line with the rapid evolution of

new media technology.

Later in 1989 they created the program Nuevas Tecnologas de la Informacin y de la

Comunicacin Aplicadas a la Educacin (PNTIC) [Information and Communication

Technologies applied to Education] (BOE [Official State Gazette], 17th November

1989). The extension phase began in 1991 and several actions were developed in order

to generalise the articulation of ICT in the curriculum of non-university education:

developing materials and programs, establishing the new figure of the Computerized

Media Responsible with a 3 hours/week reduction, the formation of pedagogical teams,

economic contributions to schools, etc.

As part of the PNTIC, the project Descartes in 1998 was developed to promote new

ways of teaching and learning mathematics, integrating ICT in the classroom as a

teaching tool.

In 1999 the MEC completely transferred the education competencies to the

Autonomous Regions that still depended on it: Aragon, Asturias, Cantabria, Castile and

Leon, Castile-La Mancha, Extremadura, La Rioja, Madrid and Murcia. This involved a

modification of some of the PNTIC approaches to adapt the Ministrys action to the new circumstances. For example, the Ministry could no longer invest directly on the

provision of equipment as the schools did not depend on it legally, but could do it only

through the administration of the Autonomous Regions. The PNTIC was then

reconverted in the National Centre of Educational Information and Communication

(CNICE, for its initials in Spanish) and is currently called National Institute of

Educational Technologies and Teacher Training (INTEF, for its Spanish initials)

(http://www.ite.educacion.es/), which depends on the Ministry of Education. This

organism has promoted the educational projects related to ICT of the Ministry of

Education.

We should also mention the program Internet en el Aula [Internet in the Classroom]

(2005-2008) (Prez, 2011) and the project Agrega (http://www.proyectoagrega.es)

(Ministry, 2011), an initiative of global interest about learning objects developed by the

Ministry, Red.es and the Autonomous Regions.

The program Escuela 2.0 has been the last project developed by INTEF about the

integration of ICT in Education (from 2009 to 2013). This program is based on the

following areas of intervention:

Digital classrooms. Providing students and centres with ICT resources: laptops for students and teachers and digital classrooms with efficient standardized

equipment. The main recipients are primary school students (aged 10 to 12 years

old) and secondary education pupils (aged 12 to 14) with a 1:1 student-computer

correlation.

Ensuring Internet connection and interconnectivity within the classroom for all equipment. Possibility of Internet access in the homes of students at special

times.

Promoting teacher training both in the technological and methodological aspects and in the social integration of these resources into their daily teaching practices.

Generating and providing access to digital educational materials adjusted to the curriculum to teachers, students and their families.

Involving students and families in the acquisition, custody and use of these resources.

Despite these general guidelines, the decentralized nature of the Spanish education

system makes it necessary to adapt these objectives to the policies and calendar of each

region. The plan is still in an implementation phase in most regions, but not in all of

them, a distinction that seems to respond to political rather than methodological issues.

Another project led by INTEF and some Autonomous Regions is project

Experimentacin Didctica en el Aula (EDA) [Experimental Teaching in the

Classroom] (http://recursostic.educacion.es/eda/web/) which aims to help teachers

incorporate ICT into their classroom activities, to identify the advantages and

disadvantages of using these new technologies and also to find new approaches to

teaching and learning. We should also mention the pilot project ACER-EUN and the

project about the digital pen Papershow.

Also noteworthy is the project Buenas PrcTICas 2.0 [Good Practices]

(http://recursostic.educacion.es/buenaspracticas20/web/), which offers a collaborative

space to publish the experiences and research projects conducted in the field of ICT, to

promote the dissemination of information generated both by the educational institutions

and by the participating teachers and to collect all initiatives promoting innovation and

research in the classroom.

Currently, the new government team has promoted a reevaluation of the educational

policies and especifically of the project that was in effect when the government change

took place: project Escuela 2.0. The Minister of Education has claimed that they will

analyze the cost-effectiveness of Escuela 2.0 and assess the programs impact and its achievements in order to develop a new design.

Autonomous Regions programs on ICT in education

As seen above, there are projects and initiatives in education shared by the Spanish

Ministry of Education and the regional governments. Besides these, because of their

autonomy in educational competencies, each community has developed their own ICT

integration projects within their region. All the autonomous programs share their

general objective, which is to provide the centres of with the technological resources

needed to integrate ICT in the curriculum and to promote the use and application of ICT

in education. However, even though they have these objectives in common, the situation

differs from one community to the next.

Some communities have been more persistent and have made their key objective the

consideration of ICT as an essential element in education. Others have developed

isolated actions and projects without continuation and the results have not been as

satisfactory. However, it is beyond the scope of this paper to analyse in a detailed and

thorough way the projects, investment, activities, etc. of each autonomous community.

We would like to make an overview, however, of the main initiatives that have shaped

the education policies in the different communities:

Catalonia is one of the Autonomous Regions with a greater concern about being integrated in the knowledge society. The Xarxa Telemtica Educativa de

Catalunya (XTEC) [Catalonias Educational Telematic Network] created in 1986 by the Catalonias education department is the most important autonomous telematic network in Spain in terms of the number of schools, teachers and

students connected to it, and the quality of the services offered.

