training teachers in computer-based management information systems

Journal of Computer Assisted Learning (2000) 16, 27-40

2000 Blackwell Science Ltd 27

Training teachers in computer-basedmanagement information systems

R.F.J. North, D.M. Strain & L. AbbottSchool of Education, University of Ulster

Abstract This paper presents an evaluation of a multimedia trainingprogramme, supported by a video-conference link, for senior school staffin the use of a computer-based Management Information System and thesubsequent impact on the school organisation. The training took place as apart of the Education Departments’ Superhighways Initiative. Two yearslater the impact of this initiative on school management practice wasexamined and the implications of subsequent patterns of staff use of ICTin management assessed. Results indicate that change strategies shouldinvolve attention to the totality of the relevant school system and shouldprovide for professional dialogue and participation in the process.

Keywords: Change; Illuminative evaluation; Information Systems; IT-use; Multimedia; Teachers; Training

Introduction

Developing teachers’ professional knowledge and skills in the use of InformationCommunications Technology (ICT) is a priority objective for those involved inpolicy formation and implementation (DENI, 1996; DfEE, 1996; Scrimshaw, 1996).But schools find it increasingly difficult to provide effective in-service training tomeet professional development needs. The high cost of teacher substitution, periodicabsence of key staff from normal duties, travel costs and timetabling constraints onefforts to achieve economies of scale, all militate against the provision of traditionalclassroom-based professional development (CLASS, 1994). These factors precipitatean understandable quest for flexible in-service provision, one that empowers schoolsto manage their own professional development needs within a format and cost levelthat meet local requirements. Cost levels in the context of school managed staffdevelopment should include estimates of the opportunity costs incurred byoccasional teacher absences. Some of these ‘hidden costs’, reflecting the ‘value’ oflearning-related benefits foregone when teachers are absent or replaced bysubstitutes, are associated with the consequent impact of those absences on thequality and progress of pupil learning. Other costs are attributable to identifiable andundesired effects on the school as an organisation: disruption of class routines, re-scheduled or cancelled meetings, additional administrative and communicative tasksfor other teachers and support staff.

ICT-based multimedia and communication systems can deliver programmes of

Accepted: 10 June 1999

Correspondence: Reg North, Magee College, University of Ulster, Londonderry, BT48 7JL Email: [email protected]

28 R.F.J. North et al.

2000 Blackwell Science Ltd, Journal of Computer Assisted Learning, 16, 27-40

professional training, including video-conferenced tutorial support, directly intoschools. But effective delivery presents complex technical, pedagogical andeconomic questions (see Saunders, 1997). Implementation often leaves unexaminedthe relationship between in-service training and the integration of new knowledgeand skills into educational processes. Translating learned skills into operationalactivities that impact on learning is a distinct stage which requires schools to developmanagement strategies directed towards the desired outcomes. Systematic evaluationneeds to be undertaken to inform future training strategies. This paper addressesthese concerns and aims to contribute to the debate by exploring the impact of ICTtraining on both individuals and their school organisations.

Research aim

This paper presents a two-stage evaluation of a pilot project in which ICTapplications were used to help secondary school Principals and senior teachers in theuse of computer-based information systems. Since these systems were designed toimprove the effectiveness of school decision-making, the impact of this trainingprogramme on school processes and organisation was also examined.

The outcomes of this study reveal implications for the design and delivery ofprofessional development. Use of ICT-supported individualised learning to provide‘point of need’ in-service programmes will soon become a significant feature ofschool and system development. This study identifies some of the pedagogical andenvironmental conditions, including internal and external support systems, necessaryfor successful implementation.

Evaluation of the training programme

The first phase of this research was part of the Education Departments’Superhighways Initiative (EDSI), launched in 1995 by the UK government tosponsor and evaluate 25 school-based initiatives in the application of ICT. A rangeof curriculum and organisational initiatives was supported in over 1000 schoolsacross England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland (Scrimshaw, 1996). InNorthern Ireland, three selective and one non-selective schools were chosen for theirlevel of ‘technological readiness’. In three of these, training was undertaken by theSenior Management Team and, in the fourth, by the Pastoral Care Team making atotal of 28 teachers (including three Principals and six Vice-Principals).Approximately half of them considered themselves to be non-users of ICT.

