European Schoolnet has 4 working groups and 2 interest groups, which were set up by a group of Ministries of Education to tackle a specific challenge. The remit and duration are defined by the Ministries involved.
The ICT@school indicators Working Group was created to share national surveys on ICT in schools, discuss their results and suggest follow-up actions to improve the monitoring of ICT developments in education at the cross-country, European and global levels in a comparative way. The working group also discusses the need for new indicators to better cover and monitor the qualitative processes related to the use of ICT in school, especially in relation to teaching and learning practice, space organisation of the learning environment and innovative teacher training schemes.
In 2024, the group exchanged and discussed findings from national surveys on digitalisation of schools. The focus this year was the results of the 2023 cycle of the International computer and information literacy survey. The working group organised a webinar on the results, presented by the International association for the evaluation of educational achievement (IEA), with a special focus on the 22 European countries that participated in the survey. The results suggested that the digital divide remains a challenge in Europe, as well as the rest of the world, pointing at the important role of socioeconomic background. While the European average for computer and information literacy is similar to the average of the entire ICILS, computational thinking varied more within Europe. The working group also discussed the implications for screen time - for instance, a higher computer and information literacy seems related to less or no limit to screen time. The ICT@School indicators Working Group (WG) is currently counting members representing 20 education systems: Belgium (both Flemish and French-speaking communities), Croatia, Cyprus, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Lithuania, the Netherlands, Portugal, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland and Turkey.
The Digital Citizenship Working Group, composed of members or nominees from Ministries of Education (MoEs), was established in 2017. The group typically meets twice a year, aiming to develope a strategic digital citizenship framework, provide guidance for EUN's digital citizenship roadmap and offer a platform for exchange between EUN network members. The group works to identify best practices to share and challenges to overcome, gaps to identify and new areas of work to explore.
Currently, 16 countries participate in the working group: Belgium, Finland, France, Hungary, Ireland, Latvia, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Slovenia, Spain, Serbia and Türkiye. In 2024, the first meeting focused on media literacy and how to identify and counter disinformation in connection with the 2024 European elections. The second focused on digital citizenship education and was dedicated to brainstorming for a webinar to be delivered as part of the Council of Europe's European year of digital citizenship education 2025.
In 2024, the working group met on several occasions. One occasion was the online workshop "Policy briefs in STEM education" which was co-organised by Scientix®, the GenB and Life Terra projects. The workshop was held in September 2024 to discuss and define the format of policy briefs and what they should contain to meet the needs and plans of Ministries of Education. The workshop was open to members of the Scientix Ministries of Education STEM representatives Working Group1 and their guests. 20 participants from 15 different Ministries of Education attended the workshop. Read more about the Policy Brief.
The online workshop, "Policy recommendations on bioeconomy, oceans and trees in education", was co-organised by the GenB, Life Terra and EU4Ocean projects. It was held in November 2024 to present the lessons learnt, share the results from these three projects and to discuss with the MoEs how to deliver actionable policy support. The workshop was open to members of the Scientix Ministries of Education STEM representatives Working Group1 and their guests. The workshop was attended by 10 participants from 9 different Ministries of Education. This presence showcased the impact of the results and lessons learnt from the three environmental education initiatives and discussed with the ministry representatives how these resources can be incorporated into their respective educational systems.
In a previous workshop, participants explored the length, depth and format of policy recommendations and other policy background documents. Building on that discussion, this event moved on to highlighting the common policy considerations and challenges impacting the introduction of environmental subjects into the practice of European teachers. From the need for trustworthy knowledge and accessible resources to quality professional development offerings, teachers across Europe face the same needs and challenges when introducing new pedagogies and topics into their teaching. In this dynamic discussion, participants explored how Scientix® and the projects can help policymakers support their teachers. The workshop shed light on curriculum design and reform processes, the needs and opportunities for official endorsement and recognition of resources and continuous professional development (CPD) offerings.
This group was set up in 2013 and is one of European Schoolnet's standing working groups. Its aim is to enable education authorities to explore common areas of concern, share experience, address policy challenges related to the integration of a wide range of technologies in classrooms and investigate their impact on teaching and learning. Every year, it explores different topics connected to the priorities and interests of its members. The working group regularly develops and publishes recommendations, guidelines, best practices and resources based on:
-
● Desk research and analysis conducted in collaboration with researchers.
-
● Collecting experiences from schools, teachers and pupils through online surveys, interviews and classroom observations in different countries.
-
● Examples and case studies from other countries and educational systems across the world.
In 2024, eight countries participated in the activities of the working group: Czech Republic, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, Portugal, Serbia, Slovenia and Switzerland. They focused on the ‘role of leadership teams in fostering students' digital competence by developing sustainable school vision and strategies.' They provided insights by showcasing real-world examples of fifteen schools from eight European countries that have embraced digital transformation in a structured and sustainable way. Building on the experience from these case studies, schools and international literature, the working group developed the publication ‘
School strategies for fostering students' digital competences: Guidelines for school leaders' - a resource designed to inspire and empower schools to embrace the digital transformation.
