Research On Knowledge Assets Of K-12 Schools In The Process Of Educational Informationization

Educational informationization is one of the most important parts of national informationization and the only way to achieve educational modernization. It guarantees the effective construction of learning society and life-long learning system. At the same time, Information and Communication Technology (ICT) has brought unprecedented challenges to education. And we can make good use of the developmental opportunities it has provided only when we have with those challenges from the perspective of knowledge. Schools have been facing changes of"tipping point"like what Fullan has described. As an intermediate level of educational reform, school change embodies the transformation of educational institutions and systems, and directs the instructional alterations in classrooms. It is the key level to convert educational reform from exterior to interior, from the macroscope to schools, from creating conditions to implementation and real practices. It is an important part for the maturity of educational reform as well.In all ages, knowledge has always brought values and wealth to individuals, communities and societies. Its economic and social efficacy is quite obvious. However, as production factor, its role has become prominent as the advent of knowledge society indicated by the report of Knowledge–Based Economy by Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). Knowledge assets have been extensively adopted in commercial sectors and competitiveness assessment for national growth.It is feasible to introduce knowledge assets analysis framework to K-12 schools. It is conductive to transfer hierarchy organization to learning organization; it is favorable to strictly enforce knowledge management; and it is an effective supplement to guide, oversee, and evaluate traditional education so as to pay attention to schools'long-term and sustainable potentiality.This research establishes knowledge assets framework of K-12 schools by means of Delphi methodology after analyzing knowledge assets analysis framework and assessment schemes. Three primary indicators, namely, human capital, structural capital and relationship capital respectively orientate to build up a team of teaching staff with high professional qualifications, efficient internal organization and management, and the school's favorable interaction with the external environment. Human capital consists of teaching longevity, research capability, professional competence and educational technology skills. Structural capital includes target conformity, scientific decision, efficient operation and learning and innovation. Relationship capital is constituted of geographic features (economic and social conditions), school property and origins of the students, family and community relation and other social relationships. In the meanwhile Delphi methodology sets up various observation points under 12 secondary indicators. Assessment tools of K-12 school knowledge assets are formed on the basis of these observation points.Relying on educational informationization assessment projects, the knowledge analysis framework and assessment tools formed in this study have been validated and applied. According to the statistic analyses, the analysis framework is of high internal conformity. The analysis of structural validity further indicates that research capability and educational technology skills, target conformity and scientific decision making, geographic features and other social relationship have heavy standardized regression weights on human capital, structural capital and relationship capital respectively. The relevancy analysis of school ICT development data and instructional change data reveals that there is certain relevancy between ICT qualification which is an element for educational informationization, balanced developments and school knowledge assets. There is also relevancy between school knowledge assets and instructional change. The interaction or communication between educational informationization and knowledge assets indicated in the relevancies provides some implications to ICT construction. Therefore, in terms of enhancing the integral school development, educational informationization should take constructing knowledge assets as its goal, i.e., to create professional development platform for teachers, to improve the efficiency of decision making and operation, and to optimize the relationship between school and its external environments through ICT.