Impact of Exchange Rates on Stock Market: Evidence from Pakistan

Impact of Exchange Rates on Stock Market: Evidence from Pakistan Today in the present world foreign currency is a key component or tool for different kinds of businesses, and many countries in the world did businesses in foreign currencies like in Dollars, Euros etc. on the other hand movement in the stock market index is a key indicator for the financial performance of a country. Stock market may have bullish or bearer trend which reflect its relative strength in specific period. It also shows the investor confidence and sentiments toward markets. The establishment of the relationship among the stock market and foreign exchange rates is important for some reasons. Initially, it can affect decisions about monetary policy and tax. Gavin (1989) analyze that financial market has a large impact on the aggregate demand. The policy maker should be aware about the relationship regarding stock market and demand. Secondly, the relation between the aggregate demand and stock markets may be used to forecast the direction of the exchange rate. It will be useful for multinational firms to actively manage their exposure associated to foreign contracts and exchange rate. Thirdly, currency is treated as a commodity or an asset in portfolio of investment funds. So the awareness about the relationship among currency and other assets in the portfolio of investment funds is important. This is not the first study to look at the exchange rate and equity markets in the world as well as in Pakistan. Like Aquino analyzed the foreign exchange exposure countenance by Philippine companies around the Asian financial crisis. It was concluded that stock returns were not statistically significantly affected by the instability in foreign exchange. But after the crises, there was a significant impact of the fluctuations in exchange rate on the stock returns (Aquino 2005, 2006). Yau and Nieh investigated the relationship between Taiwan dollar/Japanese yen and the stock prices for the period from 1991 to 2005. They found that among the exchange rate and the stock prices of both countries there was no long-term relationship. But this linkage exists only to shorten the period (Yau and Nieh 2006). But the present study is exceptional in the sense that it uses the most recent data of the exchange rate and stock market which may provide latest linkage to the investors and other policy makers in Pakistan. There are three stock exchanges known as Karachi Stock Exchange (KSE), Lahore Stock Exchange (LSE) and Islamabad Stock Exchange (ISE) currently operating in Pakistan. Among these Karachi Stock Exchange (KSE) is considered as major and the well known stock market of Pakistan. It is regarded as a representative of all three stock exchanges of Pakistan. Karachi Stock Exchange (KSE) formed on September 18, 1947. It began its operation with five companies that have paid a capital of Rs.37 millions of dollars. The first index was the 50 index of trade and was done through open-out-cry system. But now KSE has 662 listed companies and considers a main economic and business hub of Pakistan. The daily KSE-100 Index published by the Karachi stock exchange is announced at 3:10 pm. Therefore KSE-100 index can be used as performance indicators of the stock market in Pakistan. KSE played an important role in the economy of Pakistan in different problems like political, social, financial and other i ssues (Karachi Stock Exchange, 2011). To identify the linkage of foreign exchange rate with equity market is significant because of above reasons. So in this study the researcher tries to identify this relationship by using various statistical techniques. Rationale of the study The currency  market may be linked with  equity market  in many different ways. It can be seen that if there is an upward trend in the stock market, then there will be a large influx of foreign capital in the country due to international investors. This influx of foreign money would be a key indicator  for the betterment of economic position of any country. The adversary also sustains that if there is a long downtrend visible on the stock market, foreign investors, the most likely rush to sell their shares that would have a substantial impact on the stock market of a country. This reasoning can be applied to all currencies and stock markets in the whole world (Kathy Lien, 2009). The basic idea behind this study is to provide a clue to the stock brokers, managers, planners, policy makers and regulatory authorities that they actively share information about the change in macroeconomic variables. AND also provide considerable information essential for them, which may be used for future decisions about stocks and stock markets of Pakistan especially about KSE noting the movement of the exchange rate in Pakistan. This investigation is also useful for executives, managers, responsible for the decisions, researchers and students who are not familiar with the exchange rate