Murcia also has one of the most comprehensive educational portals: Educarm (http://www.educarm.es).

Andalusia has developed different projects such as Plan Alhambra, Zahara XXI and the program And@red, developed in 2003. The net Averroes is also worth

mentioning.

In Galicia, the integration of ICT in the classroom is made through the project Siega (http://www.edu.xunta.es/siega).

In Asturias, the project Aldea Digital was launched in the 1998-99 academic year in order to fulfil the deficiencies of the rural schools, which represents a high

percentage of the total number of centres.

The Canary Island published in September 2000 the Plan para el Desarrollo de la Sociedad de la Informacin en Canarias (PDSIC) [Plan for the Development

of the Information Society in the Canary Island] also called Canari@s Digital

project.

Navarra developed the Programa de Nuevas Tecnologas (PNTE) [New technologies Program] (http://www.pnte.cfnavarra.es/pnte/pnte.php), and one of

its most outstanding actions stem from the Proyecto Trenza to provide the

necessary infrastructure and facilities needed to connect the centres to the Web.

In the Valencian community, the Plan MES-TIC (http://www.edu.gva.es/ite/val/mes_tic.htm) is currently being developed in

order to generalize the creation of mobile IT classrooms with free software

(LliureX) and other equipment.

In the Basque Country the Premia projects were developed with the intention of providing infrastructure and teacher training, as well as the educational and

administrative management of the centres.

In Madrid, the project EducaMadrid (http://www.educa.madrid.org/educamadrid) has been developed to promote the

use of ICT outside the university.

Castile and Leon has launched a pilot initiative known as RedXXI (http://www.educa.jcyl.es/educacyl/cm) and Castile-La Mancha has launched

the program Althia.

In Cantabria, the autonomous government has developed the Plan Educantabria. In turn, they have launched the project PARTIC which focuses in infant and

primary school and the Proyectos Experimentales to introduce the use of ICT

(PRETIC) in secondary school.

Aragon has developed one of the most ambitious projects to integrate ICT in the classroom: program Ramn y Cajal (http://ryc.educaragon.org).

The Balearic Islands have launched the plan Xarxiplag 2.0 (http://weib.caib.es) to modernize the educational model, which has been active since the academic

year 2009-2010.

Extremadura is one of the European pioneers in the development of educational policies on ICT. In 2001, the Red Tecnolgica Educativa [Educational

Technological Network] was created, based on infrastructures, free software

(GnuLinEx), teacher training and content generation. Also worth mentioning is

the educational portal Educarex (http://atenex.educarex.es) and the learning

objects platform Atenez.

In La Rioja the project ENTER was developed to provide technological equipment and teacher training, and in 2002 the Programa Riojano de Acciones

Innovadoras (PRAI) [La Riojas Program on Innovative Actions] was incorporated, as well as the current Programa Pizarra Digital [Digital

Whiteboard Program]

(http://www.educarioja.org/educarioja/pizarradigital/pd_inicio.htm).

Programs evaluation

The assessment of the different ICT programs in Spain has been held by various

institutions (Agencia de Evaluacin de las Polticas Pblicas [Agency for the

Evaluation of Public Policies], Instituto de Tecnologas Educativas [Institute of

Education Technologies], etc.) but we should stress the work of the Ministrys Instituto de Evaluacin [Evaluation Institute], which acts as a coordinator of the educational

institutions through the Autonomous Regions evaluation units. There are therefore in Spain as many different evaluation organizations as Autonomous Regions, which

makes it harder to compare the results among the different territories.

Some studies have analysed the integration of ICT in education in Spain (Cebrin, Ruiz

y Rodrguez, 2007; Gimeno, 2011). They all highlight the growing efforts of the

government to equip and technologically adapt Spanish schools. However, not all of

conclusions are positive. Regarding Escuela 2.0, for example, we can see that the latest

program launched at a national level, involved the distribution from September 2009 to

January 2011 of more than 600,000 laptops among students from 5th and 6th grade and

1st and 2nd ESO (high school); 133,080 learning objects were generated, more than

27,000 digital classrooms started to be used and about 150,000 teachers in primary and

secondary have received specific training related to the program Escuela 2.0 on ICT

tools, and especially on methodological aspects on how to use them in their teaching

(Prez, 2011).

