Submission to the Commons Select Committee on Education
Submission to the Commons Select Committee on Education
Computing is a rigorous, intellectually rich discipline alongside Maths, Science, or History. Like those subjects, Computing explores foundational principles and ideas, rather than training students in skills that date quickly. In an increasingly digital, knowledge-based age, Computing is fundamental both to full citizenship, and to our economic health as a nation.
Yet, incredibly, Computing is virtually absent from UK schools. Instead, secondary schools in England currently teach ICT. The original concept behind ICT was to teach students how to use software to solve real-world problems. That would have been a tremendous achievement had it succeeded. However, what has actually happened in far too many schools is that ICT focuses solely upon IT literacy, and supporting teaching and learning in other curriculum contexts. ICT is not the discipline of understanding and knowledge of computers and the way they work.
The creation of the EBac provides the perfect opportunity to send a clear signal to schools and pupils of the importance of Computing. Our key recommendation is that Computing (unlike ICT) should “count” towards the English Baccalaureate.
On behalf of Computing at School:
Dr. John Woollard
Prof. Simon Peyton-Jones
Dr. Bill Mitchell
Woollard, John
85f363e3-9708-4740-acf7-3fe0d1845001
Peyton-Jones, Simon
d938c8a9-2001-44d2-aca8-f4044d0ac946
Mitchell, Bill
5d045751-9ef4-4375-9e89-dbae07c90049
BCS (The Chartered Institute for IT)
February 2011
Woollard, John
85f363e3-9708-4740-acf7-3fe0d1845001
Peyton-Jones, Simon
d938c8a9-2001-44d2-aca8-f4044d0ac946
Mitchell, Bill
5d045751-9ef4-4375-9e89-dbae07c90049
Woollard, John, Peyton-Jones, Simon and Mitchell, Bill
,
BCS (The Chartered Institute for IT)
(2011)
Submission to the Commons Select Committee on Education
Southampton, GB.
Computing at School
7pp.
Record type:
Monograph
(Project Report)
Abstract
Computing is a rigorous, intellectually rich discipline alongside Maths, Science, or History. Like those subjects, Computing explores foundational principles and ideas, rather than training students in skills that date quickly. In an increasingly digital, knowledge-based age, Computing is fundamental both to full citizenship, and to our economic health as a nation.
Yet, incredibly, Computing is virtually absent from UK schools. Instead, secondary schools in England currently teach ICT. The original concept behind ICT was to teach students how to use software to solve real-world problems. That would have been a tremendous achievement had it succeeded. However, what has actually happened in far too many schools is that ICT focuses solely upon IT literacy, and supporting teaching and learning in other curriculum contexts. ICT is not the discipline of understanding and knowledge of computers and the way they work.
The creation of the EBac provides the perfect opportunity to send a clear signal to schools and pupils of the importance of Computing. Our key recommendation is that Computing (unlike ICT) should “count” towards the English Baccalaureate.
On behalf of Computing at School:
Dr. John Woollard
Prof. Simon Peyton-Jones
Dr. Bill Mitchell
Text
CommonsEBaccv5.pdf
- Author's Original
More information
Published date: February 2011
Identifiers
Local EPrints ID: 175887
URI: http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/id/eprint/175887
PURE UUID: cffb03e9-4668-489f-92bb-d515c70a2e98
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Date deposited: 21 Nov 2011 11:26
Last modified: 14 Mar 2024 02:41
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Contributors
Author:
Simon Peyton-Jones
Author:
Bill Mitchell
Corporate Author: BCS (The Chartered Institute for IT)
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