the Classroom: Some Critical Issues on Integration of ICT into Education in the Swedish Context

Since 1994 Sweden has carried out a number of initiatives funded by the government and other actors for integrating ICT into education. Huge amounts of money have been invested in developing infrastructure and raising teachers ’ level of ICT knowledge and competence. However, it seems that there is still a gap between the claims for ICT use in education and the current practice of integrating ICT into the classroom. Some recent investigations indicate that a majority of Swedish teachers actually do not use computers in the classroom as much as they are expected to do. Knowledge about the use of ICT in teacher education is reported as being not good enough. This paper intends to describe the status quo of ICT integration in education in the Swedish context and discuss some critical issues on effective ICT practice in schools in relation to the demands on teachers and their professional development, and thus provide some backgrounds for suggesting models of Technology Enhanced Teacher Professional Development