Digital Education Action Plan (2021-2027): Resetting education and training for the digital age

As digital skills are becoming more important than ever, the European Commission has a vision for high-quality, inclusive and accessible digital education in Europe. This vision is defined in the Digital Education Action Plan 2021-2027 (DEAP).

It calls for stronger cooperation at European level to:

• learn from the COVID-19 crisis, and the increased need of technology in education and training
• make education and training systems fit for the digital age

The new Action Plan has two strategic priorities

1. Fostering a high-performing digital education ecosystem

2. Enhancing digital skills and competences for the digital transformation

Needs to reach these goals were identified as for example:

• infrastructure, connectivity and digital equipment
• competent educational staff and effective and secure high-quality platforms
• basic digital skills from an early age and advanced digital skills for professionals with an equal representation of girls and woman

To fulfill these needs the DEAP includes actions like:

• supporting digital transformation plans at all levels of education and training
• develop ethical guidelines on artificial intelligence (AI) and data usage
• Include AI and digital skills in the European Digital Competence Framework
• create a European Digital Skills Certificate (EDSC)

This action is needed

Some reasons making the needed action evident:

• The COVID-19 crisis led to an unprecedented shift to online learning and digital technologies
• More than one in five young people fail to reach a basic level of digital skills across the EU
• Access to broadband internet varies significantly across the EU, ranging from 74% of households in the lowest-income quartile to 97% in the highest-income quartile
• Only 39% of teachers in the EU feel well prepared for using digital technologies in their daily work

Role of the EU

The EU can play a more active role in:

• identifying, sharing and scaling up good practices
• supporting Member States and the education and training sector
• fostering cooperation between all stakeholders

The EU wants to create a new European Digital Education Hub to:

• link national and regional digital education initiatives
• support cross-sector collaboration and exchange of digital learning content

If you want to find out more about this topic, check out the official website and the documents linked:

• Official website
• Fact-sheet
• Whole communication (long)

By Till (Petit Pas Team)