Research suggests that, in line with social developments, schools are using more intensively digital technologies (OECD, 2021). However, an improvement in infrastructure does not automatically lead to a well-considered use of that technology in education (Albion & Tondeur, 2018). We must therefore be aware that the use of ICT does not automatically have added value. The ultimate goal of ICT use in teaching-learning processes is to ensure that more and can be learned more deeply.

From a theoretical perspective, the extent to which schools develop a policy on the technical and didactical use of ICT and the extent to which schools strengthen educational practice by means of digital education, formed the basis of this study. Research also showed that different preconditions on pedagogical, organisational and technological aspects can influence the quality of the offered digital education. A suitable, reliable and secure digital infrastructure as well as a digitally competent school team are just two of these important preconditions.

In addition to subject-specific knowledge, the literature points to teachers’ technological and didactic ICT knowledge and skills to provide quality digital education, although time and space to professionalise is important too. Lawrence and Tar (2018) emphasize the importance of a positive attitude towards digital education among teachers in relation to the quality of the lessons offered.

From a parental perspective, a positive involvement in learning is a beneficial effect on the child's learning gains. This involvement can be strengthened by the use of digital technologies. Parents who are sufficiently digitally competent support their children often better with digital homework and make more use of digital communication channels in the school (del Carmen Ramírez-Rueda et al., 2021).

We embarked on this topic with the aim of providing a broad overview of how Flemish primary and secondary schools organize digital education in their school. Three questions were identified during the literature study as being in need of attention: (1) To what extent do the Flemish schools of compulsory education pursue a high-quality ICT policy? (2) To what extent do the Flemish schools of compulsory education strengthen the teaching learning practice through digital education? (3) To what extent are the preconditions for high-quality digital education fulfilled in the Flemish schools of compulsory education?

To evaluate the implementation of Digisprong, a government initiative to strengthen digitalisation in the Flemish schools of compulsory education, the Inspectorate of education collected data on how schools shape digital education. A mobile survey via the VOI.CE app was used to gather the perspectives of different education stakeholders school leaders, teachers, ICT coordinators, pupils and parents).

The survey (N=7481) provides an interesting picture of the state of the digital education offered in Flemish schools. Halfway through the rollout of the Digisprong, a large majority of schools state they have a vision on ICT, although they do not always have an effective strategy to realize that vision. The results indicate also differences between schools. To close the gap between the needs and needs regarding school members’ digital competences, a good professionalisation policy is needed that takes into account the needs and requirements of the whole school team.

With a view to a sustainable strengthening of quality development in schools, we look at both the strengths as well as areas for improvement. At the same time, we want to educate with the help of this research raising awareness to develop a sustainable ICT policy aimed at strengthening the digital teaching learning practice.

The Flemish Inspectorate of Education was instructed to participate annually in the evaluation of the implementation of Digisprong, a government initiative to strengthen digitization in the Flemish schools of compulsory education. Three questions were identified during the literature study as being in need of attention: (1) To what extent do the Flemish schools of compulsory education pursue a high-quality ICT policy? (2) To what extent do the Flemish schools of compulsory education strengthen the teaching learning practice through digital education? (3) To what extent are the preconditions for high-quality digital education fulfilled in the Flemish schools of compulsory education? For the first time, the Flemish Inspectorate made an explicit choice for a mobile-first approach in which respondents are encouraged to participate in the survey via the VOI.CE app, a mobile communication channel (app) between the education inspectorate and various education partners (school board, teachers, ICT-coordinators, pupils and parents), that can be downloaded on a smartphone. The reason why the Inspectorate used a mobile application to send the survey is of two kinds. On the one hand, the organization supports the Flemish policy memorandum that opts for an extensive digitization of all services in Flanders. On the other hand, the organisation thinks it is important to enabling digital inclusion. The mobile survey ran from 30 May to 17 June 2022 and contained items that measured (1) the ICT policy in schools, (2) the ICT use in educational practice, (3) digital competences, (4) attitudes towards the use of ICT and (5) infrastructure, time and support regarding the use of ICT in the schools. The respondents were asked to express their degree of agreement/disagreement with each statement by choosing one of the four answers provided by the Likert scale: strongly agree, agree, disagree, and strongly disagree. The survey involved 7481 respondents (2237 educational professionals, 2443 pupils, 2801 parents). We have provided means, standard deviations and t-test p-values for each of the questions, using R Studio.

In general, the strategic policy to implement ICT in a well-thought-out way appear to be well in most schools, so does the necessary professionalization in the schools. Yet, we detected several speeds in schools. For example, not every school has a vision on ICT that takes into account the local context and public of the school. In addition, we also observed differences in terms of the school teams’ digital competencies. A good professionalisation policy that takes into account the needs and requirements of the individual school team members can strengthen these competences. In addition, the results emphasized a positive relationship between the digital competences and attitudes of teachers towards ICT. The majority of parents and pupils feel less involved on the content of the ICT policy plans of their schools. There is room for improvement regarding the schools’ communication with pupils and parents about these policy plans too. The results point also to differences between pupils and parents in terms of digital competences and attitudes towards ICT. Regarding the second research question, both principals and teachers indicated that agreements about the didactical use of ICT in schools are often non-existing. The lack of agreements on evaluation practice in almost three quarters of the schools is a good example of this. We found a similar result for pupils’ reflection practices. Nevertheless, research point to the importance of actively involving pupils in their evaluation and reflection on the use of digital learning resources to gain an insight into their own learning process. Finally, considering the preconditions for high-quality digital education, principals and teachers are not so much concerned about their competences and attitudes, but highlighted the need for more time and space in order to strengthen their digital competencies because their current time for learning is limited by other professional duties.

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