Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

EU Digital Media Policies and Education: The Challenge of a Digital Agenda for Europe

  • Chapter
  • First Online:
Education and Public Policy in the European Union

Abstract

Media and communication practices are of core importance to the intent of a European knowledge society that thrives to be competitive and aims to be inclusive. Media and communication policies at the European level date back from the 1970s with the introduction of legislation for radio and television broadcast between member states. Since then and on par with the latest technological innovations, the EU has made an effort to keep up with the latest Internet developments, especially those regarding the emergence of the web and associated digital practices with the goal of establishing a digital Europe.

In this chapter, the authors analyse the latest EU digital media and communication policies at the supranational level and explore their impact at the level of member states. Specifically we examine the education/communication policy interface in relation to formal digital education initiatives in member states such as Ireland, the UK, and Portugal. Particular attention is paid to the kinds of challenges faced by European countries that aim to reinvent themselves as digital economies while simultaneously attempting to maintain sovereignty over their own national educational agendas.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

Log in via an institution
Chapter
USD 29.95
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
eBook
USD 84.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as EPUB and PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Hardcover Book
USD 109.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Durable hardcover edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Institutional subscriptions

Bibliography

  • Anderson, R. E. (2008). Implications of the Information and Knowledge Society for Education. In International Handbook of Information Technology in Primary and Secondary Education (pp. 5–22). Boston: Springer. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-0-387-73315-9_1

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Brown, P., Lauder, H., Ashton, D., Yingje, W., & Vincent-Lancrin, S. (2008). Education, Globalisation and the Future of the Knowledge Economy. European Educational Research Journal, 7(2), 131–156. Available at : https://doi.org/10.2304/eerj.2008.7.2.131

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Castells, M. (2000). The Rise of the Network Society: Economy, Society and Culture v.1: The Information Age: Economy. In Society and Culture Vol 1 (2nd Revised ed.). Oxford: Wiley-Blackwell.

    Google Scholar 

  • Castells, M., & Cardoso, G. (Eds.). (2006). The Network Society: From Knowledge to Policy. Washington, DC: Centre for Transatlantic Relations, Johns Hopkins University.

    Google Scholar 

  • Chipeva, P., Cruz-Jesus, F., Oliveira, T., & Irani, Z. (2018). Digital Divide at Individual Level: Evidence for Eastern and Western European Countries. Government Information Quarterly, 35(3), 460–479. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.giq.2018.06.003

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Costa, C., & Gilliland, G. (2017). Digital Literacies for Employability – Fostering Forms of Capital Online. Rev UIIPS, 5, 186–197.

    Google Scholar 

  • Costa, C., & Harris, L. (2017). Reconsidering the Technologies of Intellectual Inquiry in Curriculum Design. The Curriculum Journal, 28(4), 559–577. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1080/09585176.2017.1308260

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Costa, C., & Murphy, M. (2015). Doxa, Digital Scholarship and the Academy. In M. Murphy & C. Costa (Eds.), Theory as Method in Research: On Bourdieu, Social Theory and Education (pp. 49–62). Abington: Routledge.

    Google Scholar 

  • Costa, C., Murphy, M., Pereira, A. L., & Taylor, Y. (2018). Higher Education Students’ Experiences of Digital Learning and (dis)empowerment. Australasian Journal of Educational Technology, 34(3). Available at: https://doi.org/10.14742/ajet.3979

  • Cruz-Jesus, F., Oliveira, T., & Bacao, F. (2012). Digital Divide Across the European Union. Information & Management, 49(6), 278–291. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.im.2012.09.003

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Cruz-Jesus, F., Vicente, M. R., Bacao, F., & Oliveira, T. (2016). The Education-Related Digital Divide: An Analysis for the EU-28.Computers in Human Behavior, 56, 72–82. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chb.2015.11.027

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • de Waard, I., Gallagher, M. S., Zelezny-Green, R., Czerniewicz, L., Downes, S., Kukulska-Hulme, A., & Willems, J. (2014). Challenges for Conceptualising EU MOOC for Vulnerable Learner Groups. In Proceedings of the European MOOC Stakeholder Summit 2014 (pp. 33–42). Lausanne. Retrieved from http://www.emoocs2014.eu/sites/default/files/Proceedings-Moocs-Summit-2014.pdf

