Is school wide adoption of ICT change for the better?

The use of information and communication technologies (ICT) in schools is now an intrinsic part of students’ learning, both inside and outside the classroom. The adoption and impact of ICT on teaching practice and learning outcomes has been a source of keen interest among government policy makers, school leaders, teachers and researchers worldwide. Few empirical studies have been conducted in Australia, or worldwide, that focus on student attitudinal outcomes framed within a design-based paradigm that spans several years. The overarching purpose of this study is to investigate longitudinal change in school climate through its influence on students and teachers, during a period of school-wide transition as ICT were embedded throughout mainstream curricula. An assessment of the impact of ICT on student attitudinal outcomes, in particular, changes in self-esteem over a three-year period of school-wide ICT adoption, is provided through the examination of factors affecting teaching practice and students’ attitudes towards computers and school. A total of 219 teachers and 2560 students from six metropolitan public primary and secondary schools in South Australia participated in the study. The main method of data collection involves the use of online questionnaires suitable for repeated administration over the three-year lifespan of the study, and appropriate for all teachers and those students in Years 5 to 7 in primary school and Years 8 to 10 in secondary school.