Substituting ICT as a lever for inclusion of children with reading and writing difficulties

This paper presents research findings from a 3 year development and research project named Project IT-folder (PIF) that aimed at inclusion of young children with potential reading and writing difficulties into normal classes in a suburb to the Danish capital. The project ran from 2007 to June 2010 as collaboration between the Danish University School of Education, the local municipality government, the Pedagogic Development Centre and two primary schools in the municipality. The aim of the project was to produce research based knowledge that may ground and consolidate a future-oriented and sustainable implementation strategy and practice for all schools in the municipality regarding ICT as an including change agent. The learners were referred to the project by the standard visitation system and the teachers followed the learners into the project. This is in contrast to most projects as the teachers in PIF represent an average teacher-population rather than frontrunners. The project's methodology was designed as research based interventions into the everyday practice, while data was collected through qualitative and anthropological methods, collection of student work and school assessment measures. Even though the project has run during a turbulent time for the Danish public school PIF has succeeded in producing a series of interventions from everyday practices over competence building for teachers to organisational changes in the single school and at municipality level. These interventions are at present being implemented in the municipality.