Concept‐guided development of ICT use in ‘traditional’ and ‘innovative’ primary schools: what types of ICT use do schools develop?

The fit between existing educational practices and promoted classroom use of information and communication technologies is increasingly recognized as a factor in successful integration of such technologies in classroom practice. Using a descriptive multiple‐case study design, we characterize the types of information and communication technology (ICT) use resulting from a ‘concept‐guided’ approach in five schools. Teachers at schools characterized as having a ‘traditional’ or an ‘innovative’ school concept were supported in designing and implementing ICT‐enhanced learning arrangements that fit their schools' educational concept. In the traditional schools, ICT was primarily applied to extend and support the use of standard teaching materials in mostly teacher‐directed activities. The innovative schools on the other hand used ICT tools primarily to support open‐ended activities with a lot of input from the pupils. All five schools expected ICT to increase pupils' motivation, improve learning results, promote self‐directed learning, and enable differentiation between pupils. Yet underneath these goals, we find distinct differences in expectations between the two school types.