ICT in Developing Countries: Policies, Implementation, and Impact

Abstract

Many countries in the developing world, including the least developed countries, are making significant investments in educational ICT (information and communication technology). Even with extremely constrained financial resources, some countries are purchasing one laptop for every primary or secondary student. This chapter examines the policies and rationales used by governments to justify these investments, the issues involved in the implementation of ICT in developing countries, and the available research on the impact of ICT investments. Policy documents from a range of developing countries are analyzed to identify key policy goals and the implementation programs authorized to accomplish these goals. The rationales include the use of educational ICT to support economic development, social progress, and education reform. Field reports from developing countries are analyzed to describe sometimes unique implementation challenges related to infrastructure, maintenance, contents, and teacher training, as well as the efforts used to address these challenges. Such challenges include limited electrical or Internet infrastructure in rural areas, limited availability of technically skilled support staff, the predominance of minority languages, and under-qualified teaching staff. And finally, the chapter reviews research on these ICT efforts, including descriptive studies, classroom practice studies, and impact research. The chapter makes some concluding remarks about the current status of ICT in developing countries and research needed to determine the contribution ICT will make in these countries.