Pupils’ representations about the curricular integration of ICT in primary school education

Abstract

This article is a summation of a broader research project carried out for a PhD thesis, which investigated the potential and limits of the implementation of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) as a cross-subject educational area. The study was undertaken using a qualitative methodology, compatible with the phenomenological approach, which aimed to capture the meaning that a group of primary school pupils attributed to an integrated educational experience based on the involvement of teachers of different school subjects. Hence, the content of interviews with the pupils was analysed, which gave rise to their representations about the experience and their ideas on the topic, including a set of suggestions for making improvements. The conclusion arrived at is that despite the importance attributed to ICT as a cross-subject educational area, the curricular model based on a framework of subjects is a difficult paradigm to break, even by the pupils, who do not reject the possibility of retaining a specific time and space to learn about the technology.