Examining the role of the ICT coordinator in providing technical and pedagogical support in Irish post-primary schools

Since computers were first introduced into the Irish Education system in 1977 many millions have been spent on this technology. However despite spending large amounts of money, little empirical evidence exists to show that ICT has improved how teachers teach or how students learn. A key figure in attempting to integrate ICT into the Education system is the ICT coordinator. This research offers a full investigation into the role of ICT Coordinators in Irish post-primary schools. The research method employed in this study is sequential mixed method which begins with a questionnaire aimed at a large audience. The invited audience was any ICT coordinator working in post-primary schools within a 45mile radius of Limerick city. After analyzing the data quantitatively a sample of those who participated in the first section of the study were invited to participate in semi-structured interviews to further probe the findings from section 1 and also engage in more open ended questions better suited to interviews. This formed the qualitative section of this study. The research findings show that many of the barriers that have existed and been reported in the literature in the past regarding a teachers reluctance to integrate ICT into the classroom have largely faded. This is due in no small measure to continued investment in the infrastructure in schools among other factors. In acknowledgement of this achievement, no small measure of praise in helping to overcome those barriers can be attributed to the role the ICT coordinator played and continues to play within the school system. Although the findings show that the role is largely unappreciated and certainly undervalued, in meeting these coordinators they displayed enormous levels of belief and dedication to their role. The findings from this study indicate that with the infrastructure almost completely in place, now is the time for CPD for both teachers and coordinators. The lack of centralization in the area of ICT that has been noted by researchers in the past and has allowed ICT to develop on an adhoc basis, may prove key to successful integration, but only if the vision, policy documentation and the potential surrounding ICT can be provided by government