Informatics Education in Italian High Schools

This paper presents the main results of an extensive monitoring exercise aimed at assessing the role of informatics education in Italian high schools. The investigation focused on the teaching and certification activities performed by the schools as well as on the role and use of information technologies for teaching and communications with the students and their families. The study has shown a very positive attitude of the schools towards informatics education: many offer specific courses to their students and promote the use of the technologies for teaching a large variety of disciplines. The certification process of ICT skills is also popular. Despite all these positive aspects, the investigation has shown that informatics education is often limited to the use of computers and seldom addresses the foundations of the discipline.

[1]  Peter Micheuz,et al.  Some Findings on Informatics Education in Austrian Academic Secondary Schools , 2008, Informatics Educ..

[2]  Sandra Galindo.  Palfrey, J.; Gasser, U. Born Digital: Understanding the First Generation of Digital Natives. New York, NY: Basic books, 2008 , 2009 .

[3]  Roland T. Mittermeir,et al.  Informatics Education - Supporting Computational Thinking, Third International Conference on Informatics in Secondary Schools - Evolution and Perspectives, ISSEP 2008, Torun, Poland, July 1-4, 2008, Proceedings , 2008, ISSEP.

[4]  J. Palfrey,et al.  Born digital: understanding the first generation of digital natives , 2009, Choice Reviews Online.

[5]  Jeffrey A. Stone,et al.  Inconsistencies and disconnects , 2007, CACM.

[6]  Scheuermann Friedrich,et al.  Assessing the effects of ICT in education - Indicators, criteria and benchmarks for international comparisons , 2009 .

[7]  Valentina Dagiene,et al.  Teaching Information Technology and Elements of Informatics in Lower Secondary Schools: Curricula, Didactic Provision and Implementation , 2008, ISSEP.

[8]  Michael H. Randall,et al.  Information Technology Student-Based Certification in Formal Education Settings: Who Benefits and What is Needed , 2005, J. Inf. Technol. Educ..

[9]  Carsten Schulte,et al.  Bridging ICT and CS: educational standards for computer science in lower secondary education , 2009, ITiCSE.

[10]  Rafi Nachmias,et al.  Information and Communication Technologies Usage by Students in an Israeli High School: Equity, Gender, and Inside/Outside School Learning Issues , 2001, Education and Information Technologies.

[11]  Luisa Mich,et al.  The ECDL programme in Italian Universities , 2007, Comput. Educ..

[12]  Chris Stephenson,et al.  Running on Empty: the Failure to Teach K--12 Computer Science in the Digital Age , 2010 .

[13]  Willem J. Pelgrum,et al.  Pedagogy and ICT Use : In Schools Around the World Findings from the IEA Sites 2006 Study , 2008 .