Ferrante, P., Williams, F., Büchner, F., Kiesewetter, S., Chitsauko Muyambi, G., Uleanya, C., & Utterberg Modén, M. (2024) “In/equalities in digital education policy – sociotechnical imaginaries from three world regions” Learning, Media and Technology 49(1): 122-132. https://doi.org/10.1080/17439884.2023.2237870 (open access)

Tech use in teaching and learning has been considered as a contributory factor aiding academic success. Its lack in rural schools has also been considered as a hindrance to quality education. This study through a qualitative method explored the intersection of innovation and technology use as well as the challenges of disconnection. This was done using a selected rural school in KwaZulu-Natal province of South Africa. Data were collected from a case of a secondary school using observations, field notes and semi-structured interviews from a purposively selected sample of a principal, a head of department, six teachers and an administrative clerk. The collected data were coded, categorised and analysed thematically. The findings show among others that inequalities are due to infrastructure, socioeconomic status and location. The disparities influence how digital inequality is experienced, exposing barriers, and frustrations, through digital disconnection. The experience causes the teachers to utilise less of technology and make use of what they have. This study has shaped our discourse in digital technology theory and humanities about what technology is, what it is for, and what kind of justice we ought to seek from it.

Ahiaku, P., & Muyambi, G. (2024). Empowering learners for the fourth industrial revolution: The crucial role of teachers and school management. Social Sciences & Humanities Open, 10. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ssaho.2024.101141 (open access)

This paper delves into the pivotal roles of teachers and school management in driving Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR) readiness among leaners. It examines the ways in which teachers and school management can contribute to preparing learners for the demands of 4IR by fostering essential skills, mindsets and knowledge. Drawing from interpretivist paradigm, sample of this qualitative study included three secondary schools close to Empangeni (South Africa) and ranged from fully subsidised to partially subsidised, representing a rich and varied sample. Data collection included class observations, ethnographic field notes and semi-structured interviews with 27 purposively selected teachers including three principals, three heads of departments and 21 teachers. The collective data was analysed using the Atlas-ti and the research found that access to digital technologies, training and skills and continuous professional development remains a problem among teachers and school managers from poor socioeconomic schools whereas teachers and school managers from the richest and most high socioeconomic schools are technologically advanced and in readiness to empower learners for the 4IR. Based on these findings the study advocate for provision of technological resources to schools, comprehensive teacher preparation programs that focus on pedagogical approaches, effective use of digital tools, strategies and curriculum integration of digital technology.

Photo by Markus Spiske on Unsplash

González López, A.E., Büchner, F. (2024). EdTech in a Broken World: Breaking and Repairing in Argentinian and German Schools. Postdigit Sci Educ (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s42438-024-00490-4 (open access)

This article offers insights into the everyday postdigital school life of two schools from two different world regions—Argentina and Germany. Based on ethnographic research in both contexts, it traces the introduction of one educational technology in each case, from the moment of its conception in policy documents to its landing in schools, its appropriation by various school actors and its integration into the socio-technical infrastructure of the classroom. Although both schools are situated differently and both technologies—a learning management system and a tablet computer—are of different quality, the article demonstrates the existence of a remarkable commonality in the journey of both educational technologies: their breakdown and the repair practices performed by various school actors. Breakdown and repair are analysed and conceptualised with reference to the Broken World Thinking exercise. By applying an Ethnography of Global Connections, the locally identified practices in both schools are framed as manifestations of global digitalisation processes in education. The article aims to shift the focus of critical EdTech studies towards two socio-material forces that are commonly addressed separately: material disruption and reassembling (and all the friction in between).

Photo by Fabian Irsara on Unsplash

The articles in the most recent issue of Learning, Media and Technology all focus, in various ways, on how digital technologies are enacted in context-specific ways within formal institutions of education – whether schools, colleges or universities – and their mismatch with imaginaries of digital transformation. They collectively draw attention to the complex and unpredictable institutionalization of digital technologies and edtech. When digital technologies connect with institutional contexts, things rarely play out as their advocates and supporters would wish.