All secondary schools had already been centrally provided with a computer-based Management Information System, known as CLASS. A CD-ROM-basedindependent learning module, the Management Information Data Access System(MIDAS), had subsequently been developed to support Senior Management inacquiring the requisite operating skills to use CLASS∗ (Scrimshaw, 1996; Group Creport). The pilot study would now examine the effectiveness of this learning moduleas a training strategy. Training itself was designed as an independent distance

∗ Computers for Local Administration in Secondary Schools (CLASS) is a special support unit fundedand managed by DENI, in collaboration with the five Education and Library Boards and the Council forCatholic Maintained Schools (effectively, the LEAs) to support application and development of acomputer-based management information system in all NI secondary schools, referred to by schools asCLASS.

Training teachers in information systems 29


learning programme, using the newly developed CD-ROM and video conferencing.The CD-ROM provided a skills-based training programme in the use of MIDAS,whilst teleconferencing provided a progress monitoring facility incorporating a skillstest and limited on-line teacher support. InSaunders’ (1994) typology, the learningcontext was both ‘immediate’ and ‘validated’. The research undertaken in the firststage aimed to:• explore the effectiveness of the pedagogical model in developing teacher skills,

knowledge and understanding in the use of computer-based information systems;• determine the impact of the training programme on the individual and the school

organisation;• develop an understanding of how the elements of the management of change

model impacted on the learning environment.Two years later, a follow-up study examined the effects of that training onmanagement practice. Had the training evaluated in the study led to routine andeffective use of computer-based information systems and improved the effectivenessof school-based decision-making? If not, why not?

Methodology

The study draws upon actors’ perceptions of the training experience as well as theirunderstanding of the outcomes. Three kinds of theoretical framework were used toevaluate outcomes and processes: the Classical approach (Wiseman & Pidgeon,1979), in which achievement of objective learning outcomes is assessed, theIlluminative (Parlett & Hamilton, 1976), in which the study captures the informal orincidental learnings of the actors, and a Perspectives Interactions approach,evaluating software from a student and designer viewpoint (Squires & McDougall,1995). The study could thereby examine both the ‘formal’ and ‘informal’ curriculumof the training programme and assess its impact on both the individual and theschool.

Data was obtained from questionnaires, interviews and observations.Unstructured and semi-structured interviews were conducted with key participants.Observations of learning situations and staff planning and development meetingswere recorded. Data were also collected through the self-reporting of teachers whocompleted a personal training log in which they recorded time spent on each unit,problems encountered and reflections on their experience. Two questionnaires wereadministered to provide additional data on specific individual attitudes andoutcomes. To assess effectiveness of skills and knowledge acquisition, eachparticipant was given an on-line test, administered through a video-conferencing linkusing a screen sharing function. Additional quantitative data were collected todetermine learning patterns and disruptions to the learning environment. The projectlasted three years, including course design, multimedia material production,technical development and initial technical training of the participating teachers. Theprogramme itself was undertaken by teachers over a 30-day period, althoughPrincipals and project managers of the four schools were involved in preparationswith the project team for six months. The outcomes can be considered under twothemes: training and impact.



Research outcomes - training

The learning environmentThe teaching and learning strategies used multimedia CD-ROM and videoconferencing to provide a skills-based training programme. In addition, tele-conferencing provided a progress monitoring facility through a skills test exerciseand on-line tutor support. The multimedia CD-ROM content was designed to reflectthe type of objectives-driven learning model which is normally transmitted in apaper-based classroom training environment.

The learning strategy employed by the CD-ROM was structured around threeintegrated learning stages: ‘Show Me’, ‘Let Me Try’ and ‘Tell it to me Again’. Theselearning activities were applied in a range of simulated school-based, information-gathering tasks. The first supported the development of knowledge, the second theacquisition of skills and the third provided reinforcement feedback or a suggestedroute for further study.