and securities markets in Pakistan. Problem identification Due to globalization and technological innovations any one can access the foreign markets. The business in foreign countries needed to intact with change in exchange rate dynamics. Since, the exchange rate can be defined as the price of currency of one country expressed in the currency of another country. So the change in the exchange rate might have some impact on the macroeconomic variables of any country. The stock market of Pakistan may be influenced due to change in exchange rate. So to identify this impact of exchange rate on the stock market is a matter which requires intentions. Problem Statement The main focus of this study is to know that, how exchange rate affects the equity market of Pakistan? It further explores the direction (positive or negative) and strength of relationship among exchange rate and stock market in Pakistan. For this purpose researcher links the exchange rate with equity market of Pakistan to see a clear picture about them as they influence several other variables. Research Question What is the possible impact of exchange rate fluctuation on the equity market of Pakistan? Objective This study aims to examine the effect of exchange rate on the Karachi stock exchange. The objectives of the study are: .To analyzes the impact of exchange rate fluctuation on equity market of Pakistan. .To determines whether the impact is statistically significant or not. Resources Resources include financial data of KSE, articles, books, newspaper and internet. The data will be collected from yahoo finance and the website of Karachi Stock Exchange. Scope of the research It is believe that the financial position of an economy is vulnerable to the foreign exchange rate. So it is very crucial to explore the linkage between the exchange rate and equity market. The present study is an effort to investigate this important aspect and it tries to analyze the impact of exchange rate on the equity market of Pakistan. LITERATURE REVIEW In the following section, there are some studies associated to this area of study that has been investigated earlier by other researchers. Hussain et al. examined the Impact of Macroeconomics Variables on Stock market by using the periodical data of some macroeconomic variables such as foreign exchange rate, broad money M2, whole sale price (WSP) index, industrial production index (IPI), gross fixed capital formation and foreign exchange reserve. The period of time to study was started from 1986 to 2008. The result showed that, after the reform in 1991, the pressure of the exchange rates and reserves effects significantly to the equity market, while the variables as IIP, and GFCF had no significant effect on the stock prices. In addition, concluded that internal factors of the companies such as increasing the production and capital formation had no significant effect while external factors such as the exchange rate and reserves significantly affected the stock prices. (Hussain et al. 2009). Nishat and Shaheen analyzed long-term relationships among set of macroeconomic variables and the equity market of Paksitan. The macroeconomic variables that were used in their study includes: industrial production index (IPI), the consumer price index (CPI), M1 and the value of an investment earning the money market rate. Vector error correction model was used to investigate the relationship from 1973 to 2004. It can be revealed that there is a fundamental connection between the equity market and the economy and showed that industrialized creation was the major positive determinant of Pakistani stock prices. On the other hand, inflation was the major negative determinant of equity prices in Pakistan. It was established that the macroeconomic variable granger caused stock movements in prices, the reverse causality was observed in the variable in industrial production and the stock prices. In addition, argued that statistically significant durations between fluctuations in the bag and changes in the real economy were relatively short. Additionally, it was further argued that statistically significant lag lengths between fluctuations in the stock market and changes in the real economy were relatively short (Nishat Shaheen, 2004). Bhattacharya et al. analyzed a case study to explore the linkage between stock market and macroeconomic variables such as Exchange Rate, Foreign Exchange Reserves and Value of Trade Balance. They used method of non-causation that was considered by Toda and Yamamoto (1995) for the period from 1990 to 2001. Proxy used in the investigation of stock market was Indian, the Bombay sensitive Index (BSI). The three major macroeconomic variables incorporated in the investigation was effective exchange rate, the foreign exchange reserves and the balance of trade. The study revealed the attractive resulted in the structure of the stock market Indian, mainly as regards the exchange rate, the foreign exchange reserves and the balance of trade. It is suggested