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Overview: This section identifies some of the issues that might prevent degrowth strategies from being applied or being successfully implemented within the primary education sector.
Section aims:
To highlight some challenges of implementing digital degrowth
To be able to apply degrowth principles
Time: 30 mins
Resource: Google form
What challenges might primary schools face in applying digital degrowth principles in the use of technology?
Degrowth is a movement advocating for reduced resource consumption to achieve ecological sustainability and social equity. In primary education, digital degrowth focuses on minimizing the environmental and social impacts of technology use, such as reducing device dependency, extending hardware lifespans, and prioritizing low-tech or open-source solutions. As technology becomes integral to classrooms—through tablets, smartboards, and personalised learning apps—primary schools face unique challenges in adopting degrowth principles. More importantly, digital degrowth requires a rethinking in mindset and approaches which calls for a collective rather than individual effort, progressive rather than regressive, local and bottom-up rather than top-down corporate or government, and a reflective and restrained approach.
Here are some challenges of implementing digital degrowth in the primary sector:
Aware but powerless
Drawing on one of the results in the study by Péréa et al. (2023), a challenge for primary education might be ‘being aware but powerless’. There is growing awareness of the impacts of technology consumption on the environment, but individual schools or teachers, while remaining under the control of the government, are powerless to act and implement change alone. If degrowth principles are to be applied to education technology then much more thought needs to be given to the political sensitivities and political strategies required to realise these ambitions (Selwyn, 2024, pp. 12).
Teacher Training and Development
Many primary educators have come to rely on digital tools for lesson planning, resourcing, reporting and assessment, and in many cases in behaviour management. Following the Covid-19 pandemic, hybrid classrooms have also become an area for primary schools to continue to push work out to pupils in form of homework or even in-class personalised learning. Scaling back on technologies and digital tools would require retraining educational professionals to adapt to low-tech methods. This could come with time and cost implications.
Infrastructure and Funding Constraints
Schools often operate on budgets that prioritize purchasing new devices over maintaining or repurposing existing ones. Degrowth encourages practices like repairing hardware or using refurbished devices, but funding models may not support these efforts. For example: A school may receive a grant to buy new tablets but lack funds to train staff in device repair or to purchase open-source software.
Digital Equity and Access
Reducing technology use aligns with degrowth but can exacerbate inequities for students who rely on school devices for digital access. Schools must balance sustainability with ensuring all students have adequate resources. For example: Limiting tablet use could disadvantage students without home computers unless alternative resources are provided.
Curriculum gaps
Teaching Computing skills is an area actively promoted by the government and pursued in schools as a way of making sure pupils are prepared for a digital world. Skills like coding and digital literacy are heralded as core skills for success in the future. It is worth considering how degrowth practices will balance teaching these without perpetuating the 'more tech is better' mindset.
Parental and Carers pushback
In today's world, parents are keen to see their children become tech-savy as a way to ensure they are future ready. Advocating for reduced tech use may be perceived as regressive, making it difficult to gain buy-in. Primary schools might struggle to convince parents and carers that less tech doesn't mean less secure future.
Resistance from EdTech
Encouraging a move to less tech might push the EdTech industry to pushback against digital degrowth. Companies like Google and Pearson are heavily vested in digital solutions for the education world and have amassed huge profits over a short period of time.
Section 4: Activity 1
Objective: Explore the challenges and trade-offs of applying degrowth principles in primary school technology decisions
Case Study: Green Valley Primary School
Green Valley Primary School in England has £10,000 budget for technology and must decide whether to buy new tablets or allocate funds to repair existing ones and train staff in sustainable tech practices.
Option A : Buy 20 new tablets (£500 each), replacing outdated devices.
Option B: Repair 30 existing tablets (£200 each, £6,000 total) and use the remaining £4,000 for staff training in device maintenance and open-source software, LibreOffice.
Your role: School Deputy Headteacher
Backstory: You’re a member of the senior leadership team responsible for balancing the budget, meeting educational goals, and satisfying stakeholders (parents, staff, district officials). Your priorities are to ensure the school remains competitive and meets curriculum standards. You’re concerned about parent perceptions if the school doesn’t invest in new technology. Some parents on the PTA believe that technology is essential for preparing their children for the future and want the school to invest in modern devices to ensure that the pupils gain digital skills. You also know that some teachers have expressed annoyance that devices are slow or broken, and the students are frustrated. Repairs and training sound sustainable, but you worry about the time and expertise required. New tablets are a quicker fix but may not align with sustainability goals.
Task: Decide which option (or a compromise) best balances educational needs, equity, and degrowth principles.
Include short-term and long-term impacts on learners, staff and the environment. What are the pros and cons of the different options?