Autopsy of a Policy: The Model "One Computer Per Student" in the countries of Mercosur

• In Event: Poster session I
  In Poster Session: Poster session 1

Proposal

The policy of technology insertion in schools called "One computer per student" or "A Laptop for Children" - OLPC, the 1:1 model, was widely disseminated around the world by different international initiatives and internalized by local governments.

With a successful circulation in Latin America, the policy was incorporated by Mercosur countries in different projects and programs. In the research here socialized we present an analysis of how the policy as a "product" circulates in global terms, showing the design the initiative undertook in countries such as Argentina, Brazil, and Uruguay.

To do so, we try to accomplish what Harman (et ali, 2016) calls an "autopsy" or postmortem of a policy. The initiative to analyze the birth, apogee, and decline of a policy- performing an autopsy, investigating the "remains"- is a good investigative path to try to understand the process. It is interesting and very rich to see and understand the cemetery of "abandoned modernities" (Escolano Benito, 2012) that composes the daily life of schools. Such artifacts and their originating policies are still there alongside our work and have much to tell us.

In light of the effort we have made towards this direction, the presented contributions are a result of collective reflections produced in the realm of the Research Group ‘Observatory of School Practices’ (Observatório de Práticas Escolares - OPE). More specifically, it comes from two major researches (coordinated by the author and developed by the group) namely:


· Connected classes: Curricular changes and collaborative learning among schools of the program One Computer per Student (PROUCA) in Santa Catarina.
· Tablets, Computers, and Laptops: about policies, infrastructure, and pedagogical aspects of the integration of new technologies in school.



Stemming from the perspective proposed by Ball, Maguire, and Braun (2016) we investigate the experiences of the Ceibal Plan in Uruguay, Prouca in Brazil and the Conectar Igualdad Program in Argentina, approaching their differences and uniqueness.

Moreover, in the case of the 1:1 model the massive distribution overshadowed the debate about the ‘pedagogical prescription’ the model imposes: Is it really necessary a 1:1 ratio? What are the gains and losses of this pedagogical choice? What purposes is this teaching strategy most appropriate for?



Likewise, the results show that the digital inclusion, derived by equipment distribution to children and therefore changing their cultural context, is far more relevant than the educational gains a model with this nature could provide. Some scholars advocate this perspective speaking of “non-educational” gains (Frey, 2014). In other words, the changes not necessarily happen in the school environment but instead in the society itself by the digital inclusion promoted.

Moreover, in the three countries, the gradual abandonment of the policy and its ineffective evaluation has meant that little was actually learned from the experiences provided by the programs.

Author

• Geovana mendes, UDESC