What Does the ‘Postdigital’ Mean for Education? Three Critical Perspectives on the Digital, with Implications for Educational Research and Practice

TLDR

The postdigital is interpreted either as a stage following the digital or as a critical appraisal of digital assumptions. The paper investigates the meaning of “postdigital” for education by exploring human‑technology relationships and presenting three critical perspectives. It analyzes the postdigital through three lenses: economic platform rationales, policy‑driven metrification of institutional quality, and the material labour and resource exploitation underlying digital technologies. These perspectives reveal that postdigital realities entail deep socio‑technical interconnections, shaping the purpose, focus, and governance of contemporary education.

Abstract

This paper examines what the term 'postdigital' might mean for education through the discussion of human-technology relationships. It begins with a summary of two general interpretations of the postdigital: firstly, to understand the 'post' as meaning simply 'posterior to' the digital, suggesting a different stage in the perception and use of technology; and secondly, to consider the 'post' as signalling a critical appraisal of the assumptions embedded in the general understanding of the digital. Subsequently, the paper outlines three critical perspectives on the digital with specific relevance for educational concerns. The first examines the economic rationales underpinning digital technology, focusing on the idea of the platform and the assumed benefits of sharing. The second discusses the role of the digital in educational policy and the compound effects of the metrification of institutional quality. The third section explores the digital as 'material', and the increasing attention paid to issues of labour and the exploitation of natural resources required to produce digital technologies. These perspectives suggest an understanding of the postdigital in terms of profound and far-reaching socio-technical relations, which have significant consequences for thinking about the purpose, focus, and governance of education in contemporary times.