that there is no relation between cost and equity the three macroeconomic variables studied ( Bhattacharya Mukherjee, 2001). Dimitrova examined the association between stock prices and the exchange rates using multivariate model. He focused on the stock markets in America (USA) and the United Kingdom (UK) during the period 1990-2004. The result of the study shows that there was a relationship between the exchange rate and the stock market. The examiner stressed that there was a positive correlation when the price of actions were the main variable and be expected negative when exchange rates were the main variable. (Dimitrova, 2005). Sohail et al. conducted a study on Lahore stock exchange (LSE), the objective of that study was to observed the long-term, as well as the short-term associations between Lahore Stock Exchange (LSE) and some important variables. Using the monthly data for the variables from 2002 to 2008, it was found that there was a negative impact of the consumer price index (CPI) on the stock market returns in Pakistan while industrial production index (IPI), real effective exchange rate, the money supply had an important positive long-term effect on stock returns to Pakistan(Sohail Hussain, 2009). Robert Gay investigated time series relationship between stock exchange index and some of the macroeconomic variables of the price of oil and the type of change in China, India, Russia and Brazil, using the Box-Jenkins auto-regressive integrated moving average (ARIMA) model. It came to the conclusion of his study in which there was no significant association between exchange rate and the price of oil on the index of the stock market of these countries. Moreover, there was no significant relationship between past and present yields of the stock markets in these countries (Gay, 2008). METHOD Sample Since there are 660 listed companies in Karachi stock exchange of Pakistan on November 7, 2010. This research uses KSE-100 Index as a benchmark to find out the impact of exchange rate fluctuation on equity market of Pakistan. Instrument and Measures This research will be based on secondary sources, thus no questionnaire will be distributed. The study uses the financial data of last 6 years of Karachi stock exchange (one of the major stock exchange in Pakistan) and exchange rate. This study will investigates the impact of foreign exchange rate on equity market in Pakistan. This study uses KSE-100 index as a proxy of equity market of Pakistan and uses exchange rate between dollar and rupees to analyze the impact of exchange rate fluctuation on equity markets of Pakistan. So, this research treats KSE-100 index as the dependant variable and exchange rate as independent variables. Procedure The following statistical tools will be used to examine the impact of exchange rate fluctuation on equity market of Pakistan. Descriptive statistics Correlation matrix Regression analysis Descriptive statistics illustrate the main features of a collection of data quantitatively. It may include mean, median, mode, standard deviation, maximum and minimum. Correlation model will be tested to observe the linkage between the exchange rate and equity market of Pakistan. It will also enlighten about the direction and strength of relationship between the variables. Further to find out the impact of exchange rate on stock market of Pakistan, the study will performed the regression analysis. The data of Karachi stock exchange will be compared with the data of exchange rate of Pakistan. Statistical tools including timeline graphs and others will be constructed and made use of to determine the respective effects and a comparison between exchange rate and equity market. Research papers of various authors related to the study will be studied and judge against with the results of this particular research. REFRENCES Bhattacharya, B., Mukherjee, J. (2001). Causal Relationship Between Stock Market And Exchange Rate, Foreign Exchange Reserves and Value Of Trade Balance: A Case Study For India. Website: http://mpra.ub.uni-muenchen.de/7297/ Cruz, M., Walters, B. (June 2008). Is the Accumulation of International Reserves good for Development.  Cambridge Journal of Economics. website: http://cje.oxfordjournals.org/content/32 Dimitrova, D. (August 2005). The Relationship between Exchange Rates and Stock Prices Studied in Multivariate Model.Issues in Political Economy  , 14. Website: http://org.elon.edu/ipe/Dimitrova Elizabeth. (2006).  the oxford dictionary of Phrase and Fable.  Retrieved February 10, 2010, from Encyclopedia. website: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O214 Encyclopedia. (2009).  The Oxford Pocket Dictionary of Current English. Retrieved February 14, 2010, from Encyclopedia. website:http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O999 Gay, R. D. (March 2008). Effect of Macroeconomic Variables on Stock Market Returns for Four Emerging Economies Brazil, Russia, India and China.  