Transforming education: the power of ICT policies - Commonwealth ...

Is Leap-frogging Possible?
The efforts above bring up an intriguing prospect, that education systems can “leap frog” from a basic stage to a
much more advanced one without going through the intermediate stages. All of our case study countries strive
toward a knowledge society and information economy. Yet several of the countries are in relatively early stages
of economic development. The education policies of Rwanda aim to prepare students for a knowledge-based
economy. Yet the per capita GDP for Rwanda is USD 900. There are only 300,000 Internet users in a country of nearly
11 million people. Both Jordan’s economic plan and their education reform plan are built on a vision of a knowledge
economy. Yet the current per capita gross national income for Jordan is US $ 5,300. Only 7% of Jordanians have a
personal computer and only four people out of 100 have Internet access, according to 2007 World Bank fi gures.
The ability to move ahead in the economy or the education system is both enabled and constrained by current
capacity. It is an open question as to whether or not a country can develop a knowledge economy until the information
technology infrastructure is in place, the use of technology is widespread, there is a signifi cant domestic skill base,
and there is a large demand for knowledge products and services. In education, it may be diffi cult to move from a
system tuned to basic skills to knowledge deepening or from knowledge acquisition to knowledge creation. It may
be diffi cult to incorporate pedagogies that emphasize deep understanding of school subjects if teachers themselves
have only a rudimentary education. Incorporating knowledge-building skills into the curriculum may be constrained
by assessments that measure only the basics of literacy and numeracy. Providing computers to all classrooms in the
system may not be benefi cial (or even possible) if the economy has not yet produced the skilled technology workers
that would install and maintain the system. And preparing students for a knowledge economy may not make sense
if, for example, the economy is not yet in the process of creating knowledge-worker jobs and businesses and homes
do not yet have access to the Internet that would allow them to take advantage of knowledge products and services.
Most likely, governments and education systems that aspire to signifi cant advances in social and economic
development must plan for the long-term with an extended series of policies and programmes that incrementally
move the system forward, building teacher expertise, advancing the curriculum, refi ning the assessments, and
developing technological capacity, as the accomplishments and proceeds of successful economic development
support it.
Policy Implications of Lessons Learned
Many other countries are facing the same challenges and opportunities as those we feature in our case studies.
These countries provide many lessons that are useful in formulating ICT policies for education. In addition, the
Knowledge Ladder gives policy-makers a way of thinking about the introduction of ICT in a coordinated way that is
sensitive to the current development context and can advance economic and social development goals. Here are
eight guidelines that help policy-makers do that.
Create a vision and align education policies with national goals
To maximize the impact of education investments, strategic educational policies must be aligned with national
social and economic development goals. Each of our case study countries did this, each in its own way. As with our
case study countries, the national goals should be based on the current development context but lay out a vision
and trajectory by which the country builds on its current resources and competitive advantages to accumulate
additional resources that can support improved social welfare and economic growth. Education policy can be an
important – indeed, central – part of the vision and trajectory.
In some countries, policy alignment can be facilitated by a cross-ministerial decision-making and coordinating
committee that may consist of the ministers of economic development, fi nance, ICT, rural development, education,
and others, as is the case with Singapore’s economic master plan. In other countries, it may be facilitated by
a multi-stakeholder commission or groups composed of cabinet offi cials and representatives from business,
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