The development of ITEM in England and Wales

In the United Kingdom the early 1970’s saw the introduction of teaching about computers, the early 1980’s the use of computers to enhance teaching and learning, and the early 1990’s have witnessed the wide scale introduction of Information Technology in Educational Management (ITEM). The first part of this paper examines briefly the impetus behind the broad adoption of ITEM in England and Wales. The major part of the paper reports on a survey of Local Education Authorities (LEAs) in England and Wales. Statistics are presented which demonstrate the comprehensive take up of ITEM over a short period of time. How projects were co-ordinated; what applications were being run, and what proprietary systems were chosen; the hardware used; the level of training and support provided for schools implementing and running ITEM systems, are all discussed.