International Business Economics Research Jornal  , 7. Website:http://www.cluteinstitute-onlinejournals.com Gulf News. (2008).  Investment. Retrieved March 15, 2010, from gulfnews. website:http://gulfnews.com/business/investment/pakistan Hussain, D. I. (2009). Why does Pakistan have to accumulate foreign reserves? Website: http://ishrathusain.iba.edu.pk/papers Karachi Stock Exchange. (2010).  introduction. Retrieved February 2010, from Karachi Stock Exchange website: http://www.kse.com.pk Ministry of Finance Islamabad, Govt of Pakistan. (n.d.). Capital Markets.  Economic Survey of Pakistan  . Islamabad, Pakistan: Govt of Pakistan. Mohammad, S. D., Hussain, A., Ali, A. (2009). Impact of Macroeconomics Variables on Stock Prices Emperical Evidance in Case of KSE.  European Journal of Scientific Research  , 38 no. 1, 96-103. Website:http://pdfcast.org/pdf/impact-of-macroeconomicse Nishat, D. M., Shaheen, R. (2004). Macro-Economic Factors and Pakistani Equity Market. State Bank of Pakistan. (2010, January). Foreign Reserves. Lahore, Pakistan: State Bank of Pakistan. Should Children of Illegal Immigrants Get an Education? Should Children of Illegal Immigrants Get an Education? Should Children of Illegal Immigrants Be Able to Get an Education? Education is a very important topic that impacts our nation as a whole. Some American citizens think education is needed for everyone while others dont. With the rise of illegal immigration, more and more people are wondering whether or not the children of illegal immigrants should have the same rights as the children of American citizens. Many people say that it is too expensive to give them an education, but if they dont get an education, the United States can see negative effects in the future. It is only right that children of illegal immigrants have the opportunity to get an education in order to learn the skills to make their lives and the country better. Illegal immigrants come to the United States knowing that they are at the risk of getting caught, going to jail, and getting deported out of the country. This causes a lot of fear and anxiety in their every day lives. The main reason many immigrants come here is for work and to better their familys lives. To better their familys lives, their children need an education. Today, children of illegal immigrants still have the chance to get an education because of the 1982 case, Plyer v. Doe, where the U.S. Supreme Court ruled (5-4) that a 1975 Texas law denying public-school education to children of illegal aliens violated the 14th Amendments equal-protection clause (Miller). Having this law is very helpful for those who do not have a citizenship. Most children of illegal immigrants face many obstacles throughout their schooling. Some start out not knowing English very well and do not have the help they need from their parents at home. Giving them the basic studies and a place for them to learn can help these kids develop in a way that would not be possible without a public education. The numbers of illegal immigrants continue to go up in the US, but mostly in states like Texas, Florida, and California. According to Berna Miller, the education of these children is important because California is already facing a shortage of highly skilled workers. If children of illegal immigrants are not allowed an education, they may turn to gangs and crime because they do not have a good foundation. If these kids grow up with violence and drugs around, it only makes their communities more dangerous for everybody. And not having a good education does not help in getting a job in the future. The same happens when the situation is turned around. If children of illegal immigrants are given an opportunity to become more skilled, they can get a better job later on which will help out the economy. Some argue that the costs of educating these children is too high, but when compared to the possibility of these children developing into adults who contribute to the economy, the United Sta tes can see itself having positive long term effects. Although some people feel that illegal immigrants shouldnt come to the United States, others feel the opposite. Teachers, schools and universities are standing up for the rights of undocumented children or children with undocumented parents. In November 30, 2016 presidents of 27 Jesuit colleges and universities pledged themselves to protect to the fullest extent of the law undocumented students on our campuses and to promote retention of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals Program' (A pledge to protect Dreamers). It is important that these schools stand up for the rights of illegal immigrants children because not all had a choice when coming to this country.   