The latest survey by the Spanish Instituto de Tcnicas Educativas (ITE) [Institute of

Education Techniques] of the Confederacin Espaola de Centros de Enseanza

(CECE) [Spanish Confederation of Education Centers] managed by the Ministry of

Education (ITE-CECE, 2012) compared the situation in Spain between 2008 and 2011,

and showed that: a) the average number of computers per center has gone from 55 to 86;

b) while in 2008 most were still computer desktops, in 2011 one third of the total and

are portable computers; c) The number of computers in computer rooms has remained

constant, as well as the average number of computer rooms per center. However, the

number of computers in regular classrooms, either for teacher or student use, has

doubled. It is important to highlight the statement made in this report (ITE-CEC, 2012,

p. 10-11): The positive effect [of Information and Communication Technologies (ICT)] in student learning is not supported by empirical evidence. What has occurred in

these past years is a quantum leap in the devices supporting the teachers work in the classroom. Projectors, which in 2008 were used in two-thirds of the centres, have spread

to almost all of them. In addition, since 2008, the centers which had at least one

projector have gone from having an average of just over three to six, half of them in

regular classrooms. The use of digital whiteboards has grown even more: in 2008 only a

quarter of the centers had at least one, and among such centers the average was two

boards. In 2011, 96% of the centers had at least one digital whiteboard, and the average

was 3.6 per center, two of them in regular classrooms. On the use of ICT, six out of ten teachers use ICT in the classroom (66% in private schools), while 35% are willing to

use them but do not dare. Only 5% of teachers (3% in private or subsidized centers) are

not willing to use ICT in the classroom.

Most projects carried out by the various administrations are focusing mainly on

providing technology (laptops, Internet access, whiteboards, etc.) and also devoting a

small part of the financial resources to train teachers to use ICT in the classroom.

However, the curricular integration of ICT promoted by the various Spanish educational

laws are meant to go beyond the technological equipment of the centres, as they are

designed to produce changes in the teaching methodologies and the teaching practices

due to teacher training, among other actions.

The success of these policies only makes sense if ICTs are normally integrated in the

school life through innovative projects which enhance the teaching-learning processes

(Tondeur et al, 2008). This must be generated naturally and not with massive reform-

induced technology investment policies which imply, in any case, conflicts and

organizational chaos due to the lack of projects that really integrate technology into the

curriculum and into the school system.

All these initiatives necessarily need a side policy to be successful. Teachers invest a lot

of effort to incorporate the new technologies in their practices, but the absence of

incentives, encouragement and support from the administration could affect this, and the

involvement of teachers could decrease. Programs and initiatives such as those

described above cannot be limited to the provision of materials, equipment, furniture

and technical support, but should also be provided with the design and implementation

of a logistics system that facilitates the development of innovative projects. This

measure, technical in appearance but educational at the core, can be improved through

mechanisms that facilitate the involvement of teachers and maintain their enthusiasm

motivated by satisfactory results.

We could ask ourselves now what makes a successful program on the incorporation of

ICT in the classroom. In this line, Gonzlez (2011, p. 298) has led an investigation

based on teachers feedback and concludes that the most positive aspects for them in

this respect is the development of teacher training programs, the creation of working

groups among teachers to encourage the use ICT in centres and the creation of a

stimulating work environment by school headmasters.

We should also mention Project TICSE 2.0 (Area, 2011), a report analysing the results

of a survey of 4,500 teachers in Spain which participated in the Escuela 2.0. program. In

a nutshell, the reports conclusions are:

Teachers had a positive opinion on the incorporation of ICT in the classroom, both in their teaching practices and in their effects on the students, but there

were differences between regions regarding this issue. The opinion divergence

can be attributed to: a) the perception of computing resources available in the

classroom, b) the provision of ICT infrastructures, c) the perception of the

faculty on the ICT training received, d) the evaluation on the educational policy

of the community.

Most teachers (75%) recognized that the presence of ICT in the classroom has a significant impact on improving student motivation.

Traditional teaching materials (textbooks and blackboards) remain the most used resources despite the abundance of digital technology.

Most teachers think it is necessary to promote the existence of websites that provide free access to digital materials.

Primary school teachers use ICT more than secondary school teachers.

It is necessary to have a coordinating ICT teacher in each centre.

A significant proportion of teachers considered they had adequate training, although 96% of them demanded even more training.

The overall assessment made by the teachers on ICT education policy in their community was quite negative, and the provision of technological equipment

was the most appreciated variable.

In conclusion

We must be mindful not to fall into the trap access to ICT equipment = knowledge. As can be seen, Spanish institutions have followed infrastructure-oriented policies.

Telecommunications, in this context, have become in themselves, a goal, an end.

Initially the process followed these stages: With the creation of infrastructures (1), the

centres were provided with facilities (2), and there was then a supply of equipment (3)

that, at the same time, would create the demand it would satisfy (4).

But this model has not resulted in the creation of a demand or in the modernization of

the regions. By contrast, the European Union considered that, in fact, this is a real

hindrance to the process, since modernization does not only mean being in possession

of the infrastructural mean, but should involve, above all, the correct usage of it for the

social, economic, cultural and educational development of the society. As a result, the

sequence of phases or stages to achieve modernization should rather take place in the

opposite direction: the possession of knowledge (skills, attitudes and values) (1) will

determine the creation of a demand (2), which in turn will activate the necessary

services (3) that the infrastructures will have to meet (4).

In conclusion, we can only emphasize the necessity to raise actions of a political nature

in order to mitigate and compensate for any inequalities of the current system. A

democratic state must ensure social cohesion and should act through correct planning,

development of policies that will balance the differences between social groups and the

consistent evaluation of their policies results (UNESCO, 2009).

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