The horse before the cart: A theory based approach to using computers in education

When schools in the United States use computers as part of their instructional practices with minority children, they tend to use the same practices that take place without the technology, namely, remediation (Boruta et al., 1983; Center for the Social Organization of Schools, 1983). Computers are used primarily as instructional delivery systems to provide drill and practice programs instead of as tools (e.g., word processors, databases, spreadsheets) to investigate problems in subject matter areas. In working with minority children, we believe enrichment is a better strategy for addressing academic achievement problems (Brophy, 1988). Our approach to using computers with minority children is to focus on enrichment. We have viewed