Page 82 - Education in a Digital World

National Policymaking 69

a reduction in student–computer ratios to 3.6. These technology-based elements of
the School New Deal Plan were expected to exceed ¥200 billion.

Educational Technology Policymaking in Chile

While often considered a relatively peripheral nation in terms of its geographical
location and economic power, Chile is nevertheless recognised as a leading nation
in terms of educational technology policy. This stems in part from Chile’s early
educational technology pilot programmes – not least the country’s ‘Improvement of
Educational Quality Program’ that included an ambitious ‘educational informatics’
programme at the start of the 1990s. This sought to establish a computer commu-
nications network linking schools with selected universities and other educational
institutions. These initial efforts led to the subsequent ‘Enlaces’ national educational
technology initiative (translating as ‘connections’ or ‘linkages’). The Enlaces pro-
gramme was launched in 1992 with an initial goal of connecting 100 schools via
networked computing within five years. The provision of computer equipment was
soon extended to the majority of schools in 1994, with the programme now cov-
ering over 98 per cent of Chile’s 11,000 publicly supported primary and secondary
schools, and reaching 92 per cent of the student population (Hinostroza et al. 2011).
As Sánchez and Salinas (2008, p.1622) conclude, “the Enlaces network has been
considered one of the most systematic, successful and sustainable programs in the
region in order to cope with the special geography and culture of the country,
including rural, urban, indigenous, and community education”.
Alongside the provision of computer equipment and internet connectivity,
Enlaces has also promoted the development of educational digital resources, exten-
sive programmes of in-service teacher training and support for technology-based
pedagogical teaching methodologies. Under the programme, each school has been
provided with computers (usually with the aim of establishing computer laboratories
and local networks), basic teacher training and the support of a network of twenty-
four universities. Enlaces is part of wider efforts to establish the digital transforma-
tion of Chilean society, with the government espousing broad and exhortative aims
such as establishing ‘a nation prepared for the future’ and ‘an economy integrated
into the world’. Indeed, education featured in seven of the thirty-four initiatives
within the 2004 ‘Chilean Digital Agenda’, including targets of establishing fully
equipped and internet connected schools and the integration of digital technology
use into primary and secondary school curricula. Other goals outside school reforms
included the ‘National Digital Literacy Campaign’ which promised digital literacy
for half a million Chileans supported by a national system of certification of digital
technology skills.
Enlaces has therefore been lauded for its longevity and continually evolving
ambitions. The 2007 Chilean ‘Technology Plan for Quality Education’ programme
worked towards the aim of achieving a student–computer ratio of 10:1, with over
three-quarters of students in the public school system having access to computer