YOUNG PEOPLE AND INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY (ICT) IN THE EDUCATION AREA. THE SITUATION IN ALICANTE (SPAIN)

The use of Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) in education is of growing importance for educational theory and practice. Considerable progress has been made in advancing young’s access to ICT within schools. Previous research has found that home use of ICT provided young people with a number of advantages including become familiar with ICT at school and the motivation to study.

There are significant opportunities for improving the benefits of integrating ICT in the education area. The development of advances in ICT can improve the education quality. Is important that teachers, parents, stakeholders and pupils are motivated for reach the objective ICT successful implementation. Many secondary level schools use ICT to support teaching.

It seems to be clear that the young people are the segment of population who uses Information and Communication Technology (ICT) of a way more intensive. The young people have incorporated the ICT into facets of their life as the leisure or to establish relations and to communicate with their equal ones. The young seem to handle very well the ICT.

The aim of this research is to discover if the ICT are accessible for the young in the schools. Other objective is to know if young use the ICT for his or her education.

This paper reports primary data analyses of the ICT situation in the secondary schools in Alicante (Spain).

The methodology used to collect information is a questionnaire relating to the availability, location, and frequency of use of ICT. Furthermore, it asks about if the use of the ICT is more or less integrated into the classroom curriculum and is more or less entwined in the various pedagogies employed by teachers. The questionnaire was completed by 499 teachers from 67 schools in the province of Alicante.

Results show that the schools are equipped well with computers and Internet access, however the young people scarcely use the ITC for their education at the school.