In the editorial, we wonder:

Given the empirically documented history showing that educational technologies rarely work as intended or expected, why do the visionary promises of inventors, investors, and industry figures continue to persist and gain traction?

And we suggest:

The problem, to a significant extent, is that the actual contexts of educational institutions are still rarely considered when new digital technologies are promoted for use in schools, colleges or universities. The contextlessness of glossy imaginaries and optimistic promises comes up against mundane realities. Educational institutions are deeply complex, highly diverse, and bound to encounter digital media and technologies in ways that are shaped by matters as everyday as budgetary restrictions, procurement practices, staff competence, student mood, policy mandates, and myriad other contextual factors. Contextlessness is a strategy for technological failure in educational institutions rather than disruption or revolution, as the history of edtech research has documented

Indeed, exploring contexts – institutional, cultural, political, historic, social, economic, technical, linguistic – is one of the key things that RED aims to do.

To explore who else is working on this puzzle, it is worth checking out issue 48(3) of Learning, Media and Technology, where we brought a few papers together.

Header image by Danielle-Claude Bélanger on Unsplash

The article “Plataformas Educativas: Usos y Desafíos en la Escuela Postdigital” by Patricia Ferrante and Alejo González López Ledesma investigates the integration and challenges of educational platforms in Buenos Aires secondary schools. It adopts an ethnographic approach to explore teachers’ use of institutional and corporate educational platforms and their interactions with the existing school infrastructure, including printed materials. The study contributes to the discussion on digital technologies in education, emphasizing the impacts of commercial digital platforms on schools, and raises critical questions about pedagogical practices and evaluations associated with these platforms.

Photo by Mehdi MeSSrro on Unsplash

This article investigates policy-as-discourse and policy-as-technology with specific focus on how the deployment of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) in education is positioned as a redemptive force in the case of Botswana. Therborn’s theory of inequalities was adopted to catalogue ways in which supranational organisations and the national government of Botswana consider the potential of ICT and/ICT in education to address (in)equalities in Botswana. A deductive Directed Qualitative Content Analysis (DQICA) was adopted focusing on how the national government and supranational organisations view and present ICT in education in Botswana with regards to being an equaliser. The analysis of the evidence points to ICT in education being seen and operationalised to ameliorate existing inequalities in education and broader society, without, necessarily, questioning broader socioeconomic structural arrangements and factors sustaining inequalities.

Photo by WOKANDAPIX on Pixabay

As part of the RED project, we developed a tool called InfraReveal. It tracks and visualizes the digital infrastructure that powers educational technology. By analyzing the metadata attached to data packets—those tiny bits of data that zip across the internet—we can see which companies are involved and how these services are interconnected. In the article, Epistemologies of data visualisations: on producing certainties, geographies and digitalities in critical educational research, we critically examine our own development and use of InfraReveal in relation to three themes:

The Illusion of Certainty

Data visualizations like those in InfraReveal can give a sense of certainty. But this clarity can sometimes mask the messiness of the underlying data. We need to remember that visualizations are simplifications, and they can hide the complexities and uncertainties of the real world. In our work, we’ve chosen to reflect on these uncertainties, reminding users that what they see is a representation, not the full picture

Mapping Our World

Maps are a common feature in data visualizations, but they come with their own set of stories and biases. They can emphasize certain geographies and reinscribe power hierarchies, shaping our understanding of the world. With InfraReveal, we’ve had to balance the familiar with the critical, using traditional maps while trying to highlight global data inequalities.

The Challenge of Participation

Creating tools like InfraReveal is a collaborative effort. However, participation varies across different contexts. What works in one place may not in another, as local norms and infrastructures influence the use and understanding of these technologies. We’ve tried to navigate these differences, ensuring our visualizations resonate with diverse audiences.

