Subject Cultures and the Introduction of Classroom Computers

Abstract

What has often been missing in research on classroom computers is an appreciation for the challenge which microcomputers may present to the well‐established cultures and subcultures of schools, and in particular to subject subcultures. This paper reports on recent research which attempted to assess some of the reciprocal effects of classroom computing and the context and culture of schooling. The distinctive characteristics of three subject areas included in the study—art, social studies, and family and technological studies—are enumerated. The meanings of these subcultures for the participant teachers are explored through interview data, and through summaries of classroom interaction patterns. The impact of the introduction of microcomputers into these school cultures is then explored using some of the same data sources. Microcomputer use is shown to have a distinct effect upon teaching styles and classroom interaction patterns, but to be independent of the effects of subject cultures. This finding suggests that classroom computers have an observable effect on teaching styles, but also that they may fit in with some high school subjects more easily than others. Several lines for future inquiry into the interaction of subject cultures and educational technologies are opened.