From a trainer’s perspective, the constructed learning environment was builtupon a three-element pedagogical structure:• knowledge acquisition through low interactive, high visual, automatic multimedia

display;• skills acquisition achieved by allowing the learners to utilise the acquired

knowledge in pre-set simulated problem-solving activities; and• understanding of the system and its value in improving school-based decision-

making, developed through the tutor support programme and facilitated by videoconferencing.

Two categories of learning outcomes were identified — ‘formal’ and ‘informal’, inwhich learning was assessed. Formal learning includes the specific operational skillsand capabilities prescribed by the training curriculum. Informal learning occurs as aconsequence of exposure to the formal curriculum. It is a broader category ofunplanned, experientially formed new attitudes, feelings and understandingsregarding the task and some of its organisational implications.

Formal learningThe project aim of ‘helping staff acquire new and relevant IT information handlingskills’ was assessed through a self-reporting monitoring log and an externallyadministered competence test of four, unprepared, school-focused tasks (using avideo-conference link). For each person, completion of the training programme tookbetween 85 and 320 minutes, with a mean of 186 minutes and standard deviation of66.8 minutes. The mean time for those with prior IT skills was 168.3 minutes(sd = 61.9) compared with 199 (sd = 68) for those without prior IT skills. Theexpected delivery time for the traditional classroom-based training programme was180 minutes. There were similarly wide variations in study patterns. With a self-structured training day extending from 08.00 to 18.00. The mean number of sessionswas 4.7 (sd = 1.99) and the mean length of the training period was 17.6 days(sd = 9.3).

Subsequently, teachers were required to extract specific data from MIDAS as atest of their operating skills. This was administered through video conferencing witha screen-sharing function. Solution times and the number of errors made by eachteacher was recorded. Although all teachers answered all questions, success ratesvaried considerably. The mean time taken to complete the test was 264.3 seconds,



with a standard deviation of 84.9 seconds. The mean score for errors made was 2.1with a standard deviation of 1.5. In general, those with prior IT or CLASSexperience completed the test more quickly and with fewer errors than those without.However, these differences were not significant.

Informal learningIn the CLASS project, two kinds of unplanned informal learning were observed tohave occurred Firstly, the experiences of the project impacted positively on theparticipants’ receptiveness towards the use of information technology. For prior non-users of IT, the project enabled teachers to ‘overcome hesitancy’, ‘see computers asless threatening’, ‘become more confident in using a PC’, ‘be familiarised withoperating procedures’, and ‘increase their (professional) status with colleagues’.Secondly, the shared experience of the project further contributed to a sense ofcorporate identity in three of the four management groups, partly through havingacquired the same information management skills: ‘we now have a more evenplatform of knowledge’. In part, too, the reflective processes that were an integralpart of the project created opportunities for each team member to contribute to andlearn about each other’s area of school management. There was also evidence thatthe common experience of feeling vulnerable and of sharing solutions to the mainlytechnical problems encountered, contributed to the development of interpersonalrelationships and team-building.

Testing was a potent lever to persuade busy teachers to complete tasks within anagreed time span. It provided teachers with valued feedback on their competence,increased the degree of confidence they had in their ability to use MIDAS and addeda degree of urgency to a felt need to master requisite skills. It also exemplified the‘pressure’ and ‘support’ (Fullan, 1992) rationale inherent in the programme design.Many teachers expressed anxiety about being tested, but they generally agreed that adeadline was beneficial and recognised that the test strategy mirrored ones they usedin their classroom work.

In addition to facilitating skills testing, the use of the screen sharing functionimpressed on teachers the possible practical benefits of this video-conferencing toolin providing support when they eventually used MIDAS in analysing their school’sreal data. A number of teachers had expressed concern about moving from a trainingsituation to a live database. The in-built possibility of a remote expert able to takecontrol of their computer and provide ‘hands-on’ assistance was seen as reassuring.

Teachers’ views of the learning experiencesFor 26 teachers, this was their first encounter with a multimedia CD-ROM-basedtraining environment. All reported a high degree of satisfaction, found it effectiveand, without exception, said they preferred this school-based, independent-learningtraining model to the traditional centre-based model. All indicated they hadexperienced problems in allocating sufficient time to their training programme, andmany expressed the need for more school-based planning if independent learningwas to become widespread as a training mode.

