Dilemmatic spaces pertaining to digitalisation, equity and increased goal attainment in Swedish schools and preschools

The study investigates how digitalisation affects equal opportunities and pupil outcomes in Swedish kindergarten and school, focusing on teachers’ perspectives on challenges and opportunities. Through analyses of teachers’ experiences, the study investigates how digital skills are integrated to promote both academic achievement and social equality. The research questions are:

1. How do teachers experience the link between digitalisation, equal opportunities and better pupil outcomes?
2. What challenges do teachers see in preparing pupils for participation in a digitalised society?

The study identifies three dilemmas related to digitalisation: flexibility in teaching, equal access and use of digital tools, as well as the development of pupils as digital citizens. The teachers see digitalisation as both an opportunity and a challenge, especially when it comes to ensuring equal access to technology. While technology use can support increased goal attainment, it can also increase differences between pupils depending on their access to technology at home. Several teachers expressed that digital tools provide flexibility in teaching, but can also distract students from the learning objectives.

The data consist of interviews with 165 teachers from kindergartens to upper secondary schools in a Swedish city. The teachers discussed how digitalisation affected teaching practices, equal opportunities and goal attainment. The researchers conducted a thematic analysis to identify patterns in the data related to challenges the teachers experienced in their daily work on digital skills.

Godhe, A. L., Ideland, J., & Ollinen, K. (2023). Dilemmatic spaces pertaining to digitalisation, equity and increased goal attainment in Swedish schools and preschools. Pedagogy, Culture & Society, 1–19. https://doi.org/10.1080/14681366.2023.2298446.