IDEAL Future Work Package 2 Report

7 In Ireland schools and teachers have significant autonomy. The state provides centralised curriculum and guidelines, these are then interpreted and applied within individual schools. Schools are run by patrons who are decided by the local community and parents who appoint a board of management. The state oversees quality assurance and the application of curricula and guidelines via an inspectorate body France operate more centralised model in which educational decisions are made primarily by the state, regional municipalities are responsible for operational elements of the day to day running of the school such as managing buildings etc. With regards to inclusion and supporting those with specific learning needs, there are similar models across all four countries who either provide supports in mainstream education or special schools. In France and Ireland there was also an interim level of support on the special education continuum with the provision of special units or classes in general/mainstream schools. In schools of Latvia students with special needs can be involved in regular classes with an individual educational plan according to their special needs. Educational reform Over the past five years all four countries have experienced educational reform. There have been new curricula introduced in all levels of education in Ireland, Latvia and Spain, who have shifted towards more competency based curriculum of which digital learning and digital literacies form a key part. In France the focus has been on changing the education profession and addressing the issue of low salaries in the education sector. This has been the focus of policy for a number of years (see table 3). In France digital learning has been in the curriculum since 1985. It is useful to note that in Latvia and Spain there has been debates with regard to mobile phone usage in school, this has been restricted in Spanish schools Spanish schools as well as French primary and junior secondary schools, but no restrictions have been put in place in other countries at national level as of yet, although in Ireland many schools are encouraged to have mobile phone policies in place, and usage guidelines is at the discretion of the school. In Latvia there are several initiatives to support digitalization of education. For example there is a program to provide laptop to every student starting from grade 7. It is already done but the aim is to provide laptops also for younger students in upcoming years. At the moment Latvia plans to invest is stronger internet connection for schools to ensure that schools can fully use all the possibilities of digitalization without restrictions caused by poor internet capacity.