Although making time to complete training was an important prerequisite, theopportunity to engage at a time which suited the teacher was a major attraction ofthis learning model. Similarly, teachers valued being able to work at their own paceand to explore the computer-based material in privacy, thus avoiding the professional



embarrassment which can arise from exposure of ignorance or slowness in learning.Teachers also valued the perceived practical relevance of the training materials. Theopportunity to select and spend more time on materials recognised by the teacher asof personal, practical relevance was highly motivating, as was not having to travel toa training centre, particularly in winter.

Major area of dissatisfactionThere was a very strong reaction from teachers whenever they encountered atechnical problem of any kind. Because they were using their personal time,frequently borrowed from other valued activities, any impediment which interruptedtheir use of the system generated extremely strong feelings of frustration and anger.When using the Beta version CD-ROM, teachers encountered a problem inapproximately 25% of training sessions. In all but about 5% of cases the problemwas solved, usually by the school project manager or by a colleague who hadpreviously learned how to handle it. In cases where the problem was not solvedwithin 10 minutes, the teacher quit the training session with extremely strong feelingsof frustration or anger, but there were very few instances when a novice traineesolved the problem unaided. However, as teachers grew in their technicalcompetence or familiarity with the system, the incidence of recorded problemsdeclined markedly. Nevertheless, the importance of providing an effective school-based support system, particularly during the initiation phase, should not beunderestimated.

Similarly, teachers reacted strongly to interruptions in their personally allocatedtraining time. Twenty-three per cent of all teachers’ training sessions wereinterrupted by the intrusion of a school incident (such as an outside telephone call, anenquiry from a member of staff or request to deal with a pupil) into their learningenvironment. Recorded interruptions varied from school to school (see Table 1). Inone school, 54% of the sessions were interrupted; in another only 6%. Technicalinterruptions occurred in 40% of the sessions. Both kinds of interruptions sometimesoccurred in the same session. An estimated 13 h (15.8%) of training time was lostdue to a combination of physical and technical interruptions.

Table 1. Pattern of training sessions and extent of interruptions

School No. of Sessions with Sessions with Total time Total time lostsessions technical faults with interruptions in training to technical faults

and interruptions(%) (%) (minutes) (%)

A 28 32 43 1225 17B 16 6 19 720 6C 72 18 44 2515 18D 11 55 36 465 17

Research outcomes — impact

The CLASS pilot project made an impact both on individuals, in terms of personaland professional development, and on the school as an organisation. It successfullyequipped teachers with new CLASS operating skills and knowledge, and contributedtowards their personal growth, conferring in particular an increased sense ofprofessional status and an increased confidence in their use of educationaltechnology. A contribution towards further organisational growth was made throughincreased engagement of teachers in school-based issues and an improved corporate



understanding, expressed in the sharing of knowledge and suggested improvementsbased on team work. Although evidence of these positive outcomes can be found ineach of the schools, they were not acquired in each to the same degree. Schoolswhose organisational environment promoted professional dialogue, exchange ofinformation and also valued professional development appeared to benefit most.

Of the two educational technologies used in the pilot project, the CD-ROM hadmore impact on professional development than the video-conferencing facility,primarily because the training programme was conceived as focused on skillacquisition. Although the skills testing made available through video conferencingwas seen as valuable both by teachers and the project team, the potential intra- andinter-organisational use of video conferencing by teachers, to gain a deeperunderstanding of how their newly acquired skills could be used to improve theeffectiveness of their schools, did not occur to any significant extent.

Despite positive teacher support for the use of an independent training model, anumber of lessons emerged which should be incorporated in any wider use of thisdesign and delivery model. Firstly, there must be an effective technical supportsystem. Secondly, multimedia learning systems must be robust, user-friendly,incorporate training material that is practical, and use a strongly interactive teachingmethodology. Low motivation was experienced by teachers during periods of lowinteractivity and high inform-ation output. Correspondingly high motivationoccurred during periods of high interactivity, yielding helpful feedback on progressand a sense of discovery and exploration of content with strong practical relevance.Thirdly, the training model needs to be carefully managed at school level withattention paid to monitoring of individual progress and action to prevent individualsexperiencing unresolvable conflicting claims on their time. For successful school-based development, timing and reception conditions at the point of introduction of atraining programme are crucial.

