Factors influencing the impact of inservice courses for teachers in educational computing: implications for policy

From 1984 to 1986 the Commonwealth Schools Commission allocated 20 million dollars to its National Computer Education Program. State level coordinating committees administered the program within Commission guidelines. One of the strategies used by these committees to foster the use of computers in schools was the short inservice course. This paper is a report of an evaluation of the impact of such courses in Victoria. The study used a combination of multiple case research design and survey. The courses aimed to give novice teachers basic skills and confidence with computers. The courses also had a second agenda: that teachers would act as change agents when they returned to their schools. Although teachers were very positive in their evaluations of the courses, they were only likely to have an impact on actual practice with planned and sustained support for teacher in their schools for a considerable period after the courses had been completed.