DEEP consortium : Making the digital transformation in Swiss primary schools fair and effective
The DEEP (Digital Education for Equity in Primary Schools) consortium is an association of seven universities that reflect the institutional, disciplinary, methodological and geographical diversity of Swiss educational research. The consortium is designed to continue for a total of eight years. Kenneth Horvath and Michael Geiss, DEEP consortium project leaders, talk about their objectives and the role of PH Zurich.
Kenneth Horvath and Michael Geiss, what is your goal with the DEEP consortium?
For the first time in Switzerland, the DEEP research consortium brings together universities, including a technical university and universities of teacher education, to research digital changes in primary education. The aim is to develop a better, empirically based understanding of the significance of digital learning environments at the primary level. The introduction of digital tools in schools is often accompanied by the promise of personalisation, which is seen not only as a means of making teaching more effective and efficient, but also as a way to ensure greater educational equity. The various DEEP projects are currently examining how well that ambition is reflected in reality. The research approach is therefore translational. This means that the needs and experiences of educational practice are fed into the projects and the results are fed back into the field.
How does the cooperation between the partner universities work?
The consortium is coordinated by the Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne and PH Zurich. Together with five other Swiss universities, we carry out various research projects. All the projects are collaborative, so at least two of the partner universities always work together. The DEEP consortium is also part of the Jacobs Foundation’s initiative “Education in Digitalisation”, which also involves the association ProEdu and the Staatslabor. The purpose of this collaboration is to transfer research results to schools, municipalities, policy makers and cantonal and communal authorities.
What exactly will be researched as part of DEEP?
Seven collaborative research projects are planned in conjunction with DEEP. The spectrum of projects topics covers very different types of digital learning settings and different professional contexts and stakeholder groups. PH Zurich is involved in two planned projects. First, under the direction of Barbara Getto and in cooperation with PH St. Gallen and the University of Zurich, questions related to the professionalisation of teachers in the context of digitalisation will be investigated. Additionally, Tobias Röhl, together with colleagues from the University of Zurich and the PH FHNW, is investigating the foundations and forms of technology-based differentiation in primary school education. All the projects have been approved in a process of peer review and will start in the first half of 2024.
Further information
Detailed information on the DEEP consortium
