Digital Pathways for Education: Enabling Greater Impact for All

This work aims to offer a strategic approach to policymakers when undertaking digital transformation reforms in education and skills development systems, with a focus on “how.” It builds on the World Bank education vision framework offered in realizing the future of Learning by unpacking the digital cross-cutting area of “Invest wisely in technology”, looking into how this may be done to maximize impact at scale for all. The authors promote cautious optimism and techno realism, clarifying how the education and skills sector can use digital technologies to its advantage by being proactive, strategic, and evidence-based, considering carefully why to use digital and in what conditions the existing and emerging technologies might be positively leveraged. It is widely recognized that one size does not fit all and that policymakers need to have a laser focus on learning, weighing in contextual needs, and purposefully using the next marginal investable dollar on digital solutions to fulfill education objectives equitably at scale for all. Along with policymakers in government who are the primary audience for this work, it is intended to enable dialogue and critical partnerships across industry, academia, researchers and multilateral, and World Bank staff to support and deepen our country engagements as countries increasingly expand the digital reach of public education services.