The presidents that stood up for these kids said their communities are immeasurably enriched by the presence, intelligence, and committed contributions of undocumented students, as well as of faculty and staff of every color and from every faith tradition (A pledge to protect Dreamers). That statement shows that h aving people from other cultures in the same education system helps everyone. Children of illegal immigrants are getting the chance to educate themselves while they also make their school better with their culture. Another problem that comes up with educating children of illegal immigrants is that even though they can get a public school education, most do not go to college.   In 2008, about 65,000 illegal immigrants graduated from American high schools, but only 5 percent went on to college (Preston). This can be because most immigrants do not have a lot of money and cannot apply for financial aid to help their kids. And if their children are illegal as well, they can feel afraid of being exposed when going to a university. Not helping these kids can be harmful in the future because they will remain low-skilled workers. In this day and age it is very important that people get a good education to get higher paying jobs. This is why the DREAM act helps these kids a lot. The idea behind the Dream Act is that the U.S. should assimilate, rather than expel, dedicated young people who are not at fault for their illegal status (Preston).   By giving these kids the chance to better themse lves, the United States can advance more in the future. By helping children of immigrants, we are creating members of a society that can contribute economically or even culturally. This helps the whole nation. It is true that even people who dont support these kids now will see a good change in this country later. Even if theyre illegal, these kids can create the next invention that can change the world. Many people are supporting the higher education of illegal immigrant children. According to Rosa Ramirez, a student at Miami-Dade College was classified as an out-of-state student because she could not provide the legal status of her parent. In the case, it is said that the student was born in Florida and that she had graduated high school in the state. The universitys rule was making her pay a lot more because of her parents status. It should not matter where her parents stand, what really matters is a persons motivation to get a good education. By making her pay extra, she had another obstacle to face before she could go to college. If she did not speak up, she would have lost the chance to continue getting a higher education. Luckily a Florida judge ruled that making her pay out-of-state tuition violates the equal protection of the laws guaranteed under the 14th Amendment of the Constitution. More and more cases like this are being won by children of illegal immigrants. This shows that people are opening up their eyes to the importance of education for everyone and that if someone is willing to put in effort to get an education, then they deserve it. It has not been easy in the past years for children of illegal immigrants to register for public schooling. Even if the law says they should get an education, a lot of schools in the country are making it hard for these kids to enroll. According to Tim Walker, one 17 year-old student recounted to the researchers that she was told that she could not start school until after exams, delaying her enrollment by four weeks. This is because some schools think that children of illegal immigrants are going to fail when taking standardized tests. These schools are afraid of looking bad by accepting these students. Education should be about making people better not just caring about grades. Another thing that some public schools do is make up a lot of rules that have to do with residency or they make the enrollment process too hard for some immigrant families to understand. Sometimes if a public school does not want to accept a student, they will steer students to alternative education programs , including, but not limited to, those intended for children with serious behavioral problems, even if the student in question displays no such issues (Walker). This is another unfair way to treat children of illegal immigrants. If a student does not have behavioral problems and only wants to succeed, they should not be forced to take another step back. Even though it seems like the country is split up over this problem, it is good to see things through a humans plain point of view. If a human did nothing wrong and is being denied an education which only makes a them better, then there is a problem. If we let children of illegal immigrants follow their dreams and make something of themselves then we can expect good results. By giving these kids the tools, they can create a better America in the future. Many of them have different talents and intelligence that can be a good thing for this country. Their parents risked a lot to help them have a brighter future. If we deny education to children of illegal immigrants, we are denying the American dream. Works Cited A Pledge to Protect Dreamers. America 19 Dec. 2016: 10. General OneFile. Web. 9 Feb. 2017. Miller, Berna. Educating the other Children. American Demographics Oct. 1997: 49. General OneFile. Web. 10 Feb. 2017. Preston, Julia. Raised in the U.S., but Still Illegal: How Should the U.S. Treat a Million Young People Who Were Brought Here Illegally as Children? New York Times Upfront 15 Mar. 2010: 8. General OneFile. Web. 10 Feb. 2017. Ramirez, Rosa. Judge: U.S.