The question after the training period is: ‘Will the newly acquired individualskills be incorporated and develop further the quality of the school’s educationalprocesses?’ Certainly, teachers in three of the four schools appeared enthusiastic atthe prospect of collectively utilising newly acquired skills and knowledge. They werealso eager for upgraded equip-ment to arrive, making possible development of adeeper under-standing of how MIDAS could be used to improve the effectiveness oftheir schools.

Implementation

The implementation phase of the project began about nine months after thecompletion of the training programme. During this period there were 11 personnelchanges among the 28 original participants, including retirements, new appointmentsand post changes. Implementation was externally supported only by the installationof the networked hardware and CLASS software. Schools were left to decide forthemselves how to locate and use their new facilities.

The CLASS system is generally perceived by schools in Northern Ireland as anadjunct to administration. Not surprisingly therefore most of the networked stationswere actually located in the offices of Principals, Vice-Principals and schoolsecretarial staff. Each school also located a station accessible to members of theSenior Management Team. School C, however, which focused its training on theSMT and the Pastoral Care team, purchased eight additional stations from school



resources to ensure easy access for all members of the team. Each of the four pilotschools provided participants, now totalling 25, with access to a networked PC, butlevels of access to the MIDAS system itself varied from school to school.

Utilisation of MIDASAlthough each school operated in isolation from the other pilot schools, the patternof MIDAS use to obtain general information about pupils, timetabling/roomallocation and pupil attendance was similar in each. Significantly, teachers utilisedonly a small part of the software’s functions to support school managementprocesses. A number of respondents used it for staff information and examinationanalysis, and a few for discipline and subject-related matters (see Table 2).

Table 2. Use of MIDAS functions by teachers

Type of information No. of users*

Pupil admin information 13Timetabling/room allocation 12Pupil attendance 10Staff information 9Examination analysis 7Discipline 3Subject information 2

* raw figures

Locating pupils in the school was the only MIDAS function used by all four schoolsand a pupil record could be obtained which included a photograph, personal detailsand an individual timetable.

Frequency of use of MIDAS elementsMost teachers (including three Principals and five Vice-Principals) used the MIDASsystem daily (14), and a few did so weekly (3), less than once per month (2) ormonthly (1), although five teachers made no use of it. In school D, the SMT teachersdid not use MIDAS themselves but telephoned the school secretary to ask her toaccess the system for required information (‘It was quicker than starting up ourmachine’).

Benefits derived from using MIDASBy far the greatest perceived benefit from using MIDAS was the time savedaccessing required information (18). MIDAS, compared with the paper-based pupilrecord system, was perceived as providing information quickly and from widelydistributed access points.

Educational benefits for pupils or school from use of MIDASPerceived educational benefits were most apparent to the pastoral team in school Cwho cited reduction of time spent locating pupils. ‘MIDAS reduces the time spent onadministrative chores and therefore frees up time for other activities’, was a typicalresponse. Four respondents perceived few or no educational benefits and anotherwas unsure.

Systems replaced by MIDAS softwareMost respondents (16) said that MIDAS software had replaced a manual retrieval



system. Three, however, said that MIDAS had not replaced anything and one that theuse of paper records ‘for most elements’ still prevailed.

Use of the MIDAS CD-ROM since completion of trainingOne of the arguments for independent multimedia training is that it offers theopportunity for teachers to re-visit the training medium to develop their skills andknowledge further and for new members of staff to acquire the necessary operatingskills. However, it was found that none of the new appointments to school used theMIDAS CD-ROM to acquire the skills — in the case of school C the three newlyappointed pastoral team members were trained in the traditional ‘cascade’ manner bybeing shown how to operate the system by a helpful colleague. It is interesting tonote that this Just-in-Time training took, on average, only 30 minutes. This compareswith an average of three hours for full training but included only the module on pupilrecords. Twenty of the 25 teachers had not used the MIDAS CD-ROM since thetraining programme: three claimed they had done so. Indeed in three of schools, theCD-ROM could not be located.

