This research project, the result of a wide-ranging agreement between the Telefónica Foundation and the Universitat Oberta de Catalunya (Open University of Catalonia, UOC), began in January 2007 with the clear objective of assessing the current situation with regard to the process of integrating information and communication technologies (ICT) into Spanish school education. It was to look at the scenarios and situations that were emerging as a result of the presence of these technologies in classrooms and schools, and in the relationships within the educational community; the obstacles that seemed to impede the progress of innovative educational processes that take advantage of the educational potential offered by digital technologies, and the trends that looked to be consolidating themselves with regard to the future.
This empirical and analytical research project was based on a questionnaire from a large-scale survey – a total of 17,576 questionnaires were used – which provided important data on the practical and organisational trends in schools in Spain and on the presence of ICT with respect to the different educational activities developed by students and teachers. We worked with a representative sample of primary and secondary education schools in the different Spanish regions, and carried out exhaustive interviews with teachers, students and head teachers.
The data collected allows us to identify priorities, needs and concerns for the various parts of the school community; the type of organisational and educational practices that dominate in Spanish schools and the role played by internet and ICT in this context; the level of integration of these technologies in the different school activities, and the conditions which, according to those involved, help these integration processes and those that hinder greater progress.
