Building a policy space via mainstreaming ICT in European education: The European Digital Education Area (re)visited

Abstract

This article examines the ideational construction and definition of the European Digital Education Area (EDEA) as a policy space and mechanism for the mainstreaming of digital technologies in Europe's education and training systems. It revisits the foundational pillars on which it is premised, proposed in a previous iteration of the concept: formal legislation, mainstreaming of digital education actions and interlinked networks of practice. Employing a mixed methods approach, involving discourse analysis of key policy documents enacted over the past two decades, an online survey of ICT project coordinators under the Lifelong Learning Programme, and interviews with policy officers at the European Commission, the study reinforces the structure and utility of the EDEA for ICT diffusion in education. It argues for its formal acknowledgment as a political priority and key policy area enforceable through instruments similar to those existing under the Bologna Process for a coherent, concerted and strategic approach to digital education at EU level.

The Role of the European Education Area in European Union Integration in Times of Crises

“…The EEA materials highlight the following crises in the area of education: obstacles to student mobility within the EU because of legal obstacles imposed by borders and financial constraints (Bertaud et al 2017; EC 2017; DG for Communication 2018; EC 2018b), a number of gaps in student participation in education on different levels, particularly gender disparity in choosing to study science, technology, engineering and mathematics, the lack of pursuing inter-disciplinary studies and the lack of the participation of adults in lifelong learning (EC 2017), the shortage of digital equipment in schools and IT professional development programmes for teachers (EC 2017; EC 2019b), the existence of a large share of low achievers in education, most of whom come from households with low levels of income or education and do not progress upwards on the social ladder (EC 2017; EC 2018b). Some of these challenges resonate with what is also discussed in other studies about the EEA, such as the issues with mobility (Grinberga-Zalite et al 2018) and digitalization (Salajan 2019).…”

Improving of Educational Programs for the Formation of Information and Communication Competence of Teachers

“…Formal recognition of the directives of the European Digital Education Area is a political educational priority that should be implemented in accordance with the principles and instruments existing, for example, in the Bologna Process, for a holistic, coherent and strategic approach to digital education at EU level (Salajan, 2019). As for Ukraine, achieving at least a satisfactory level of digital education today requires significant efforts and financial investments by the state to improve the technical situation of the issue, as well as sponsorship and development of higher education, self-education and postgraduate education programs that would keep in tune and promote improving the information and communication competence of the teacher.…”

The EU’s Education Policy Response to the Covid-19 Pandemic: A Discourse and Content Analysis

“…It is considered a task for the whole of society and should be based on dialogue between the relevant stakeholders, as well as evidence-based monitoring (EC, 2020c). An open public consultation for the Digital Education Action Plan thus took place and several stakeholders expressed their learning experiences during the pandemic (see EC, 2020c) What becomes clear from the analysis of the policy documents is that the Covid-19 pandemic merely offered the opportunity for advancing the digital agenda in education, since policies about digital education or learning at EU level date back to 1994 (Salajan, 2019). Well before the pandemic, the digitisation of education policy and practice had established itself as a key instrument for the datafication of education, which is the broader process of producing education data intended to make systems visible, commensurable and comparable (Grek & Landri, 2021).…”

“…However, it is also recognised that digital technologies are not fully exploited in member states and that there is a need to increase their innovation performance and competitiveness. The argument that recasts the EU as lagging behind its global competitors is a recurrent theme for justifying the need for a new European approach to digital technologies in education (Salajan, 2019).…”

“…While the Directorate General for Education and Culture's response has been limited to the provision of online materials for learning, the EC recently introduced the European Skills Agenda (EC, 2020b) and the Digital Education Action Plan (EC, 2020c) as measures to improve the resilience of education systems and increase the use of digital technology and learning among member states. Promoting skill acquisition and digital education is not a novelty for the EU education policy agenda (see Panitsides & Anastasiadou, 2015;Salajan, 2019), but the interest of the EU in these themes has now arguably accelerated due to the pandemic.…”