Union Study Reveals Low Usage of State’s Digital Education Platform in Schools

The state has been working on a digital education platform for schools for years, and several components are already in use. However, according to a union study, they are rarely used.

For the study, the union surveyed 3,000 good teachers in Baden-Württemberg online between December 2023 and January 2024. In a scientific sense, the survey is not representative; the spread of responses across school types and school sizes resulted in a “very good balance,” according to the union. In total, there are currently around 110,000 teachers in general schools and around 30,000 at vocational schools in Baden-Württemberg.

From the perspective of the union, schools are now equipped with digital technology. According to the survey, four out of five teachers now have a work device. WiFi is also now available across the board in most schools. However, the GEW sees problems with the maintenance and support of the systems. Only one in two schools has an external support provider. At the other schools, teachers mostly have to take care of this themselves, said GEW state president Monika Stein. More than half of those surveyed also believe that the training offer is inadequate.