European Education Journal

Call for Papers Special Issue on EdTech and Changing Education Governance 

Guest editors: Dr. Katariina Mertanen (University of Helsinki), Dr. Kristiina Brunila (University of Helsinki), Dr. Pekka Mertala (University of Jyväskylä)

The landscape of education governance is under major changes in different fronts. Political and economic imperatives have triggered novel governing regimes in education, which lead to diverse degrees of intertwinement with the market, development of network-based relationships, and integration of other sectors, disciplines, and interests into education (e.g. Brunila et al., 2020, Candido et al., forthcoming). The shift from education to learning, and the understanding of education as skills are promoted by major global actors such as the OECD and the EU (Mertanen, Vainio & Brunila, 2021; Mertanen & Brunila, 2022; Robertson, 2022).

Amidst abovementioned changes, technology poses a major turning point in education governance, primarily with the increasing use of digital platforms and apps in and for education, but also with the advancements of algorithms and artificial intelligence (AI) concerning education, which accelerated worldwide during the COVID-19 pandemic and the consequent increment of remote schooling and learning (Ball & Grimaldi, 2021; Teräs et al., 2020; Williamson et al., 2020). Education technology, or EdTech, is considered as one of the fastest growing global industries, and thus brings in new possibilities and goals to education (see World Bank, 2020). These changes in education governance convey novel arrangements of education, where new partnerships, agendas and transnational networks are involved (Brunila et al., 2020; Mertanen et al., 2021; Cone & Brøgger, 2020). 

This Special Issue of European Education "Ed-Tech and Changing Education Governance" aims to widen the knowledge about relations between EdTech-industry, education policy-making, and new networks of private and public actors, and about how such relations (re)arrange education on global, national and local levels. Following an approach to education governance that is rather 'diagnostic' than 'descriptive' (Wilkins & Olmedo, 2019), this Special Issue examines governing from open and critical perspectives that include presuppositions, assumptions, exclusions, naiveties and knaveries, regimes of vision and spots of blindness (Rose, 1999:19) enabled and enacted by EdTech and the powerful networks of commercialization in eduction. 

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Deadlines

March 15, 2023 - Abstracts (250-300 words) should be submitted to guest editors

September 15, 2023 - Full copies of selected papers should be submitted

Guest Editors Contact Information

Dr. Katariina Mertanen (University of Helsinki) katariina.mertanen@helsinki.fi 

Dr. Kristiina Brunila (University of Helsinki) kristiina.brunila@helsinki.fi

Dr. Pekka Mertala (University of Jyväskylä) pekka.o.mertala@jyu.fi