  • Delrio, C., & Dondi, C. (2008). ICT and Educational Policy in the European Region. In International Handbook of Information Technology in Primary and Secondary Education (pp. 1097–1108). Boston: Springer. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-0-387-73315-9_69

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Digital Economy & Society Index. (2016). Retrieved from: https://ec.europa.eu/digital-single-market/en/desi

  • Emerson, M. (1988). The economics of 1992: The E.C. Commission’s Assessment of the Economic Effects of Completing the Internal Market. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Erixon, F. (2010). The Europe 2020 Strategy: Time for Europe to Think Again. European View, 9(1), 29–37. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12290-010-0120-8

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ertl, H. (2006). European Union Policies in Education and Training: The Lisbon Agenda as a Turning Point? Comparative Education, 42(1), 5–27. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1080/03050060500515652

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Field, J., & Murphy, M. (2006). Governance and the Learning Citizen: Tensions and Possibilities in the Shift from National to Post-National Identities. In M. Kuhn & R. Sultana (Eds.), Homo Sapiens Europaeus? Creating the European Learning Citizen. New York: Peter Lang.

    Google Scholar 

  • Fontaine, P. (1995). Europe in Ten Points. Luxembourg: Office for the Official Publications of the European Communities.

    Google Scholar 

  • Frazer, H., Marlier, E., & Nicaise, I. (2010). A Social Inclusion Roadmap for Europe 2020. Antwerpen/Apeldoorn: Garant.

    Google Scholar 

  • Friemel, T. N. (2016). The Digital Divide Has Grown Old: Determinants of a Digital Divide Among Seniors. New Media & Society, 18(2), 313–331. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1177/1461444814538648

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Fuchs, C. (2008). Internet and Society: Social Theory in the Information Age. New York: Routledge.

    Google Scholar 

  • Fuchs, C. (2010). Theoretical Foundations of Defining the Participatory, Co-Operative, Sustainable Information Society. Information, Communication & Society, 13(1), 23–47. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1080/13691180902801585

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Guillén, M. F., & Suárez, S. L. (2005). Explaining the Global Digital Divide: Economic, Political and Sociological Drivers of Cross-National Internet Use. Social Forces, 84(2), 681–708. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1353/sof.2006.0015

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hayward, J., & Wurzel, R. (Eds.). (2012). European Disunion: Between Sovereignty and Solidarity. New York: Palgrave Macmillan.

    Google Scholar 

  • Koopmans, R., & Statham, P. (2010). The Making of a European Public Sphere: Media Discourse and Political Contention. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Kozma, R. B. (2008). Comparative Analysis of Policies for ICT in Education. In International Handbook of Information Technology in Primary and Secondary Education (pp. 1083–1096). Boston: Springer. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-0-387-73315-9_68

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Kyriakidou, V., Michalakelis, C., & Sphicopoulos, T. (2011). Digital Divide Gap Convergence in Europe. Technology in Society, 33(3), 265–270. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.techsoc.2011.09.001

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lindblom, T., & Räsänen, P. (2017). Between Class and Status? Examining the Digital Divide in Finland, the United Kingdom, and Greece. The Information Society, 33(3), 147–158. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1080/01972243.2017.1294124

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Machill, M. (1998). Euronews: The First European News Channel as a Case Study for Media Industry Development in Europe and for Spectra of Transnational Journalism Research. Media, Culture and Society, 20(3), 427–450. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1177/016344398020003005

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Muñoz, J. C., Redecker, C., Vuorikari, R., & Punie, Y. (2013). Open Education 2030: Planning the Future of Adult Learning in Europe. Open Learning: The Journal of Open, Distance and e-Learning, 28(3), 171–186. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1080/02680513.2013.871199

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Murphy, M. (2003). Covert Action? Education, Social Policy and Law in the European Union. Journal of Education Policy, 18(5), 551–562.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Murphy, M. (2005). Oil, Recession and the Search for European Champions: Exploring Lifelong Learning in the European Union. In N. Papadakis & D. Gravaris (Eds.), Education and Education Policy Between the State and the Market. Athens: Savvalas.

    Google Scholar 

  • Negreiro, M. (2015). Bridging the Digital Divide in the EU (No. PE 573.884) (p. 8). Brussels: European Parliamentary Research Service.