-Born Children of Undocumented Parents Can Pay In-State Tuition. Nationaljournal.com 6 Sept. 2012: n. pag. General OneFile. Web. 10 Feb. 2017. Walker, Tim. How Undocumented Students Are Turned Away From Public Schools. NEA Today. N.p., 23 Apr. 2016. Web. 22 Feb. 2017. Interactive Whiteboards: Advantages and Disadvantages Study Interactive Whiteboards: Advantages and Disadvantages Study Having personally conducted surveys whilst studying at University in England and Australia, I found at times it was frustrating, time consuming and the strike rate less than 5%. At other times it was very rewarding with the strike rate at a healthy 30%. Firstly the paper will take a look at four different papers and what pro and cons they gathered on IWBs Secondly the paper will contain a model for conducting a large scale research survey. It will contain: The initial phase to implement the survey The methodology used to collect data The questions used in the survey Analysis of the data Justification The research is very important for teachers as it let them know if the IWB improves the pedagogy in teaching and learning. It will also help the teachers understand their weaknesses and strengths using new technology in the teaching and learning environment. They will then be able to plan their lessons so the students are able to get a full understanding of the IWB as a teaching tool and not a plaything. The teachers may find they have to teach basic computer skills to the students, such as: Terminology (literacy) How to turn their computers on How to log in and out Software use How to access the internet Key board skills The teachers may say that they do not have time to teach a separate subject as it will encroach on the lessons they are teaching. Without recognising the weaknesses of the students, in using the IWB, the students may miss out on valuable opportunities that are fundamental in their pedagogy growth Quotes According to Sudgen that something, â€Å"as bland as a projected image could be used interactively in this way† (Sudgen 2002). The difficulties he experienced with the IWB showed that there were logging on problems by the students and if the IWB was knocked it had to be re-calibrated (Sudgen 2002) Other problems encountered were light shinning on the IWB caused shadows making it difficult to see the images, the key board only shows lower case letters, making it hard for some students to recognise letters and problems caused by the students resting their hand on the IWB whilst writing (Sudgen 2002) Even with the difficulties Sudgen encountered during the lesson, he found the students worked with each other on how to find the correct word and its’ spelling using the IWB (Sudgen 2002). He also found by the end of the lesson the students had gained confidence in using the IWB even if they put in the wrong answer, they all supported each other by offering alternative answers (Sudgen 2002) Research by Dorothy Walker at the Royal Docks Community School in 2003 found some surprising results IWBs’ had on the pedagogy of the students and how it improved the time teachers spent actually teaching. With the help of the deputy head, Tom Smith, Walker found that the teachers where getting 20 – 25 per cent more time teaching (Walker 2003) The school was that impressed with the value of the IWB; they have 54, which are housed in a purpose built building (Walker 2003) Smith has asked to be benched marked against other schools, but as yet Ofsted â€Å"can’t find anyone like us† (Walker 2003) The Docklands school has 1,200 who speak over 48 languages, this made Smith search for innovative technologies to help the students, whose special needs exceeded 10 times the national average. When Smith first saw the IWB he knew it would help with literacy, as many of the students are visual learners (Walker 2003) The students are enthusiastic in helping new teachers use the IWB as well, (the teachers) receive extensive in house training (Walker 2003) The students use the IWB to interact with each other’s ideas by sharing their work, with over 600 PCs in the school the students can access the IWB to evaluate what they have be presented with in the previous lessons as well as being able to download their homework. Hull University together with Promethean (the maker of IWBs) and with funding from NESTA carried out research in August 2002, to find out how effective IWBs are in delivering excellence in the teaching and learning environment (Hull University 2002) The aim of the project over two years, focused on 200 classroom observations in schools and colleges. During the observations the researches noted the strengths and weaknesses of the teachers using IWBs in teaching and learning. The data collected helped them develop