UNESCO ICT Competency Framework for Teachers ... - unesco iite

UNESCO ICT Competency Framework for Teachers
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THE PRINCIPLES
The Policy context
UNESCO’s education policies and projects
Education is a central function of any nation or community. UNES CO and the UN see education as having the
following aims:
inculcating the community’s core values and passing on its cultural legacy
supporting the personal development of children, young people and adults
promoting democracy and increasing participation in society, particularly among women and minorities
encouraging cross-cultural understanding and the peaceful resolution of confl ict, improving health and
well-being
supporting economic development, reducing poverty and increasing widespread prosperity.
The ICT Competency Framework for Teachers project is part of a range of initiatives by the UN and its specialized
agencies, including UNESCO, to promote educational reform and sustainable economic development. The
Millennium Development Goals (MDG), Education for All (EFA), the UN Literacy Decade (UNLD), and the Decade
of Education for Sustainable Development (DESD) all aim to reduce poverty and to improve health and the quality
of life, and they view education as an important contribution to these goals. 2 They aim to promote the equality
of women and men and advance the human rights of all citizens, particularly for minorities. These projects all
view education as key to economic development, as a way of enabling people to fulfi l their potential and take
increasing control over decisions that aff ect them. They all see education as a right of all citizens. In addition, the
EFA and DESD emphasize the quality of learning, both what is learnt and how it is learnt. UNLD and EFA focus
on literacy as a key part of learning and education. EFA, DESD and UNLD emphasize the informal learning that
takes place outside the school system, as well as learning in school. The UNESCO International Commission on
Education for the 21st Century 3 views learning throughout life and participation in the society of learning as the
key to meeting the challenges posed by a rapidly changing world. The Commission emphasizes four pillars of
learning: ‘learning to live together’, ‘learning to know’, ‘learning to do’, and ‘learning to be’.
The Framework project: linking ICT, education and the economy
The ICT-CFT project embraces the goals of these education programmes and UNESCO’s and the UN’s aims of
education. Like these programmes, the ICT-CFT emphasizes poverty reduction and improved quality of life. Like the
EFA and DESD, it emphasizes improvements in the quality of education. It shares with several of the programmes a
focus on literacy, and like the UNLD, it also argues for a broader defi nition of literacy. In keeping with the International
Commission, it stresses life-long learning, new learning goals and participation in a learning society that is based on
knowledge building and knowledge sharing.
However, the ICT-CFT project supports these programmes by building on the relationship between ICT
use, education reform and economic growth. The ICT-CFT is based on the principle that systemic social and
economic growth is the key to poverty reduction and increased prosperity. It is also based on the assumptions
2 UNESCO. 2005. Links between the Global Initiatives in Education. Paris, UNESCO.
3 Delors, J., et al. 1999. Learning: The Treasure Within. Paris, UNESCO.