Transition between educational sectors and discontinuities of ICT resource and pedagogy

Technologically supported education has introduced benefits but also challenges to the transition across school levels of education. While resolving some traditional issues, these technologies have in some instances created a new set of discontinuities at both the resource and pedagogic level. These discontinuities arise due to variance between primary and secondary school access and practice, and also between pupils' experiences of access and practice at previous institutions. In this paper evidence is presented from interview, questionnaire, and classroom observation data collected from 48 schools during two projects investigating the impact of high-speed Internet access (broadband) in English schools. Findings indicate that schools offer different levels of access to technology, and also different activities when using technology facilities. While differences in practice have always been present across and within levels of education, the introduction of high-speed Internet access has increased the gap between those using the technology as an add-on to existing resources and those embedding the technological facilities into the fabric of the learning environment. A key issue explored is the impact of the discontinuity that occurs when primary (elementary school) education becomes technically richer than partner secondary (high school) institutions