Implementation of digital technology in schools as a use case for socio-technical system design

The pandemic digitalisation surge has shown that schools have varying degrees of success in using digital media for teaching and learning. Do many schools not master the implementation processes of digital media and need help from socio-technical system design? The latter has concepts for the successful implementation and use of technical systems in organisations. The article elaborates central findings of modern socio-technical approaches in order to identify the benefits that a more systematic consideration could have. Socio-technical concepts do not play a role in the literature on school development, although school development research shows that the use of digital media for teaching and learning would be a typical application for socio-technical concepts.The normative school development literature makes design proposals for the implementation of ICT by school administrators, teachers and other groups of actors. The article analyses to what extent these take into account the central findings of socio-technical system design and what gaps exist. The result of the critical analysis is that although normative school development shares essential insights with socio-technical concepts, it is shortened by focusing on pedagogical aspects. A consideration of socio-technical approaches, on the other hand, would make it possible to work on a central obstacle to the use of technology in schools by including the reality of teachers' work. In addition, adopting the concept of the interdependence of social and technical systems as well as experience with system development processes could improve the conditions for success in the use of digital technology in schools. In this respect, a systemic consideration of socio-technical system design offers both an integrative conceptual framework and more effective support for digitally supported teaching and learning.