EU Member States will discuss the French Presidency’s draft conclusions on supporting the well-being of pupils and students in digital education at a meeting of the EU Council’s Education Committee on 4 July.
This will be the first meeting of the Czech Presidency of the EU Council, which takes office on the 1 July, on the subject.
The draft conclusions thus invite Member States - in accordance with their national situation and the principle of subsidiarity - to focus on enhancing the well-being of pupils, students and teachers when developing national policies and strategies for digital education.
Member States, the paper says, should also promote cooperation between digital education stakeholders and mental health professionals and services, and should develop solutions to balance ‘on-screen’ and ‘off-screen’ time in schools.
In addition, the EU Council Presidency advocates the integration of advanced digital technologies, such as artificial intelligence, into the learning process, with increased support for disadvantaged or vulnerable pupils and a focus on preventing gender bias.
Similarly, the draft conclusions also push for greater support for the design of learning processes and the use of technology to help pupils and students with a migrant background - or with a language other than the language of instruction - to integrate.
Finally, the draft conclusions call on Member States, in an ever-changing digital world prone to disinformation, to support the development of pupils’ and students’ resilience to bullying and to empower teachers to promote pupils’ and students/ critical thinking and media literacy.
In addition, the text also calls on the European Commission to support research on the impact of technology on the well-being of students and pupils and to encourage the development and sharing of content for teachers and professionals to develop their knowledge, skills and competences online.
Finally, the draft conclusions add that the Commission’s forthcoming proposals and recommendations should “reflect the need for a holistic and integrated digital education ecosystem that promotes quality and inclusion and fosters well-being”.
See the draft conclusions: https://aeur.eu/f/2dq (Original version in French by Thomas Mangin)