ICT Curriculum Planning and Development: Policy and Implementation Lessons from Small Developing States

Abstract

It is becoming increasingly recognized that education solutions from one country, including ICT for learning and teaching in the curriculum, may not be suited to the context of another. It is probably best for each country to develop its own solutions or approaches based upon in-depth analysis of the local conditions and strategic priorities. However, there are many constraints that small developing states encounter, such as the availability of financial and human resources, and geographical isolation, which may limit their ability to develop, implement, and evaluate their own strategic development plans. This chapter examines the particular case of small states in Latin America and the Caribbean with a population under five million, such as Costa Rica, Uruguay, Panama, and Jamaica. We begin with a brief overview of the geographic and socioeconomic context of these countries, followed by a review of the history of ICT curriculum planning and development in these countries. The review shows that some of the challenges encountered are similar to those found in medium or large countries, and others that are more specific to small states. We then report on three case studies of ICT curriculum planning and development in the region that have very different histories: Costa Rica, Suriname, and the Caribbean Universities Project for Integrated Distance Education (CUPIDE). We conclude this chapter by identifying some of the lessons learned from our investigation that may be of value to policy makers and leaders concerned about effective strategies to support ICT curriculum planning and implementation in small states.