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Since the mid-1980s, computer assisted educational information systems have been developing in various parts of the world and the knowledge surrounding the development and implementation of these systems has been growing. In 1994, the fIrst international working conference on Information Technology in Educational Management (ITEM) was held in Jerusalem. Two years later, a second working conference was held in Hong Kong and following this event, Working Group (WG) 3.7 of the International Federation for Information Processing (IFIP) was established. WG 3.7 focuses on promoting the effective and efficient use of IT in the management of educational institutions. Subsequently conferences have been held in Maine (USA), and Auckland (New Zealand) and Helsinki (Finland). The conferences have engendered a spirit of cooperation amongst people around the world resulting in the publication of five previous books; three special editions of academic journals; numerous academic papers; research funding obtained; and research projects completed. More detailed information about WG 3.7 can be found at-The content of this book has 5 sections. The first four sections, consists of papers selected from the proceedings of the Fifth IFIP Working Conference of WG 3.7 on Information Technology in Educational Management, held between August 18-22, 2002 in Helsinki, Finland. All conference presentations were selected after peer review by an international panel. A further review then identified papers for publication in this book. Thus, the book is not a full conference proceedings, but a selection of papers that were selected for their quality, and capture the range and essence of the conference. The fifth section of the book consists of reports from the discussion groups that met throughout the conference. These reports The original version of this chapter was revised: The copyright line was incorrect. This has been corrected. The Erratum to this chapter is available at

This paper reports on a study investigating the use of ICf (Information and Communication Technology) by academic and non-academic staff at an independent English secondary school. Three key areas were investigated: access to ICf inside and outside the school, the perceived and desired ICf ability of staff, and issues preventing increased use of ICf in teaching, learning and administration. Results showed that a major challenge facing the school was not access to ICf resources, but the provision of relevant supportive training for staff.

Abstract:This paper reports on a survey of ICT Access, Ability and Use conducted among 25 schools in England and Wales in 2002103. The survey concentrated on school staff, and sought to investigate links between four key areas: (a) access to ICT both in and outside school; (b) perceived and desired ICT ability of staff; (c) use of ICT both in and outside school; and (d) issues which inhibit increased use of ICT in teaching, learning and administration. Survey results indicated that access to ICT resources was high for this sample, both at school and at home. Furthermore, staff reported overall satisfaction with their ICT abilities across core applications, whilst calling for more training in 'advanced' applications. Despite these confident results regarding Access and Ability, staff reported wide variability in actual Use of ICT. Results drawn from the survey are contrasted with comparable studies from the UK and overseas, with a view to assisting schools to reap the benefits of e-learning innovations.

Human resources are a critical issue of the Information Technology for Educational Management field (ITEM). Within this issue, computer usage training takes up a key position. In order to identify the potential and, therefore, the utility of a computerized information system the user will previously need to develop some skills to use it, which is possible with an adequate training process. However, experience shows that, very often, training programs are influenced by the environment of the training process. The purpose of this paper is to integrate previous research on training in order to develop a framework which can help identify opportunities and threats owing to environmental factors that can decisively affect a training program's success.