Education and the European Digital Agenda

Switzerland, Germany and Sweden after 1970

The project

Technological issues are enjoying a boom in many areas of educational research and in education policies.

Historical perspectives, however, are still rare. Instead, research on “educational technologies” and “technology education” often works under the assumption that these are new problems without any historical conditions. This project funded by the Swiss National Science Foundation (SNSF) can help develop a long-term perspective and consider its own research against the background of earlier attempts.

OUTLINE AND OBJECTIVES​

It is commonly assumed that the new information and communications technologies are a huge challenge for the traditional systems of public schooling, higher education and vocational education and training. This project is concerned with how this challenge has been met in Europe during the first decades after the microchip started restructuring businesses, administration and daily life. It reconstructs how the educational implications of technological change have been faced politically between 1970 and the end of the dotcom boom around 2000. The project focuses especially on the political initiatives regarding secondary schooling, vocational education and training, adult and higher education.

Team

Education and the European Digital Agenda

Switzerland, Germany and Sweden after 1970

Dr. Michael Geiss

project leader / main applicant

web | mail

Dr. Rosalía Guerrero

postdoc researcher

web | mail

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Carmen Flury

postgraduate researcher

web | mail

International Reference Group

Anne Rohstock, Germany
Jane Gingrich, UK
Johannes Westberg, the Netherlands
Lucien Criblez, Switzerland
Magnus Hultén, Sweden
Sabine Reh, Germany

Dr. Fabian Grütter

postdoc researcher

web | mail
Dr. Barbara Hof

affiliated researcher

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Dr. Lina Rahm

affiliated researcher

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Timeline

April 1, 2019

Start of the project

Familiarisation and preparatory work.

April 1, 2019

July 8, 2019

Workshop individual projects with Céline Angehrn.

July 8, 2019

Autumn 2019

Start initial on-site archive research.

Autumn 2019

February 6, 2020

Initial meeting international reference group.

February 6, 2020

April 2020

Start archive research Europe and OECD.

April 2020

October 2020

Start archive research national and comparative studies.

October 2020

July 15, 2021

Computers in the Classroom Workshop

July 15, 2021

September 2021

Start archive research French-speaking Switzerland and Ticino

September 2021

September 16, 2021

Circulation of Computer Knowledge Beyond Schooling Workshop

September 16, 2021

Autumn 2022

Start final phase database and individual projects

Autumn 2022

Spring 2023

Edited Volume “How Computers entered the Classroom, 1960-2000”

Spring 2023

March 30 & 31, 2023

Concluding Workshop and Book Launch

March 30 & 31, 2023

News

September, 2022

Announcement of How Computers Entered the Classroom, 1960–2000

July 15 & 16, 2021

Author workshop

April 1, 2021

New episode of the History of Education Society UK podcast with Carmen Flury and Rosalía Guerrero

January 25, 2021

Out now: “The OECD as an arena for debate on the future uses of computers in schools” by Barbara Hof & Regula Bürgi

Events

Education and the European Digital Agenda

Switzerland, Germany and Sweden after 1970

July 15 & 16, 2021

How computers entered the classroom, 1960-2000: Author Workshop

Digital technologies only gradually permeated everyday tasks and interactions at home, work, education and leisure. In research on the history of education, however, the question of how computers conquered the classroom has so far been totally neglected. This author workshop brings together researchers from Europe to discuss their historical case studies. The workshop will result in an edited volume to be published by De Gruyter in 2023.

September 16 & 17, 2021

The Circulation of Computer Knowledge Beyond Schooling, 1980–2000

This workshop aimed to bring together different perspectives to broaden our understanding of the role of non-traditional educational actors which, independently of established educa- tional and vocational training systems, took on the task of creating and disseminating computer knowledge during the period from the 1980s to the early 2000s.

March 30 & 31, 2023

Education and the European Digital Agenda: Concluding Workshop

The Digital Agenda project examineed the educational implications of change in information and communication technologies (ICT) between 1970 and 2000, focusing on political initiatives in Europe regarding secondary schooling, vocational education and training, and adult and higher education. How have educational policies in Europe addressed the technological and economic challenges? And what are the consequences for historical  research in education? These questions will be explored at the condluding workshop in Zurich, which will also be open to a broader public.

Registration

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