Exploratory Studies in Educational Computing

The exploratory studies in Educational Computing (ESEC) are nominally 15 studies, (actually 19) set up at the request of, and funded by, the Department of Education.
The studies were originated in a rather unusual way. It was announced in the Education Gazette in July 1985 that a substantial sum of money would be set aside to fund original work in the area of sch901 computing, with a view to developing policy. Proposals were called for, and at a conference in November 1985, 19 were selected from the more than 100 proposals submitted. A broad range of schools was to be represented - rural and urban, from different socio-economic areas, from multicultural to monocultural settings, etc.; also, as many differing types of computer application as possible, with a bias for children using computers rather than administrative uses.