Teachers’ assessment of their competence in use of MIDASAsked to rate their level of competence on a five point scale in the use of MIDAS,14 teachers rated themselves as ‘highly competent’ (surprising, since no teacher hadused more than a small part of the training software), five as ‘adequately competent’,six as ‘not competent’.

Use of video-conferencing since training programmeFive of the 25 teachers had used the video-conferencing facility since the completionof training. All reported that objectives had successfully been met. In each case onlythe basic image-dialogue function was used.

Assessment of competence in use of video-conferencingUsing a similar scale to that used for assessing their competence with MIDAS, mostteachers rated themselves as ‘not competent’ in the use of video-conferencing, two as‘highly competent’, three as ‘quite competent’.

Extent to which IT used in classroom before MIDAS training programmePrior to the EDSI training, 12 teachers had used IT in their classrooms for a range ofuses (see Table 3) and 11 said that they had not.

Table 3. Uses of IT in classroom before and after MIDAS training

Uses of IT Before training After training

Video-conferencing 1 5Word-processing 4 6Spreadsheets 2 2Use of CD-ROMs 2 4Graphics 1 1

Databases 1 4Desktop publishing 1 1Web authoring 1 1Control 1 1Internet 3E-mail: 3



Extent to which IT is currently used in the classroomTwo years after the EDSI training, only one additional teacher claimed to be usingIT in the classroom, although there was a significant growth in the number ofapplications used (see Table 3). The CD-ROM and video-conferencing were the onlyapplications included in the training programme.

Extent of IT used in any other professional capacity in schoolTwo years after the training programme, 19 teachers were using IT in a professionalcapacity, compared with 14 before training. Six remained nonusers. A range of useswas identified, chief of which was management and administration (see Table 4).

Personal/professional benefits from the MIDAS training programmeSix respondents said that the main benefit from the MIDAS training programme wasan increase in IT knowledge and skills and a heightened awareness of the potentialuses of IT in educational settings. One would have liked further guidance on this.Five said that the training programme had been confidence-building, one had beenhelped in respect of new duties as a seconded ICT Field Officer, but five otherscould see no personal or professional benefits and the remainder had no opinion.

Table 4. Uses of IT in other professional capacities since training

Uses of IT No. of users*

Management and administration 12Lesson presentation 6E-mail:ing other schools 5Internet searches 4PowerPoint presentations 2Development and manipulation of databases 2Timetabling 2EXCEL-Finance 2Promotional documents for school 1

* raw figures

Organisational developmentsConcerning organisational benefits arising directly from the MIDAS trainingprogramme, four teachers said that it provided current pupil information centrally,three that it encouraged nonusers, two that it allowed impromptu meetings to be held,and one that it identified attendance and punctuality problems. Individually, teachersmentioned their increased willingness to promote increased understanding of IT, thetime-saving factor and improved confidence among (some) senior staff in the use ofIT. Four teachers, however, perceived no benefit.

Discussion

Recent experiences of these four ‘technologically ready’ and well-resourced schoolsoffer important lessons for those responsible for the development of in-servicetraining through independent learning systems. The most striking revelation of thestudy is schools’ under-utilisation of software capabilities. Several change-inducingingredients, motivational, cognitive and technical, were in evidence after completionof the training programme. For example, teachers believed themselves to becompetent in the required skills, were enthusiastic and motivated by the perceived



potentialities of the system and were supported by adequate hardware and technicalsupport structures. The schools’ responses, however, as evidenced by self-reportingof changed activity, suggest that to decouple training and implementation leavesorganisational understanding and practice largely unaffected. In the case of the fourparticipating schools, these deficits manifested themselves as:• Under-utilisation of software