In the end, data visualizations are not just about presenting information; they’re about engaging with the world. By understanding the stories they tell, we can foster a more nuanced and inclusive approach to interpreting the digital landscape of education. With InfraReveal, we’re striving to reveal the underlying data practices in education and question the inequalities they may perpetuate. It’s a balancing act of being critical and reflexive, using these tools to uncover new insights while acknowledging their limitations. Read more about our journey here…

Uleanya, C. (2023). Success through leadership resilience: Qualitative exploration of a selected rural high school. Research in Educational Administration and Leadership. https://doi.org/10.30828/real.1264412 (open access)

How do the staff at rural high schools in South Africa deal with the challenges of high drop-out rates? In this study, drawing on collaboration with one of RED’s project schools, the focus lies on individual factors, in particular, resilience. The abstract elaborates:

Failure and drop-out rate in rural high schools (RHSs) in South Africa remains a prevailing crisis. This has been attributed to issues such as poor/limited infrastructures, poverty, unemployment, among others. Thus, this case study explores the issue of a purposively selected South African Rural High School (RHS) with 15 years’ success rate at terminal examination known as Matric. Qualitative method was adopted, hence, interviews were conducted with eight purposively selected staff members of the school: one principal, one deputy principal, three departmental heads, two teachers and one senior admin clerk. The collected data was coded, categorised, thereafter thematically analysed.

The findings of the study showed that resources in the selected rural high school are limited, and dropout impacts the school negatively. Nonetheless, with resilience and collaborative efforts of the school leaders: principal, deputy principal, teachers and other staff members, as well as limited reliance on government learners can be supported to succeed, thus increasing pass rate. The study therefore, recommends among others the need for school leaders to believe in their abilities, be resilient in their pursuit of ensuring learners’ success and if need be, rely minimally on support from the government.

(Photo by Riccardo Annandale on Unsplash)

Büchner, F., Bittner, M., & Macgilchrist, F. (2023). Imaginationen von Ungleichheit im Notfall-Distanzunterricht: Analyse eines Policydiskurses und seiner Problemrepräsentationen. MedienPädagogik: Zeitschrift für Theorie und Praxis der Medienbildung, 20, 347-373.

A policy study by RED’s local team in Germany has just been published in the journal MedienPädagogik. Using Bacchi’s “What’s-the-Problem-Represented-to-Be” approach (e.g. Bacchi 2012), we reconstructed the sociotechnical imaginaries (Jasanoff 2015) in the policy discourse around emergency remote education. For this purpose, we partnered with the CoBiS project at the University of Flensburg. The CoBiS team has built an extensive archive of educational policies related to COVID-19 in Germany. Initial results of this study were presented in 2022 at the autumn conference of the German Educational Research Association‘s division on Media Education. We are now happy to present the final publication.

Overall, the paper suggests that a key sociotechnical imaginary is a particular kind of “frictionless” living. But where would frictionlessness take society? How does an imaginary of frictionless living reproduce or transform relations of inequality?

This paper understands emergency remote education as a sociotechnical phenomenon and analyses its construction in the policy discourse during the Covid-19 pandemic. It asks how remote education is imagined in German federal states’ policy documents and how socio-digital inequality is represented as a problem in these imaginaries. Based on the thematic document collection ‹CoBiS – Covid 19-Corpus des Bildungssystems›, a policy analysis was conducted using the ‹WPR approach›. Findings suggest a ‹sociotechnical imaginary› of frictionlessness. The paper illustrates this imaginary through three aspects: (1) frictionless living spaces, (2) friction through inequality and (3) equality through technology.

It is shown that through the imaginary of frictionlessness in the policy discourse, ideas and visions of educational subjects are generated that favour affluent, privileged and middle-class white contexts and at the same time disadvantage marginalised, deprived and minoritised contexts. Overall, the paper proposes a framework for inclusive media education to critically reflect on sociotechnical imaginaries invoked in policy discourses. 

For more details, feel free to peruse (and perhaps automatically translate!) the full paper (open access; German) here: https://doi.org/10.21240/mpaed/jb20/2023.09.14.X.

(Image credits: The images are taken from the front covers of policy documents in Germany. Credits are given in full in the publication.)