Reviewing the existing research evidence
We will carry out a systematic review of existing academic literature and an analysis of England and UK policy around EdTech and inequity.
Mapping the EdTech landscape
Based on the EdTech being used in our partner schools, we will explore the political, ethical, motivational and infrastructural histories and future trajectories of the technologies commonly used in secondary education.
Ethnography Phase 1
Members of the research team will conduct ethnographic research in partner schools to explore these key questions:
- how varied digital technologies are used inside and outside the classroom;
- how the use of such EdTech systems influences teacher student relationships;
- the inbuilt biases and underpinning values promoted by such technologies; and
- how access to EdTech and its uses varies across contexts and circumstances.
School recruitment
OER development
We will create set of Open Educational Resource materials specifically for EdTech developers and data scientists working in education (from industry but also academia and the third sector), using insights from the first phase of empirical work. The purpose of these resources is to promote greater understanding amongst these groups of what education is, the contexts they are designing for, and how to conceptualise questions of equity.
Ethnography Phase 2
We will conduct ethnography in the final schools during this phase, and data from across all ethnographies will be subject to further analysis.
Futures workshops
We will build on the continued engagement with stakeholder groups and undertake participatory policy-practice workshops with social scientists, data scientists, EdTech companies, policy makers and teachers. They will be designed to promote debates about what future equity focused approaches to EdTech could look like.