The MIDAS software was only used for those functions which accessed theschool’s existing database. Although each school understood and valued thepotential of a fully functioning system, they had not invested the required humanresources or made necessary organisational changes to enable the full capabilitiesof the system to be fully realised. To benefit fully from MIDAS, schools wouldneed to input updated pupil data daily and convert existing paper-based recordingpractices to an electronic medium. Teachers themselves were also unwilling torelinquish their personal paper-based records and entrust key tasks to a systemsubject to the requirements of the Data Protection Act. None of the schools usedthe MIDAS financial analysis module. In part, this was due to an unwillingness toshift from a current EXCEL-based system (two schools) and, in all schools, to afailure to integrate analytical financial data into the SMT’s routine decision-making processes.

• Lack of access to hardwareIn three of the four schools, the location of hardware was concentrated in theoffices of the Principal and administrative staff. This localisation not onlyreduced accessibility for other members of SMT but also signalled the Principaland school administrative staff as the significant system users. In two of theschools where this localisation was most intensive, only the Principal and oneVice-Principal used MIDAS. The interest, enthusiasm and sense of corporateidentity claimed by SMTs after completion of the training phase seemed to havedisappeared.

• Limited use of ICTThere appeared to have been little extension of teachers’ use of ICT for teachingpurposes, attributable to their training experience on MIDAS. One teacher hadbegun to use a CD-ROM as part of an information-gathering exercise by pupils.The belief that the training experience would motivate teachers to develop theirICT skills and incorporate ICT in their teaching was not realised. In two schools,five teachers began to use video conferencing and there was a perceptibleincreased use of IT for professional tasks. It is likely that these developments areno stronger or more firmly focused than would have occurred in any case, owingto the prevailing ‘social climate’ of greater readiness and opportunity to make useof ICT facilities.

• Limitations of the training modelThe inefficiencies and ineffectiveness of implementation are also due, in part, tothe limitations of the training model and in particular to its reliance upon skillsacquisition through simulation, rather than through use of a school’s real data.There were instances, for example, of teachers wishing to input school data butfeeling insufficiently equipped to do so. A training requirement for participants toengage with a school’s own data would introduce confidence and skill-formingincentives.



Conclusion

Training and implementation should be seen as inseparable processes. Decouplingthe activities that sustain them leads to ineffectiveness, inefficiency, and leavesorganisational practices largely unchanged. Necessary incentives for staff to changethemselves, by undertaking self-directed school development tasks throughprogrammes of professional self-development are removed when training objectivesand processes are isolated from considerations of organisational development.Nevertheless, staff used elements of the new ICT facilities when they perceived animmediate individual benefit of saving time required for carrying out existingprofessional tasks. Readiness to adopt the new technology was prompted byperceived efficiency gains. This is very much in-line with the findings of Wild et al.(1991) during an evaluation of an LEA initiative in the use of computer-basedmanagement information systems.

Skills training programmes will not by themselves bring about professional andorganisational change. The limitations identified in the CLASS project stronglyindicate a need to examine alternative models of the change process in relation toICT development and implementation in schools. Schon’s (1970) explanations ofhow the ‘centre’ influences change at the ‘periphery’ may merit re-examination. Themodel underlying the CLASS training reflects a Research, Development andDiffusion model (R, D and D). Strong on internal coherence, as befits its empirical-rational strategic foundations (Chin & Benne, 1975), such a model highlights therationality inherent in an objectives-driven strategy which ignores the constitutiveelements and interrelationships inherent in the diffusion process. This ‘weak link’, atthe interface between institutional culture and experience (Becher & Maclure, 1977),allows the possibilities of changing school practice to remain unexplored.

If diffusion strategy were designed to match a more comprehensiveunderstanding of training processes and their link with institutional practice andrenewal, dissemination strategies would have to be redesigned to confront andincorporate aspects of what Havelock (1972) termed the ‘social interaction’ model.There, the user is a change agent and change strategy incorporates provision fornormative re-educative experiences (Chin & Benne, 1975). These principles shouldalso formatively influence the design, development and production of ManagementInformation software.