digital resources used for research in the learning environment. The researchers found that teachers have to consider that IWBs can be beneficial for teaching if they make sure the students can see the fonts from all areas of the classroom, they can all hear the IWB and that light entering the room may make the IWB hard to read. They found that teaches could use wireless technology so they don’t have to go back to their computer, also the teachers could use the IWBs technology to save time by saving the WEB sites accessed on the hard drive (Hull University 2002) Using an interactive whiteboard (IWB) The research taken out relied on a single researcher observing lessons using an interactive white board and conducting interviews with teachers The primary school was purposely built for teachers to use ICT and how it would enhance pedagogy in learning and teaching (Beauchamp 2004) Over the period of two years the teachers where trained on how to use ICT, giving them differing levels of confidence. When they started in the new school the IWB was new to them. The researcher divided the data collection into four stages: Data collection Validation Interpretation Action (Beauchamp 2004) The researcher had the consent of the teachers and management to observe seven teachers using the IWB over a two day period (Beauchamp 2004) During the lesson the researcher took contemporaneous notes and after the lesson the researcher had an unstructured interview with the teacher on any issues they had using ICT and the IWB During the initial stages the teachers where given plenty of notice by the researcher what lessons would be observed The researchers noted the amount of skills the teachers had in using ICT, and teachers’ pedagogic practices in using ICT. It was noted that there was a range of skills and competencies in using ICT. The researcher categorised the skills and competencies of each teacher by: Black / white board substitute Apprentice user Initiate user Advanced user Synergistic user (Beauchamp 2004) Validation After the initial phase of the observation the researcher was able to table the characteristics of the teacher and how they progressed. The second stage of observation carried out a year later allowed the teachers’ time to develop their skills and pedagogy in using ICT During the second stage of the research, the focus of the observations matched the skills on the framework developed from the data collected from the initial stage. The interviews conducted with the teachers were taped in order to validate and ground the findings (Beauchamp 2004) During the second stage interviews the teachers were given the frameworks developed from the first stage. Unlike the initial interviews, the framework provided a structure to the questions asked by the researcher The research did not take into account the years of experience and age of the teachers, as its’ aim was to get an overall representation of all primary school teachers. This eliminated any variables to ensure a model was developed which represented all teachers (Beauchamp 2004) Interpretation and Action A qualitative analysis was used to analyse the data collected by the researcher. The data collected identified common features as well key differences in areas of cognitive and pedagogical development of how teachers used ICT and IWB The variables noted were: Operating system use Mechanical skills Program variables Classroom management and pedagogy (Beauchamp 2004) The researcher noted on occasions there where advancements predominantly in the pedagogical and mechanical skills of the teachers. Difficulties The research conducted in the primary school looked at how the teachers used and implemented ICT and IWB in the learning and teaching environment. The research was conducted over two days observing and interviewing the teachers in two stages, with a gap of one year between each stage. The length of time between each stage may of led to a belief by the teachers that they had plenty of time to improve their skills. The evidence presented by the researcher does not suggest the skills where improved in leaps and abounds over the year. Seven teachers took part in the research; all had prior knowledge of which lessons would be observed. The small number of teachers used in the research would make it very difficult and probably bias to come to a general consensus. The interviews in stage one were unstructured, whereas in stage two they were taped and structured. The problems of having an unstructured interview would of made the analysis of the data unreliable and complex in being able to validate the findings. Stage Two The initial phase to implement the survey I would look at getting backing from the Education Department to conduct the survey. This would give the survey credibility and help to get participation from the schools’ management and teachers. The letter to the Department of Education will contain this preamble: Problem Definition i.e. The use of the Interactive White Board (IWB) in the