According to the Royal Society the UK had to take note and recruit more specialist technology teachers to meet demand in UK ICT classrooms. The Government wished to overhaul the ICT teaching programme but knew there were many challenges including having the proper specialists available to become a good ICT teacher. As well they were faced with trying to come up with courses that are challenging and interesting to make them more worthwhile
When you look at the types of specialists found in UK schools you will see that in subjects such as math or biology the number of teachers who are specialists is far higher compared to only 35 percent for ICT teachers. For example there are 74 percent in math and 88 percent in biology. Interestingly these numbers coincide with a 60% decline in students who are able to reach A-level Computing. Many are citing the lack of specialists as a major cause of these unimpressive numbers.
Although Mr Gove underwent a complete overhaul of the programme there will still be further hurdles an ICT teacher will have to face. With so many ICT teachers lacking the specialist status it will continue to be difficult for them to share the level of knowledge that students receive in their other subjects. Many feel this means improvements to the curriculum will not be enough if the training of teachers is not addressed.
The proposed changes that came up in 2013 led to further issues including complaints that the new information communications technology syllabus was going the opposite way. It included computer programming as well as the creation and retrieval of digital data for primary students. For secondary school pupils they would also be taught coding. However there was no mention of further training for teachers.
The new national curriculum for computing will help equip pupils with the knowledge they need to have a better understanding of computing as well as the foundation skills they can apply to their careers and higher education. Pupils will learn not only how to use computers but also how they work. Children will have the opportunity to design and build programs. The new curriculum also allows pupils to develop their ideas with the use of technology allowing them to use computers and programmes to create varied content.
The fact still remains that it can pose problems for primary schools and school teachers who will need to develop the additional skills to cover the new curriculum effectively.
