PDF & Related InfoExpanding the use of advanced telecommunications in schools has become a major focus of education policy in recent years.table 1; U.S. Department of Education 1999a, 2000f). Private schools constituted 24 percent of the nation"s elementary and secondary schools and 10 percent of its students.
Private schools share many characteristics that differentiate them from public schools and also vary considerably among themselves. For instance, compared with public schools, private schools are more likely to be combined schools; 30 percent of private schools and 4 percent of public schools were combined schools in fall 1997 (table 1; U.S. Department of Education 1999a, 2000f).2 Moreover, private schools tend to have smaller enrollments. For example, 14 percent of private schools compared with 44 percent of public schools reported enrollments of 750 or more in fall 1997.
Private schools differ among themselves by affiliation, instructional level, and enrollment size. In 1997-98, some 8,000 private schools (30 percent) were Catholic, another 13,000 (or 48 percent) were affiliated with some other religion, and 6,000 (or 22 percent) were nonsectarian (figure 1; U.S. Department of Education 1999a).3 Catholic schools differ from other private schools in several ways. On average, they tend to have larger student populations than other religious or nonsectarian schools; for example, although Catholic schools represented 30 percent of private schools in 1997-98, they enrolled 50 percent of the private school student population (figure 2; U.S. Department of Education 1999a, 2000f). Catholic schools are also more likely than other religious or nonsectarian schools to be elementary. Moreover, Catholic schools are more likely than other religious or nonsectarian schools to enroll students of low socioeconomic status, have lower tuition rates on average, and have different institutional missions (U.S. Department of Education 1996a).
Private schools share the challenges faced by public schools that seek to expand their use of computers and the Internet. Schools that are committed to using computers and the Internet as important instructional tools must first address issues of the availability and accessibility of those resources to students and teachers. Moreover, some advocates for advanced telecommunications argue that simply putting sufficient computers in schools and classrooms and connecting them to the Internet will not realize the technologies" potentials unless certain systems, such as teacher training in the use of technology in education and a school environment that supports technology, are in place (Milken Exchange on Educational Technology 1999). Expanding advanced telecommunications, however, comes with high financial and human costs, and many schools may have to rely on external sources of support such as federal programs and private initiatives to meet their technology needs.
This second FRSS study on advanced telecommunications in private schools repeats some of the questions asked in the 1995 study (e.g., issues of computer and Internet availability), but also examines new issues, such as the extent to which schools provide support for the use of these technologies. Specifically, this survey focused on:
The second national survey of private school telecommunications will allow for national trend analysis on the prevalence and use of computers and the Internet in private schools since 1995. Moreover, since many items parallel the items in public school surveys of advanced telecommunications and Internet access, comparisons with public schools are possible. In addition to national estimates, survey findings are presented by the following characteristics of private schools:
All specific statements of comparisons made in this report have been tested for statistical significance through chi-square tests and t-tests adjusted for multiple comparisons using the Bonferroni adjustment, with significance at the 0.05 level. However, not all statistically significant comparisons have been presented in the text. Comparisons reported in the text were generally focused on differences by religious affiliation and instructional level. Where pertinent, differences by enrollment size and whether the school had Internet access were also reported.
Questionnaires were mailed to principals of 999 private schools in February 1999, who forwarded the survey to the person most knowledgeable about advanced telecommunications in their school. Responses were received from 87 percent of the schools. Detailed information about the survey methodology is provided in appendix A, while the questionnaire can be found in appendix C.
The remaining chapters of this report present findings from the 1998-99 private school survey of advanced telecommunications. Chapter 2 provides a discussion of computer and Internet availability in private schools, including Internet availability in instructional rooms. Chapter 3 examines the use of computers and the Internet, the provision of teacher training and technical support for advanced telecommunications use, and specific barriers to the acquisition and use of advanced telecommunications. Chapter 4 examines the extent to which schools participated in the E-rate program and other federal and private initiatives for the expansion of advanced telecommunications in schools. Chapter 5 provides selected comparisons in advanced telecommunications between private and public schools, while Chapter 6, the final chapter, discusses key findings from the study.
1 Advanced telecommunications, while including the Internet, refers to all modes of communication used to transmit information from one place to another, including networked computers and broadcast and interactive television. In this report, the focus is on computers and the Internet.
2 Combined schools are defined as having grades higher than the 8th and lower than the 7th. They include schools composed of students in any grade in schools that range below grade 7 and above grade 8, or of students that are all in ungraded classes.
3 Detailed information on the distribution of private schools is available in Private School Universe Survey, 1997-98, (1999). U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics by S.P. Broughman and L.A. Colaciello.
){kind=link}
){kind=link}
){kind=link}