Digital education platforms and schooling: New challenges and alternatives towards educational equity and children’s rights

Abstract

This article introduces the special issue, which explores and analyses the impact of the development, distribution, and use of digital platforms in educational contexts. Organised in three sections for a comprehensive understanding, the first part outlines the concerns that motivated the guest editors, presenting the conceptual and social framework, historical and current, and focusing on the debate about equity and digital inclusion in education, in a context dominated by large technological corporations. The second section details the eight articles, distributed along two axes: theoretical review and empirical. Finally, the third part synthesises considerations derived from the materials presented, with contributions from diverse geographies and traditions. This collection highlights the tension between digital innovation and social inclusion in education, underlining the need for initiatives that favour the use of digital platforms focused on data governance by educational communities, the protection of users’ privacy and diversity of access to information, and alternatives towards education equity and children’s rights.