Digitalization of Bulgarian education in the European context Available to Purchase

The paper presents the express review findings from empirical quantitative and qualitative data on a set of indicators for the digitalization of educational systems in Europe underlying a critical analysis and assessment of Bulgaria’s position in this process. The research covers a five-year period – from 2017 to 2022. The findings from the rapid comparative review outline opportunities for the generalization of certain strengths, weaknesses, and challenges in the Bulgarian national context. These comprise: 1) regarding the positive characteristics: presence of high national indicators on Internet connectivity as well as on institutional commitment and policies for the encouragement of digitalization in education, and in the other sectors, overall; the integration of digital competences as an element of study programs in Bulgaria is a fact and their development takes place through facultative school subjects; teacher digital competences are part of the common standards for basic preparation of teachers in all subjects and as a result of the 2021 reforms become an invariable part of their professional-competence profile; 2) regarding weaknesses: the overall level of the digital competences of the country’s residents is quite low; insufficient and unevenly distributed is the resource availability provision in schools resulting in low or basic-level teacher and student digital skills; the interdisciplinary approach and the more thorough integration of digital competences in school curricula are weakly addressed in school education; regarding national educational policies and priorities the aspect related to digital management and leadership in educational institutions is still rather poorly represented; 3) regarding challenges awaiting their solutions: a necessity for increasing investments in continuing qualification and human capital in the process of digitalization in all sectors, including the educational one; the necessity for creation of an integral conceptual and operational framework for digital competence development in the educational sector among others, by taking into account the national specifics; the necessity for creating a quality monitoring system of the digital competences of experts in the system of school education and for developing tools for evaluation and self-evaluation of digital competences for all persons in education.