A Conductive Classroom Environment for IT Integration: A Collective Case Study of Primary Schools in Singapore

This paper discusses the findings of the collective case study of two primary schools in Singapore. It is part of a larger funded research project that examines and analyses where and how IT is integrated in Singapore schools to develop pupils’ higher order thinking skills. The focus of this paper is on the IT classroom management issues that create a conducive environment to support the effective integration of IT in the schools. In such an environment, pupils are more likely to be task-oriented and reflective, and hence, more likely to engage in higher order thinking. These issues include the establishment of rules and procedures, availability of IT resources, conduct and management of IT-based activities, and division of labour among participants. In Singapore, the Master Plan for ICT in Education was launched in April 1997. As part of this plan, all Singapore schools are expected to acquire and integrate ICT in their curriculum so as to develop a culture of thinking, lifelong learning and social responsibility. Based on the implementation progress of the ICT Master Plan, it is an appropriate time to study the integration of ICT in schools as the process of integration has reached a considerable level of maturity and stability for evaluation purposes. This article reports and discusses the findings of the case study of two primary schools in Singapore. The focus of this article is the discussion of ICT classroom management issues that create a conducive environment that supports the effective integration of ICT in the schools. In such an environment, pupils are more likely to be task-oriented and reflective, and hence, more likely to engage in higher order thinking. These issues include the establishment of rules and procedures, conduct and management of ICT-based activities, and division of labour among participants. The Case Studies: East Primary School and North Primary School To provide an in-depth examination of the ICT management issues that support the effective integration of ICT in schools, case study research is the most appropriate tradition of inquiry. The ‘cases’ for the study in this article were 2 primary schools in Singapore, East Primary and North Primary School. The 2 schools were selected based on their high degree of ICT integration reported in the questionnaire survey distributed to all Singapore schools. To ensure the accuracy of conclusions drawn, the data from the observations of ICT-based lessons, face-to-face interviews with teachers, head of department (HOD), and principal, focus group discussions with pupils, and pupils’ questionnaire were used in the multiple strategies process. Multiple strategies involve gathering accounts of different realities that have been constructed by various groups and individuals in the school; and hence, enhance reliability and validity of the study. The study in East Primary School, a government-aided school, was carried out between 17 and 27 September 2001. At the time of the study, there were 2118 pupils, consisting of boys and girls with ages ranging from 7 to 12. The school has a teaching staff strength of 80 with 10 support staff, including a computer technician. There were 2 computer rooms where each has been equipped with about 40 computers, data projector, pull-down projector screen and whiteboard. The ICT learning packages used included Midisaurus for Music, I-Micro and RoboLab for Science, and a wide range of CD-ROMs for the other subjects. The school also converted certain areas in the school into free access corners with a total of 12 computers for pupils to engage in independent learning. The fieldwork in North Primary School, a governmentaided school, was carried out from 21 August to 4 October 2001. All 720 pupils were girls between 7 to 12 years old. There were 31 teaching staff and 9 support staff, including with computer technician. There was 1 computer room with about 40 computers, data projector, pull-down projector screen, whiteboard and 2 printers. The ICT learning packages used included Midasaurus for Music, Crayola for Art, and CD-ROMs such as MathBlaster and ZARC for Mathematics. Establishment of Rules and Procedures Although the rules and procedures established in a nonICT based classroom apply in an ICT-based classroom, there are additional rules and procedures to be established in the latter. This is due to the addition of computers, printers, monitors, CD-ROMs and other ICT resources. The rules are generally set up to prevent the abuse of the hardware and software in the computer room. In both schools, the rules of the computer room were clearly displayed on the wall. They included no water bottle or food in the computer room, no unauthorised installation of program, and no unauthorised change to the features of the control panel. It is also important to establish procedures for pupils to follow, as this will minimise the occurrences of deviant behaviour among pupils and keep the pupils on task. Proceedings of the International Conference on Computers in Education (ICCE’02) 0-7695-1509-6/02 $17.00 © 2002 IEEE