ICT in Developing countries

In contrast, some developing countries have also created some promising initiatives which take advantage of the possibilities offered by ICT. In India, for example, one of the most fundamental concepts of ICT involves the creation of a competent human capital. They have therefore adopted a programme since 1991 aimed at reconstructing the existing system of tertiary and vocational education through the integration of ICT tools to reinforce the acquisition of human capital, in its STP policy (Software Technology Parks). India’s education policy aims to create an environment of collaboration by motivating and enabling a wider participation of society. This government-oriented ICT policy has transformed the national curriculum into an ICT-oriented education curriculum (Colclough and De, 2010).

The main characteristic of Indian ICT education is that education in programming is performed first, which means that students are taught how to program software earlier, and education in the application of ICT is offered at a later stage (Halewood and Kenny, 2008). India also aims to promote open and free access to the internet, by enabling all ICT resources to be available for all school staff members (Davis and Walters, 2011).

Chile and Taiwan are further examples of how developing countries have incorporated effective ICT programmes to improve overall development. In Chile, the ICT programme includes training teachers in its use, offering an educational portal on the web and, most importantly, increasing access to digital resources and the internet to all schools.

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By 2004, 80% of Chile’s schools had been equipped with digital resources, and 55% had internet access (Laval and Hinistroza, 2002; Hepp et al. 2004),

Likewise, the Taiwanese government has decided to support this worldwide trend. Thus, the Ministry of Education has declared the integration of ICT tools in education as the number one priority in an attempt to improve general educational provision, in order to strengthen Taiwan’s human capital, and to ensure the country is compliant with the requirements of the global market (Young and Ku, 2008). Since the 1990s, in fact, Taiwanese educational institutions have participated in the process of creating a common ICT infrastructure through equipping their computer labs and educating their teachers to fully utilise ICT opportunities (Young and Ku, 2008).

What can be deduced from the cases of India, Chili and Taiwan is that policies related to the development of ICT as a subject, and the effective incorporation of ICT, are extremely important in government plans for future development. Thus, rather than ignoring or delaying the concept of modern technologies taking over learning and teaching, they are engaging with this vast phenomenon and presenting strategies which match other more developed countries (Cox, 2006). This approach allows the current study to apply the similarities between these developing countries and that of Saudi Arabia to assess to what extent Saudi Arabia is attempting to improve its ICT implementation for its further development.

Looking towards the Middle East, the United Arab Emirates is home to the one of the fastest growing ICT industries (World Economic Forum, 2015). Thus, the UAE Vision 2021 relies on building a knowledge-based economy and the creation of high-level human capital though innovation and technology advancement (UAE Vision, 2015). This vision focuses on enhancing the growth of the economy and education, relying primarily on developing an infrastructure of information and communication. Efficient connectedness and access to knowledge created by various digital appliances are regarded as the key drivers for the acquisition of human capital, meeting the requirements of the global market (UAE Vision, 2015).

Furthermore, to ensure that the programmes developed in its schools comply with international standards, with a particular focus on introducing the latest ICT materials at all school levels, the overall goal of the Ministry of Education is to bring qualitative improvement in the education system. Moreover, a major initiative, which took shape in 2012, entitled the Smart Learning Programme, intends, by 2017, to shape a new learning environment in public schools through the launch of smart schools that will provide every student with a smart tablet and

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access to high-speed 4G networks, so it is not surprising that UAE’s students are the second highest in the student happiness index in the world (UAE Vision, 2015).

For its ICT strategy (2012-2017), Egypt has effectively improved its ICT implementation, primarily by choosing a cooperative, collaborative approach. The ICT sector began to earn a sound reputation, both regionally and internationally, due to the efforts of the Ministry of Communication and Information Technology (MCIT), which was established in 1999, and has since played a significant role in the country's development, both in human, social and economic terms, and in its transition to democracy. The National ICT Strategy focuses on the sharing of responsibilities by all stakeholders within an ethos of cooperation and partnership, including public, private, and government organisations, both regionally and nationally, aiming to promote full participation and engagement in the sector, to ensure not only the future of the sector itself, but also recognising its benefits to the whole of society (Egypt National ICT Strategy, 2012).

Jordan provides a further example of an education ICT policy based on economic priorities. Due to the need to address the country's consistently high rates of unemployment and poverty, a programme of economic and social transformation was established by the government in 2001 in order to develop a knowledge economy, alongside high value-added sectors, recognising the importance of developing the country's human resources as a priority.

As a result, a programme, entitled the Educational Reform for the Knowledge Economy (ERfKE), was established in 2003, which set out to nurture and develop creativity and innovation among learners, aiming to ensure this by providing a learning environment conducive to developing skills and abilities that could then be adapted to problem solving in the wider system, and a curriculum that combined traditional elements, with a focus on knowledge creation and management through the use of ICT (Kozma, 2011).

In general, the education policies of the UAE, Egypt and Jordan focus on an investment in human capital and on choosing a cooperative and collaborative approach by applying ICT tools in the education sector. However, developing countries need to look at aspects that have made developed countries achieve a lot of progression in ICT sector.

What is clear is that there need to be processes and procedures as well as policies and collaboration of all involved. While ICT should adopt a more universal approach that integrated, education, human capital, economy as well social structure (Ferrer, 2009). These factors are discussed in the proposed study framework.

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The following table summarises the main factors from the previous policies and strategies.

Table 2.3: ICT policies in different developed and developing countries

From the foregoing, it is clear that many developing and developed countries are making every attempt to activate the use of ICT tools in their education systems. However, although they have invested massively in this sector, the progression has often been disappointing, resulting in a number of serious questions being raised for decision-makers and educators alike (Twining, 2007). One of the most important questions concerns the factors which affect the successful implementation of ICT in schools.

The following section discusses some teaching and learning theories and models in using ICT in education, in order to identify additional critical factors for effective ICT implementation,

Country The core elements

USA  Quality of ICT tools and ICT as a subject  Collaboration and involvement of the various

parties

 Promoting an attractive learning environment

 Development of ICT infrastructure and facilities

United Kingdom

 Sharing solutions between all parties  ICT infrastructure

 Building a knowledgeable society based on ICT

 Alterations in the structure of conventional schools

 Universal availability of ICT tools

Australia Strategy 2020  Infrastructure  Policies on planning  Online content  Teacher training New Zealand Cooperation

 Availability of connectivity and computers

 Distance learning  Online content

 Software and maintenance

Finland  Collaboration  Knowledge sharing

 Developing information society skills

 Open education and research networks  Development of educational information

products and services

Singapore  Integration of tools

 Promoting life-long learning

 Teacher development  Infrastructure Irish  Connectivity  Infrastructure  ICT curriculum  Focus on leadership Finland  Expertise  Knowledge sharing  Collaboration

India  Reinforcing the acquisition of human capital  Focusing on education in programming

 Reconstructing existing systems

Chili  Training teachers in ICT

 Offering an education portal on the web

 Increasing the access to digital resources  Internet available to all schools

Taiwanese  Equipping computer labs

 Educating teachers in fully utilising ICT opportunities

 ICT-based educational reform  Common ICT infrastructure

United Arab Emirates

 Knowledge based economy

 Innovation and technical advancement  Compliance with international standards

 Provision of up to date tools for each student (e.g. tablets)

Egypt  Infrastructure  Focus on curriculum

 Distance learning  Eradication of illiteracy

Jordan  Knowledge economy  Educational reform program

 Focus on knowledge creation  Management through use of ICT  Collaborative and cooperative approach

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which can add to the factors that are gathered from the previous policies and strategies to form the study conceptual framework.