Context
The ‘e-Schools’ project was a Croatian governmental initiative launched by the Ministry of Science and Education. It aligned with the European Union’s focus on digital transformation in education, receiving funding from the Operational Programme Competitiveness and Cohesion 2014–2020 (OPCC) and the Operational Programme Efficient Human Resources. The project addressed the need to improve Croatia’s education system’s digital maturity and bridge the digital divide between Croatian schools and the EU average.
Objectives
The e-Schools project aimed to comprehensively transform Croatia’s education system by integrating information and communication technology (ICT) into all aspects of education. The project had specific objectives to provide reliable ICT infrastructure, improve administrative and educational processes, promote digital skills among teachers and students, and enhance school leadership’s strategic use of technology.
Implementation
The project’s implementation was divided into two phases. The first phase was a pilot project on a smaller scale, involving 10 per cent of Croatian schools. This pilot provided valuable insights into the challenges and opportunities of digital transformation in education. The second phase, implemented from 2018 to 2023, aimed to equip all Croatian primary and secondary schools with the necessary resources. This large-scale implementation involved upgrading school networks, providing ICT equipment such as laptops and interactive displays, and creating digital educational content. The project also offered extensive training programmes to improve teachers’ digital competencies and provided mobile support teams to ensure schools maximised the benefits of the new technology. The project’s success was due to its comprehensive approach, addressing both the infrastructure and the human aspects of digital transformation.