Page 162 - Education in a Digital World

So Where Now? 149

and society described in Chapter 1. This is not to say that substantial evidence has
emerged in support of the ‘globalist’ notion of technologically transformed educational
provision and practice. Indeed, it could be concluded that all of the globalist hopes
and claims for technology-driven education reform reviewed in Chapter 1 have
turned out to be of little or no substance. Instead, a more convincing case could
be made for a ‘sceptical’ reading of technology acting mainly to strengthen the
continuation of existing imbalances and disparities around the world. Indeed, there
have been a number of occasions throughout this book which have suggested that
educational technologies simply follow the logic of capital and, ultimately, serve to
reinforce what Fuchs and Horak (2008, p.115) term “the unequal geography of
global capitalism”.
The sceptical conclusion is certainly a tempting one for us to consider. It could
be observed, for example, that most mainstream forms of educational technology
have done little to disrupt formal educational arrangements or challenge the ways in
which education is linked to the needs of the economy and the elite interests
therein. It could also be observed that most mainstream forms of educational tech-
nology appear to perpetuate a number of burgeoning global political trends of the
past fifty years – not least the dominance of northern multinational corporations,
and the rise of market liberalism as a preferred solution to economic problems.
While it may be overly simplistic to assume that the logic of digital technology in
education follows rigidly what Murdock (2004, p.19) terms “the globalisation
of capitalist imperatives and its shifting relations to state logics”, many of the forms of
educational technology reviewed in this book would certainly seem to retain a close
association with (rather than opposition to) the global status quo. Thus while some
forms of digital technology may well be associated with significant adaptations and
transformations in educational structures and forms, these are usually not the radical
social disruptions or political rearrangements that many well-intentioned commen-
tators assume. Instead, as Miller (2011, p.225) concludes, where substantial societal
changes have taken place with regard to digital media “it is important to stress that
in most cases, these are transformations that were already taking place as part of
transformations under capitalist processes”.
That said, we should perhaps not be too hasty to reach a totally sceptical and
defeatist conclusion. It could be argued that there are some reasons within the pages
of this book to support a ‘transformationalist’ reading of education and technology.
Despite all of the compelling arguments just made, there have been occasions
throughout our previous discussions where digital technology does appear to be
associated with genuine disruption and change to educational arrangements around
the world – albeit in an admittedly inconsistent and uneven manner. As the social
shaping perspective reminds us, digital technologies are clearly not immutable
forces. Accordingly, there have been points throughout this book that have detailed
locally specific responses and reconfigurations of educational technology in ways
that could be said to fit the needs and interests of local contexts better. Despite the
appearance of educational technologies being driven simply by the logic of global