A tale of the digital future: analyzing the digitalization of the norwegian education system

ABSTRACT

Schools are central in sustaining and extending values in society and therefore in shaping future society. While the global trend of education digitalization, commonly is presented as a depoliticized project of improvement, this paper seeks to uncover the values of the digital school as expressed in the strategy for the digitalization of the Norwegian education system.  Inspired by Bacchi’s‘WPR approach, the findings reveal that digitalization involves establishing a problem and a solution through discourses or narratives of education, working life, and the future.Given this problem representation and sociotechnical imaginary of the future, the school’s main goal becomes to provide digitally competent future citizen-workers. The educational ideal of The Nordic model, and ideas of humanism and solidarity are not emphasized. Hence, the digital school reflects a neoliberal economy rather than values traditionally associated with the welfare state.

KEYWORDS:

• Education policy
• digitalization
• WPR
• hidden curriculum
• values
• post-digital philosophy
• the nordic model

Disclosure statement

All authors in this study state that they have no competing interests.

Notes

1. The document title is translated by the authors. Original title: Framtid, fornyelse og digitalisering. Digitaliseringsstrategi for grunnopplæringen 2017–2021.

2. This model refers to the similarities between the education reforms and systems of the five Nordic countries (i.e. Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway and Sweden) during the second half of the 20th century.

3. Hereafter referred to as ‘the Digitalization Strategy’.

4. Ministry of Education and Research.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Øyunn Syrstad Høydal

Dr Øyunn Syrstad Høydal is a sociologist, currently holding a postdoc position at OsloMet. She is investigating the relationship between policy, knowledge, values and institutional framing in the digitalization of the Norwegian 1-13 school.

Marit Haldar

Professor Marit Haldar is a sociologist, currently head of the interdisciplinary research group Welfare Access Through Technology (WATT) at OsloMet. Important themes in Haldar´s research is childhood, gender, family, social inequality, vulnerable subjects in the welfare state and health care system.