We spoke to Justo Quintanar from ExE about the equity and inclusion related challenges in data-informed education.

• What are the inclusion and equity-related challenges that the Spanish education system is facing? How can Agile EDU help overcoming these challenges?
  • The Spanish educational system has improved in recent years, but it is still facing significant challenges when it comes to equity and inclusion. Spain has the second highest early dropout rate in the EU, at around 13%. But this figure dramatically increases for disadvantaged students, it is estimated that the children from families placed in the bottom 20% in income triple this early dropout rate, so as much as 39% of them abandon the school system prematurely. This trend is also followed when it comes to retaking a school year (x4 more likely for bottom-income families), and of course this is exacerbated by the high child poverty rate in the country (at 28%). With this in mind, schools who primarily attend these disadvantaged students face systematic challenges to ensure that social mobility can become a reality in Spain, and your zip code does not determine your educational and life opportunities. A project like Agile Edu can really contribute to teachers working in these environments to have more visibility on the transformative power of digital tools and data in education, reflecting on how it can help them improve their practice and reach all their students more effectively. Most teachers and school leaders are overwhelmed with their administrative and pedagogical load, so they lack the expertise, experience and time to properly incorporate technology into their practice. Or if they do, they may do so in an isolated manner, and without fully exploiting all the possibilities that modern technology offers when it comes to improving educational outcomes. So, Agile Edu can contribute in guiding them throughout this process, and also by incorporating their perspective so that it may be taken into consideration when legislators decide to roll out digitalization strategies in education. 
• Could you tell us how the experiences of ExE and Spain in general can contribute to the Agile EDU project and our understanding of data use in education?
  • Empieza Por Education is a foundation that has been working towards achieving educational equality of opportunities in Spain for 15 years. We have been working in disadvantaged schools in order to attract the most committed and effective teachers, as well as training and supporting them so that all students can fulfill their potential. In the schools in our network, we have identified that students from disadvantaged backgrounds may face additional barriers to learning when it comes to the implementation of digital strategies and tools (like (learning needs, motivations or low expectations). Thanks to our expertise in equity and inclusion, and having directly worked with students, teachers and school leaders from these schools, we believe that ExE can provide their perspective regarding how we can best use digital tools and digitally generated data to benefit all students, without leaving anyone behind. ExE can provide an equity lense grounded on the experience of practitioners in disadvantaged communities when discussing the design and implementation of digital educational solutions, to ensure that they can mitigate and not reproduce existing social inequalities. 

• You work with multiple stakeholders and communities in Spain, addressing challenges that children face in disadvantaged communities. How do you approach, what solutions do you provide to digital learning related challenges?
  • ExE specializes in teacher training and support, so we work closely with these schools in order to identify and work on their most pressing needs and challenges. One major consideration we would like to bring to the table is that the issue is more about learning rather than its digital component. In disadvantaged schools, the major barrier to learning is student motivation, low expectations on student progress and the management of heterogeneous groups with diverse learning needs. It is important to first focus on teacher training that enables educators to effectively manage a classroom, and to motivate students to attend classes so that they may view the school as a great place to learn and actively participate in. And of course digital tools can be an incredible resource to get students engaged, or personalize their learning experience, but the focus should be on the overarching goal of student learning. So a major challenge when implementing digital learning is ensuring that it is intricately linked with the school's educational project, and critically analyzing how the tool is at the service of fostering learning for all. That way, when digital learning is rolled out, all stakeholders, including teachers from all subjects, are committed to carrying it out since they fully understand its contribution to their curriculum and the learning objectives they devised for their students. Lastly, if such an implementation is to properly work, we believe that certain programs to accompany teachers as they learn to integrate digital aspects to their teaching practice should be put in place. This way all teachers, particularly those less technologically savvy, can have support throughout the process. 
• In the project you focus on inclusion and equity. Why are these important areas to focus on according to you?
  • When it comes to digital tools and data, it is important to view these as transformative resources that can truly improve education. So these are not magic solutions, but rather powerful tools that can truly help teachers improve their practice, lessen their workload and enable them to more effectively personalize the learning experience for their students. However, you can have an amazing tool, but its utility depends on the person who uses it. How has the person who has to use this tool been trained and supported? Not only when it comes to operational or executive training, so they know how a digital tool works and "where to click", but rather to understand its impact on student learning and how it can contribute to all their students achieving their full potential. If you give a musician a piano he can play beautiful music, but a novice or someone who does not understand what a piano even is, may just use it as furniture in their living room. So these incredible modern tools can truly benefit all students, but for this to happen all teachers should be properly trained not only on how to use the tool, but also on how to properly integrate it in their teaching. And for this to benefit all students, teachers must have a sense of possibility with every student, knowing that all students have untapped potential and digital tools can help them achieve it. This way, educators will be capable of directing the way they use these tools so they can address their students' most urgent needs, and evaluate their impact in a personalized way that takes into account their background and personal circumstances. Going back to the previous example, without this holistic and student-centric approach, teachers will be using a piano as decoration in their living room, instead of employing it to its full potential. And again, the opportunity ahead of us with these technologies is enormous so educators should really seize it. Digital tools can contribute to reducing educational inequality if it is used inclusively, with a sense of possibility for all students. However, we must keep in mind that it may exacerbate pre-existing inequalities and differences if educators are not properly guided, trained and supported. And just as a final note, this also applies to public administrations and edtechs who develop their own solutions. Educators should have this training to effectively implement such tools, but equity and inclusion should be ingrained in the design of digital solutions and policies in education. Only this way can it be ensured that they are aligned with the goal of benefiting learning for all students, particularly disadvantaged students. 
• How would you complete this sentence: "Data use in education is…"
  • Data use in education is a very powerful tool that can transform education by empowering all educators, be they teachers or school leaders, to make evidence-based decisions that can improve the learning experience of all their students.