Current trends in IT education reflect this process of deskilling as "IT skills'' primarily focus upon the learning of techniques used in the computerised office, rather than developing the critical faculties that allow one to understand and use a technology for one's own needs.
It is highly questionable as to whether the "office worker'' skill set is appropriate for those following a programme of education, higher or otherwise. Roszak (1994, p. 51) and Gelernter (1998, p. 61) both point out that the personal computer was introduced into homes, schools and universities without a specific need having been first identified: it was a ``solution in search of problems'' (J. Weizenbaum, quoted in Roszak, 1994, p. 51).
The same problem may be true of IT education: that for many people their needs are not being identified and understood. To put it another way, much of IT education may be a case of A Lesson in Search of a Learner.
This paper challenges both the idea that IT learning and teaching is simply a question of technique, and that providing people with IT skills of this kind will in any way allow people full and equal participation in the information society.
See Reffell and Whitworth 2002, esp. 427-8; generally on the inversion of "solution" and "problem" Weick 1976.
REFFELL, Pete and WHITWORTH, Andrew, 2002. Information fluency: critically examining IT education. New Library World. 1 January 2002. Vol. 103, no. 11/12, p. 427–435. DOI 10.1108/03074800210452950.
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For many people, their needs are not recognized or understood. In other words, much of IT education could be a case of teaching in search of a learner.
Not all schools are committed to learning. In fact, the primary purpose of many schools is to teach. Teaching and learning are fundamentally different.