    Google Scholar 

  • Nugent, N. (2017). The Government and Politics of the European Union. London: Palgrave.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • O′Neill, B., & Shaw, H. (2010). Radio Broadcasting in Europe: The Search for a Common Digital Future. In B. O’Neill & M. La-Fossi (Eds.), Digital Radio in Europe: Technologies, Industries and Cultures (pp. 27–42). Bristol: University of Chicago Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Office of the European Union. (2018, May 15). Media Use in the European Union: Report, [Website]. Accessed 8 Aug 2018, and available at: https://publications.europa.eu/en/publication-detail/-/publication/a575c1c9-58b6-11e8-ab41-01aa75ed71a1/language-en

  • Olssen, M. (2006). Understanding the Mechanisms of Neoliberal Control: Lifelong Learning, Flexibility and Knowledge Capitalism. International Journal of Lifelong Education, 25(3), 213–230.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Qualman, E. (2012). Socialnomics: How Social Media Transforms the Way We Live and Do Business (2nd ed.). Hoboken: Wiley.

    Google Scholar 

  • Redecker, C., Ala-Mutka, K., & Punie, Y. (2010). Learning 2.0 – The Impact of Social Media on Learning in Europe. Policy Brief.

    Google Scholar 

  • Rohs, M., & Ganz, M. (2015). MOOCs and the Claim of Education for All: A Disillusion by Empirical Data. The International Review of Research in Open and Distributed Learning, 16(6). Available at: https://doi.org/10.19173/irrodl.v16i6.2033

  • Salemink, K., Strijker, D., & Bosworth, G. (2017). Rural Development in the Digital Age: A Systematic Literature Review on Unequal ICT Availability, Adoption, and Use in Rural Areas. Journal of Rural Studies, 54, 360–371. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jrurstud.2015.09.001

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Sharp, M. (1990). Technology and the Dynamics of Integration. In W. Wallace (Ed.), The Dynamics of European Integration (pp. 36–79). London: Pinter.

    Google Scholar 

  • Soriano, F. H., & Mulatero, F. (2010). Knowledge Policy in the EU: From the Lisbon Strategy to Europe 2020. Journal of the Knowledge Economy, 1(4), 289–302. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1007/s13132-010-0020-9

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Stiakakis, E., Kariotellis, P., & Vlachopoulou, M. (2009). From the Digital Divide to Digital Inequality: A Secondary Research in the European Union. In Next Generation Society. Technological and Legal Issues (pp. 43–54). Berlin/Heidelberg: Springer. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-11631-5_4

    Google Scholar 

  • Teney, C., & Hilbling, M. (2017). Solidarity Between the Elites and the Masses in Germany. In K. Banting & W. Kymlicka (Eds.), The Strains of Commitment: The Political Sources of Solidarity in Diverse Societies (pp. 127–151). Oxford/New York: Oxford University Press.

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Townsend, L., Sathiaseelan, A., Fairhurst, G., & Wallace, C. (2013). Enhanced Broadband Access as a Solution to the Social and Economic Problems of the Rural Digital Divide. Local Economy, 28(6), 580–595. https://doi.org/10.1177/0269094213496974

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • van Deursen, A. J., & van Dijk, J. A. (2014). The Digital Divide Shifts to Differences in Usage. New Media & Society, 16(3), 507–526. https://doi.org/10.1177/1461444813487959

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Verdegem, P., & Fuchs, C. (2013). Towards a Participatory, Co-operative and Sustainable Information Society? A Critical Analysis of Swedish ICT Policy Discourses. Nordicom Review, 34(2), 3–18.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Vicente, M. R., & López, A. J. (2011). Assessing the Regional Digital Divide Across the European Union-27. Telecommunications Policy, 35(3), 220–237. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.telpol.2010.12.013

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Education and Childhood, University of the West of England, Bristol, UK

    Cristina Costa

  2. School of Education, University of Glasgow, Glasgow, UK

    Mark Murphy

Authors
  1. Cristina Costa
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Mark Murphy
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Cristina Costa .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. School of Education, University of Glasgow, Glasgow, UK

    Sarah K. St. John

  2. School of Education, University of Glasgow, Glasgow, UK

    Mark Murphy

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2019 The Author(s)

About this chapter

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this chapter

Costa, C., Murphy, M. (2019). EU Digital Media Policies and Education: The Challenge of a Digital Agenda for Europe. In: St. John, S., Murphy, M. (eds) Education and Public Policy in the European Union. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-04230-1_7

Download citation

Publish with us

Policies and ethics

Search

Navigation