Information and Communication Technology in Educational Policies in the Asian Region

Abstract

The chapter analyses the various policies towards ICT in primary and secondary education from the perspective of Asian region, where it is the world’s most diverse region, and the most heterogeneous, especially for integrating and sustaining ICT across several domains, including education. Using the Knowledge Ladder framework, this chapter explores firstly the rationale for the development of ICT policies in Asia in terms of four types of education models. Over the past decade, we can observe that the development of ICT policies in Asia are mixed. In certain nations, e.g., Lao PDR and Vietnam, the policy priority areas of basic education focused on poverty alleviation, improving ICT use by teachers and improving training in ICT for students. In other nations such as Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand, Hong Kong, Taiwan, China, Japan, Korea and India the policy priority areas supported knowledge deepening, knowledge acquisition or knowledge creation. This chapter shows that recent ICT policies in the Asian region have placed more emphasis on the development of students than of teachers. Other stakeholders such as parents are also included in the ICT policies in some Asian countries. From recent empirical research, we noted three main challenges: closing the digital divide, promoting the safe and responsible use of ICT, and measuring and evaluating ICT literacy skills. Finally, we also provide emerging perspectives for the development of ICT in education in Asia, namely alignment of local and international goals, student engagement in learning alongside social and leisure activities, and the context of Asian culture.