Willing Minds, Empty Labs: Secondary School Students' Experiences of Computer Education in Punjab, Pakistan

Abstract

Computer education is now part of secondary schooling in Pakistan, but schools differ widely in how well they can teach it. This short study assessed the needs of computer education from the point of view of students. 30 Grade 9 students at a public secondary school in Punjab answered a 20-item yes/no questionnaire on their attitudes towards computer education, how it was provided in their school, and how it should be organized and assessed. Students’ attitudes were almost uniformly positive: all 30 said they liked computer education, and between 28 and 30 agreed that it was beneficial, improved learning and helped the country’s progress. Their views on provision were more mixed. Although all said computer education was offered and majority said their teacher took a personal interest in it, only one said they had a competent computer instructor however only 16 said their school had a well-equipped computer library. Majority wanted computer education to be compulsory, and only few thought it could be provided for a large population. The results point to a gap between students’ strong wish to learn about computers and the resources available to teach them. Because the sample was small and drawn from one school, the findings should be read as an indication of needs to be tested in larger studies.

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