Digital Governance of Education. Technology, Standards and Europeanization

Digital Governance of Education explores the multiple ways in which digital technologies are changing the experience of education. With much of the contemporary education practice either taking place or being documented digitally, a huge amount of data is constantly being collected and analysed to give sophisticated and up-to-date accounts of education practice in contemporary societies. Such 'datafication' of education, mediated through technology, gives rise to what the author defines as 'digital governance' of education - a transnational assemblage of people, technologies and policies that increasingly affects how national education systems are organized and managed. Paolo Landri argues that the emergence of digital governance is closely related to the new wave of standardization in education, exemplified by the shift towards what is measurable (for example focus on 'learning outcomes') and towards transparency in education practice - a shift that is both facilitated and augmented by digital technologies. The author places the digital governance of education within the framework of Europeanization of education, exploring how it contributes to the creation and regulation of European education arena through consolidation of digital space and tools introduced in this process (such as guidelines, country reports and online dashboards). Adopting a sociomaterial approach to education policy and drawing on actor-network theory, Paolo Landri uses empirical data to investigate how the digitization of education policy and practice is occurring in Italy, and to what extent it contributes to the growth of the digital governance of education. Pointing out the variety of risks and opportunities, he indicates future directions of critical research and the wider international implications of this global trend.