ICT SUPPORTIVE SCHOOLS AND DIGITAL COMPETENT STUDENTS: WHAT CAN SCHOOL LEADERS DO TO ENSURE THEIR SCHOOL IS FULFILLING THE DIGITAL COMPETENCE GOALS IN THE NATIONAL CURRICULUM?

The aim of this paper is to to identify what school leaders can do to ensure their school is fulfilling the competence goals (describing digital competence) in the national curriculum.

In 2006, the ability to use ICT became one of the five basic competencies required in the Norwegian elementary school. As a result of this decision school leaders and teachers are responsible for the implementation of curriculum in the teaching process and to fulfil the competence goals.

We have chosen to understand scholastic digital competences from how the competence goals are described and exemplified in the curriculum. Digital competence means that students are able to use ICT, and the following key words are used when describing digital competence: basic ICT use, ethical judgements, communication with ICT, use of multiple sources (e.g. search for information on the Internet) and problem solving with ICT (e.g. be able to read and understand the content of tables).

Both SITES (Ottestad, 2008a) and ITU Monitor 2007 (Arnseth et al, 2007) show that there is differences between how school leaders and teachers priority and use ICT in educational practice. Ottestad (2008b) underpins relevant indicators of digital competent schools. However, the link between school leaders choices, digital competent schools and students use of ICT needs to be further examined.

Method, results and discussion
The information to be presented and analysed in this paper is deriving from a survey collecting data from school leaders, teachers and students. The results from show variation in digital competence between students, between teachers and schools.
It is possible to combine information about students digital competence with school leaders priorities. The results underpin a relationship between how students achieve on a test in digital competence and the priorities of school leaders.
The students are expected to fulfill the competence goals from the curriculum. Nevertheless, school leaders are responsible for implementing the curriculum in teaching and they are also accountable for that their school meet the standards (e.g. competence goals).
What can school leaders do to prevent digital divide and to achieve the competence goals in the curriculum? Several studies show that teachers prefer in-house training (e.g. trail-and-error or collaboration with colleges ) when developing their own digital knowledge and understanding. According to teachers, they do not find external and internal courses to meet their demands and needs.
It is important to put competency training of teachers into a more long-term plan so that competency training can be linked with, and be included in, the school’s objectives, visions and plans for a future digitally literate school. It is also clear that in-house training (e.g. colleague guidance and in-house courses) can be structured and put into a more organised (and perhaps more formalised) form. An example of this is learning networks between schools and teachers, which can facilitate collaboration and development of ideas, resources and forms of implementing ICT in teaching. We know from Lærende nettverk (“learning networks”) that many network coordinators emphasise mini-networks as being a good model for collaboration and learning in networks.