Importance of information and communication technology (ICT) curriculum in government school of Sri Lanka

Abstract

Information and Communication Technology (ICT) acts as a significant tool in achieving vital goals in education sector. The development of ICT is a major objective under Sri Lanka’s development vision of becoming the "Emerging Wonder of Asia" as outlined in the Mahinda Chintana 2010 – vision for the future. The research objectives are to explore (1) the importance of the ICT curriculum for the government schools in Sri Lanka (2) find the educational challenges and opportunities for ICT education in Sri Lanka. This research is primarily qualitative in nature, where the survey conducted based on the analysis of previous research papers, extensive literature surveys, previous survey reports and government publications on the above context. The importance of ICT curriculum in government school analyzed and presented using Bennett’s Hierarchy 7 steps model such as Inputs, Activities, Participants, Reactions of participants, Changes in knowledge, Practice change, End results. Lack of computer laboratory and cost of devices, lack of qualified ICT teachers, less motivation towards ICT among school children, require more funds for the implementation and maintenance of computer laboratories, inadequate knowledge in English (language barrier), ICT is not a major subject in the school curriculum, no National Level Certification for ICT for students were identified as a challenges and rising demand for the ICT sector career, high literacy rate of the citizens, properly established and scattered schools provide easy access to the school community, public – private sector partnership, government and INGOs projects were identified as opportunities for the ICT implementation.