In the case of the CLASS project, training was designed to employ a combinationof ‘Pressure’ (school and individual exposure to testing and possible publication)and ‘Support’ (provision of CD-ROM, technical expertise and a facilitative trainingenvironment). After training was completed, implementation languished, though theessential framework and nourishment of physical and technical support were fullyprovided. The ‘natural growth’ that did occur showed that schools adapted thetraining to their needs by achieving the greatest return with the least investment oftheir own time. The teachers who participated in this training experience revealed thepoverty, in educational as in so many other spheres of social organisation, of relyingexclusively on strategic design, rational control structures and the responsiveness ofcost-sensitive agents. These findings lend support to an important and alreadyestablished principle (Dalin, 1977) that for effective ICT development to take place,attention must be paid to the totality of the relevant system and (in school settings)incorporate a strategy of vertical, as well as horizontal professional dialogue.



References

Becher, T. & Maclure, S. (1978) The Politics of Curriculum Change. Hutchinson, London.Chin, R. & Benne, K. (1976) General Strategies for Effecting Changes in Human Systems. In

Planning for Change (eds. W. Bennis, K. Benne, R. Chin, & N, Corey), pp. 22-45. Holt,Rinehart and Winston, London.

CLASS (1995) Proposal for a CLASS Superhighway. (A proposal submitted for theEducation Departments’ Superhighway Initiative.) Computerised Local AdministrationSystems for Schools. Mimeographed. Belfast.

Dalin, P. (1978) Limits to Educational Change. Macmillan. London.DENI (1997) A Strategy for Educational Technology in Northern Ireland. Department of

Education Northern Ireland, Bangor, Co. Down.DfEE (1997) Connecting the Learning Society. HMSO. London.Fullan, M. (1993) Change Forces: Probing the Depths of Educational Reform. Falmer Press.

Lewes.Havelock, R. (1973) The Change Agent’s Guide to Innovation in Education. Educational

Technology Publications. Englewood Cliffs, NJ.Parlett, M. (1977) Evaluation as Illumination: a New approach to the Study of Educational

Programmes. In Beyond the Numbers Game (eds. D. Hamilton, B. MacDonald, C. King,D. Jenkins & M. Parlett), pp. 6–22. Macmillan, London.

Saunders, M. (1995) Researching professional learning. Journal of Computer AssistedLearning, 11, 3, 231–238.

Saunders, M. (1998) Organisational culture and occupational learning. Journal of ComputerAssisted Learning, 14, 3, 170–182.

Schon, D. (1971) Beyond the Stable State: Public and Private Learning in a ChangingSociety. Temple Smith, London.

Scrimshaw, P. (1997) Preparing for the Information Age: Synoptic Report of the EducationDepartments’ Superhighways Initiative. Department for Education and Employment,Department of Education Northern Ireland, Scottish Office, and Welsh Office, London,Belfast, Edinburgh and Cardiff. http://www.vtc.ngfl.gov.uk./vtc/index.html.

Squires, D. & McDougall, A. (1996) Software evaluation: a situated approach. Journal ofComputer Assisted Learning, 12, 3, 146–161.

Wild, P., Scivier, J.E. & Richardson, S.J. (1992) Evaluating Information Technology-Supported Local Management of Schools: The User Acceptability Audit. EducationalManagement and Administration, 20, 1, 40–48.

Wiseman, S. & Pidgeon, D. (1980) Curriculum Evaluation. NFER, Slough.



Forthcoming papers in JCAL

Vol. 16, No. 2, June 2000 Special issueLearning from hypermedia systems: cognitive approaches

Guest editor: Jean-Francois Rouet, CNRS, PoitiersSpecific help devices for educational hypermediaUnderstanding multimedia dialogues in a foreign languageEvaluation of the effectiveness and use of hypertext in an activity learning environmentVisiospatial working memory in learning from multimedia systemsMultimedia design: the effects of relating multimode informationDesign and use of a hypermedia system at the University levelTools and strategies to help in the search for information in hypermedia environments

Draft abstracts for these papers can be found on the JCAL website:http://www.lancs.ac.uk/users/ktru/jcaljrnl.html

training teachers in computer-based management information systems

Documents