Lahrizi, Meriem

From Policy Promise to Pedagogical Practice: A Critical Examination of ICT Integration Strategy in Moroccan High Schools

The rapid expansion of the knowledge-driven economy and intensifying global competition have made educational technology integration a strategic priority for governments, prompting Morocco to implement an ambitious national ICT policy to enhance education quality nationwide. Assessment reports, however, continue to stress that Morocco's ICT integration reform faces persistent challenges in learning outcomes, with ICT integration initiatives still failing to translate into effective classroom adoption and pedagogical transformation (World Bank, 2009, 2015, 2023; Moroccan Ministry of Education and Professional Training, 2014). The present research critically examines Morocco's national ICT integration strategy in education. Guided by Robert Kozma's ICT policy framework, this case study employed a directed qualitative content analysis of ministerial circulars pertaining to ICT integration issued between 1999 and 2014 and semi-structured interviews with GENIE trainers, educational supervisors of four school subjects Physics, Science, English, and French, and high school principals. Themes identified from policy documents and stakeholder perspectives are compared to explore the alignment between policy intentions and their implementation in practice. Findings expose a striking discrepancy between policy discourse and implementation, as the aspirational goals set out in official documents diverge from what is actually experienced in practice, mainly the absence of a shared vision, clear guidelines, subject-specific curricula, effective training and evaluation mechanisms. In assessing the stages of Morocco's ICT integration policy, the findings ultimately indicate that the country remains at an emerging phase of implementation, where pedagogical transformation continues to be an unattainable goal, accentuating the need for stronger alignment between policy, technology, curriculum, pedagogy, and active leadership engagement.

Key words: educational technology, national ICT policy, and pedagogical transformation.

Cite: Lahrizi, Meriem 2026. From Policy Promise to Pedagogical Practice: A Critical Examination of ICT Integration Strategy in Moroccan High Schools. Holistic Science Publications, Holistic Archive, ISSN 2984-2263, Finland, 1-59.