Digitalisation in Swiss Schools and the Impacts on Educational Trajectories

Duration: January 2022 – December 2024
Status: Completed
Educational Level: Primary Level
Topic: Digital Skills & Literacy, Digital Tools
Keywords: Digital Skills

Initial Situation

In Switzerland, until now there were hardly any up to date, empirically grounded data on the state of digitalisation in primary schools. Therefore, little was known about how well schools are technically equipped, how intensively digital technologies are used in lessons, and what attitudes teachers, parents and pupils have. In addition, it was unclear to what extent differences in private access to ICT (information and communication technologies) among children from different social backgrounds contribute to educational inequality. There was also a lack of solid evidence on whether digital competencies and ICT use in compulsory schooling have long term effects on post compulsory educational paths, especially in vocational education and the STEM domain.

Objectives

The project pursued the following objectives:

1. To record the current state of digitalisation in primary schools in terms of technical infrastructure, use, attitudes and perceived support at technical and pedagogical levels.
2. To examine whether and how differences in private ICT access and usage among children of different social origins explain differences in school performance.
3. To identify schools with favourable conditions (success conditions) for a successful integration of digital technologies in teaching and to explore their relationship with school outcomes.
4. To analyse the effect of ICT access, usage, and competencies on the transition to post compulsory education, including gender differences.
5. To capture long term impacts, particularly in STEM subjects.

Method

These objectives were specified in three work packages:

• WP1: inventory (questionnaire, data collection, processing, documentation, archiving)
• WP2: analysis and reporting on the state of digitalisation (questions 1–3)
• WP3: analysis of TREE data on the effect of ICT for educational trajectories (questions 4–5)

The project used a standardised online survey: around 4,500 parents and 275 school principals were surveyed during a pilot phase (ÜGK 2024). The primary school survey was conducted in May and June 2022. The questionnaire for school principals was designed in cooperation with PHBern (Reform@work) and EPFL LEARN. The quantitative survey data and the longitudinal TREE study data (transitions into post compulsory education) were analysed using quantitative methods. The data were documented, processed, and archived for research.

Results

The surveys with principals, parents and pupils provided a nuanced picture of digitalisation in primary schools. The data permit identification of the opportunities and risks of digital teaching and extraction of success conditions for effective ICT integration at the school level. Supplementary analyses of the TREE data revealed how ICT use, practices, and competencies in school and private environments are associated with transition processes into post compulsory education pathways. In special analyses, gender specific patterns emerged: for example, among girls, interest in ICT is more strongly linked to entry into more ICT intensive occupations, whereas among boys it is rather the ICT self concept that predicts the choice of ICT specialised careers. Further, drivers and barriers of ICT integration were identified: besides committed teachers, teaching and learning resources are key factors. The project report presents typical combinations of barriers that explain why some schools have not progressed much in digitalisation, and gives concrete policy recommendations. More detailed information about the results can be found here in the reports and scientific publications.

Implemented Translation

The dissemination (translation) of the project results was approached in several ways: firstly, the collected data were made available to the research community (archived at SWISSUBase, used for academic purposes). Secondly, non academic dissemination of results was carried out towards actors in educational policy, administration, and practice: via presentations in schools, workshops, lectures, and events with school leadership associations and education authorities. The focus was on the identified success conditions and the connection between digitalisation and student competencies. The findings also served as the basis for developing data driven interventions and tools for school digitalisation strategies. Moreover, the project supported dialogue with political decision makers (e.g. EDK / Kosta HarmoS), which helped secure the questionnaires, the main survey design, and field access.

The beneficiaries of the project include educational policymakers (EDK, cantons), cantonal education administrations interested in digitalisation, primary school principals, as well as interested parents, especially with respect to digital media use at school and home. At the research level, the project offers national and international impulses, particularly for studies on digitalisation in primary schools and transitions into post compulsory education. The published reports and the data infrastructure create a long term basis for evidence based decisions and interventions to promote digital competencies in the education system.

Participating Institutions