National Information and Communication Technology Policies — Their Impact upon the Use of ICT in Special Needs Education (SNE)

Abstract

The use of information and communication technology (ICT) is currently very high on the political agendas of nearly all European countries as well as the European Union itself. However, until now, information on the use of ICT in the field of special needs education (SNE) has been limited to National level sources — very little information has been available at the European level. In order to address this, the European Agency for Development in Special Needs Education has undertaken a major European wide investigation into the use of ICT in SNE in 17 Agency member countries. This has lead to dedicated web-based resource banks of information which aim to present easily accessible information on policies, key issues, examples of interesting and innovate practice, key information sources plus future challenges in the field. This paper focuses upon the findings relating to ICT in SNE policies in the participating countries.