A CHILD'S PRESENT IN A FUTURES-ORIENTED SOCIETY: HOW SELECTED MICHIGAN PUBLIC ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS PROVIDE INSTRUCTIONAL COMPUTING OPPORTUNITIES FOR THEIR PUPILS (MICROCOMPUTERS, PRINCIPAL-POLICYMAKING, CURRICULUM-ELEMENTARY)

The purpose of this study was to describe selected policies and practices present in a sampling of 600 Michigan rural, suburban, and urban public elementary schools which influenced the local availability of microcomputers for students, the level of student access to and participation with electronic learning, and the educational uses of microcomputers made by both teachers and students. The study was prompted by the need to gather and use baseline data emerging from the first significant five-year period of microcomputers in school settings, 1980-1985.;The average number of microcomputers across all schools sampled was eight. When averages were set aside, however, the data indicated a wide-ranging computer distribution and disparate student access and participation opportunities across all community types.;Regardless of the numbers of computers, owned, most schools have developed an instructional plan and share a belief about the essentiality of computing opportunities for elementary students. Each school community used traditional, frequently accompanied by entrepreneurial and grass-roots means to provide for students what was deemed to be an appropriate curriculum.;School characteristics, other than funding, that appeared to facilitate a high-access and participation program for both students and teachers included principal leadership and involvement, ongoing and targeted local staff-development interventions, a local computer "buff," enthusiasm for and commitment to the concept, and creative uses of time and equipment.;Three surveys were conducted to gather observations by computing experts regarding characteristics of high-usage schools, information from a large random sampling of elementary school principals concerning local uses and numbers of computers, and interview data from teachers and administrators providing descriptions and in-depth analyses of educational computing activities at six selected sites.;The potential value of this study lies in its future replication at the elementary level and its administration to Michigan middle/junior high schools and high schools for purposes of noting present practice and evaluating equitable outreach to all students.