A complex perspective on digital education development: From economic impact to community advancement

Abstract

Evidence shows that education prepares future generations for the future, but technological innovations are reshaping the present and the near future to such an extent that it is increasingly unpredictable what exactly future generations should be prepared for. The research was guided by Microsoft's 2018 research summary "Transforming education - Empowering the students of today to create the world of tomorrow", which provided inspiration on the most common mistakes and how to avoid them. The first part of the paper reviews the societal drivers and imperatives for transforming education through a complex literature review, while the second part of the paper presents a practical organisational transformation process sequence. The paper presents Hungarian examples and cases, but it can also serve as a thought-provoking tool for the wider region, where the study of the process outlined reveals a striking contrast between potential and current transformation efforts. The purchase of technological equipment and the provision of schools with new educational technology is not achieving the desired objective, as the funds are not available. It is instructive to reflect on what the system developers have tried to skip over and get away with, and why this is not a viable path.