Integrating information and communication technologies in the Turkish primary school system

The paper reports on an investigation into the 1998-2003 Phase 1 of the information and communication technologies (ICTs) component of the Basic Education Program, a major project jointly funded by the Turkish Ministry of National Education (MONE) and the World Bank designed to integrate ICT into the national primary school system. The study involved a search of the literature regarding ICT integration in primary schools, an analysis of MONE and World Bank documentation and face-to-face interviews and a questionnaire survey to gauge the experiences and views of the administrators and computer coordinators involved in the project. The findings revealed major shortcomings in the project, and the paper concludes with recommendations for addressing these shortcomings in Phase 2 of the project, which is now under way, again under the aegis of MONE and the World Bank.