Digitalization of Education: Commodification Hidden in Terms of Empowerment?

This article contributes to discussions about the gap between formal educational politics and reforms, and concrete educational inequalities. With our empirical case, we bring into this discussion the contemporary reforms of formal education that lean on an imaginary idea of digitalization as an equ...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Postdigital science and education 2024-06, Vol.6 (2), p.556-571
Main Authors: Armila, Päivi, Sivenius, Ari, Stanković, Biljana, Juutilainen, Lauri
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Algorithms
Commodification
Digital technology
Digitization
Education
Education policy
Educational Change
Educational inequality
Educational Philosophy
Educational Policy
Educational Technology
Empowerment
Equal Education
Optimism
Original Articles
Technology and Digital Education
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Summary:This article contributes to discussions about the gap between formal educational politics and reforms, and concrete educational inequalities. With our empirical case, we bring into this discussion the contemporary reforms of formal education that lean on an imaginary idea of digitalization as an equalizing power without recognizing the criticism directed towards it. Within this case, the article covers postdigitalism in education where digitalization is not enough to make a difference. We see the postdigital paradigm as something that analyzes the present-day consequences of the digital age. Our empirical data consists of perceptions of Serbian educational authorities collected via a qualitative questionnaire and an interview. In our data collected from authorities, imaginaries of harmonization and equalization can be recognized where educational equality and empowerment are believed to be achievable via digital structures and patterns of schooling. However, selected examples from the concrete educational stratification of the Serbian population show that digitalization per se cannot be a solution: for example, poverty hierarchies within the population are tough and should be solved first. We see that emphasis on digitalization can sometimes strengthen the prevailing educational gaps between different socio-cultural population groups if digitalism is not paying attention to human and societal conditions.
ISSN:2524-485X
2524-4868
DOI:10.1007/s42438-022-00347-8