Equity Issues In Education Jason Broussard

Introduction Equity issues effect the quality of technology education for teachers and students across the United States. The National Education Association and the American Federation of Teachers have documented these issues. This presentation addresses three areas studied and reported on by the NEA and AFT for elementary and secondary teachers in which equity can be improved: 1) Technology access 2) Technology usage 3) Perception of technology.

Introduction Discussion and exploration of these issues may serve to help develop resolutions and improve technology education for teachers and students.

Issue 1: Technology Access  The number of computers in public school classrooms is not adequate to use computers effectively for classroom instruction.

Issue 1

 NEA findings of computers in the classroom study: 1) Vast majority (83.4%) of educators reported having 5 or fewer computers in classroom (or primary work area) for student use 2) More than half (54.7) reported having no more than 2 computers

Issue 1 3) Many more students than computers in most classrooms 4) Difficult to give class technology assignments related to wide variety of subject matter with poor ratio of students to computers

Issue 2: Technology Usage  Most educators use technology regularly at school for administrative tasks, but substantially fewer use it for instruction- related tasks.

Issue 2

 NEA data shows: 1) Three-fourths (76%) of educators reported that they used technology daily to perform administrative tasks 2) Nearly one-half (48%) shared information or communicated with other educators daily 3) Fewer than half used technology daily to monitor student progress (40.7%)

Issue 2 NEA data shows that educators: 4) Research information (36.8%) 5) Instruct students (32%) 6) Plan and prepare instruction (29.2%)

Issue 2 NEA data also shows: 7) Fewer than one-fifth (16.9%) reported using technology daily to post student and class information 8) Communicate with parents via (11.7%)

Issue 3: Perception of Technology  Educators are highly optimistic about the impact of technology on education

Issue 3

 NEA data shows: 1) Vast majority (86.4%) agreed that technology saved time in helping them do their job 2) Similar majority (87.5%) agreed that technology improved their overall effectiveness in their job

Issue 3 3) Almost identical proportion (88.9%) considered technology essential to teaching and learning 4) While educators are very optimistic their access and experience in technology is sometimes lacking

Conclusion  Educators must deal with limited access and usage of technology daily. Their perceptions of technology are greatly effected by their access, training, and usage of technology at school. Increasing the amount of computers in classrooms will take considerable funding. Until these equity issues are resolved, teachers must use innovative approaches to teach a wide range of subjects with the aid of technology.

Reference  Tuck, K. (May, 2008). Access, Adequacy, and Equity in Education Technology. A Publication of the National Education Association in collaboration with the American Federation of Teachers. gainsandgapsedtech.pdf