Policy Development for an Educational Intelligent Economy in the European Union: An Illusory Prospect?

Abstract

Educational intelligence can be considered a prized asset in political actors’ careful calculations in setting policy agendas for radical educational transformations in the age of the Fourth Industrial Revolution characterized by Big Data, Artificial Intelligence (AI), machine learning, and the Internet of Things (IoT). As an agent of globalization, the European Union (EU) is uniquely positioned to steer the direction of this new wave of digital technologies for two cardinal objectives in the EU’s rhetorical discourse: social cohesion and economic prosperity. Conversely, its complex governance architecture, which restricts its role in educational policy, tempers its ability to drive policy reforms in education for the strategic and coordinated deployment of Big Data in educational systems to support those twin objectives. This chapter examines this burgeoning policy arena in the European Union by interrogating the most recent policies on the “data economy” enacted at the EU-level and the positionality of education in this newest wave of policy formulation. A content and discourse analysis of policy documents on Big Data reveals that the EU is launching multiple initiatives to regulate these novel technologies across its socio-economic sectors. However, the amorphous nature and unpredictable impact of these technologies, along with the jurisdictional barriers in the education sector stemming from the delimitation of governance layers in the EU, pose difficulties in generating a coordinated approach to policy implementation to engender tangible results. Hence, the contours of an educational intelligent economy in the EU needs considerable policy attention and technical resources in its transition from the current ideational stage to its concrete manifestation.

Citation

Salajan, F.D. (2019), "Policy Development for an Educational Intelligent Economy in the European Union: An Illusory Prospect?", Jules, T.D. and Salajan, F.D. (Ed.) The Educational Intelligent Economy: Big Data, Artificial Intelligence, Machine Learning and the Internet of Things in Education (International Perspectives on Education and Society, Vol. 38), Emerald Publishing Limited, Leeds, pp. 199-214. https://doi.org/10.1108/S1479-367920190000038012