teaching and learning environment and how it improves pedagogy. With the event of new technologies used in the classroom there is a need for the system to be investigated. Increasing the knowledge of teachers in the use of IWB will give them knowledge of its’ potential as a tool in the pedagogy process. If teachers feel more comfortable using the IWB it will benefit them in lesson planning, understanding the needs of their students and how to combat any difficulties their students may have. The IWB is expensive, but it is here to stay, with the emphasis on using Information Communication Technologies (ICT) in the 21st century classroom. If a teacher feels incompetent in using the IWB they may not use it in primary schools. This could disadvantage the students when they go to higher education. The aim is to ask primary schools to participate in a wide scale research project. Data will be collected by way of: An online questionnaire Interviews Observations The survey will not contain any personal information on teachers or students. Note: The preamble would be written as a letter The letter will include the questionnaire and any other relevant material that will support the proposal. Bu way of a bulletin, primary schools will be asked to participate in a large scale research project. The rational of which is to improve the use of new technologies in teaching and learning. The schools will be told that the survey will be online and conducted by way of observation and interviews. They will be able to pick which ones they would be happy to participate in. The schools will be asked to register at an encrypted WEB site. After registration the schools that register will be given a registration number. The schools will be required to provide: Size and type of school i.e. private, public, special ed etc Subjects taught using IWB The range of teachers experience Location; city suburban, country The schools will be then asked to fill in the online questionnaire (below) The survey: After collecting the online survey an analysing by way by way of graphs the second phase of the survey will come into place. This will entail a suitably qualified person going to schools and conducting the observations and interviews e.g. retired teacher The observation and interview will be conducted with an arrangement between the teacher and data collector. The observer will note: The subject being taught. The grade being taught. What the IWB was used for e.g. Internet, research etc. Length of time the teacher used the IWB. Whether it improved pedagogy or complemented it. The competency of the teacher. During the interview, the observer will ask the teacher: How the IWB complimented their pedagogy. Had they had training on the use of the IWB How long had they been using the IWB Would they like more training Any issues they have with the IWB Any improvements The interviews should take no longer then five minutes with a tick box sheet and a small comment section. The data collector will then log into the WEB site and upload all the data Conclusion Without large scale research it is very easy to generalise and come to conclusions that the researcher wants. As we found at Docklands, Smith could not get a benchmark that would help him assess the effectiveness of using the IWB Other researchers collected data from a small group, compared to the amount of schools, yet they tried to generalise their finding to the overall schools populace. It seems that IWBs are going to be the future of teaching, therefore the Education Departments and Governments need to make certain data collected on the benefits of IWBs needs to quantitive and qualitive, without which could lead to problems in literacy and pedagogy that will impact on teachers and students alike. Bibliography Internet Druin A, et al, http://www.blackwell-synergy.com/, Sydney Australia,  13 May 2006 Beauchamp Gary, http://www.tandf.co.uk/journals/titles/, Sydney Australia, 15th May 2006 Hull University et.al, http://www.thereviewproject.org/about.htm,Sydney Australia,   27th May 2006 Roschelle J, http://www.blackwell-synergy.com/, Sydney Australia 13 May 2006 Sudgen D, http://ferl.becta.org.uk/ , Sydney Australia, 27th May 2006 Walker D, http://www.tes.co.uk/, Sydney Australia, 27th May 2006 The complete addresses http://www.blackwell-synergy.com/doi/pdf/10.1046/j.0266-4909.2003.00028.x http://www.tandf.co.uk/journals/titles/1475939x.asp http://ferl.becta.org.uk/display.cfm?resID=2640 http://www.tes.co.uk/section/story/?section=Archivesub_section=Online+Educationstory_id=373324Type=0 http://www.thereviewproject.org/about.htm Bibliography Internet Druin A, et al, http://www.blackwell-synergy.com/, Sydney Australia 13 May 2006 Beauchamp Gary, http://www.tandf.co.uk/journals/titles/, Sydney Australia 15th May 2006 Roschelle J, http://www.blackwell-synergy.com/, Sydney Australia 13 May 2006 The complete addresses http://www.blackwell-synergy.com/doi/pdf/10.1046/j.0266-4909.2003.00028.x http://www.tandf.co.uk/journals/titles/1475939x.asp