Assessing the Impact of Large-Scale ICT Investment in Education Through Measuring the Digital Maturity of Schools

Croatian Academic and Research Network (CARNET) conducted a major nine-year EU-funded programme called “e-Schools: A Comprehensive Informatization of School Operation Processes and Teaching Processes Aimed at the Creation of Digitally Mature Schools for the 21st Century.” The programme was launched in March 2015 with a pilot project covering 10% of Croatian schools (151 schools). Based on the pilot’s experiences and results, CARNET initiated the second phase of the programme in September 2018, which included all elementary and high schools in Croatia funded from the state budget (1321 schools), lasting till end of 2023. With a total value of 212 million euros, the e-Schools programme contributed to boosting the performance of the primary and secondary education system so that Croatian students could prepare for further education and lifelong learning, i.e. for entering the labour market. This paper intends to use the concept of digital maturity of schools as an evaluation tool for assessing the programme’s impact. The Framework of Digital Maturity and the corresponding Instrument developed during the programme, provided data for assessing the programme’s main benchmark. The aim of the paper is to show how the level of the digital maturity of schools, as measured in the pilot phase and upgraded and measured in the second phase, represents the benchmark for evaluating and assessing the impact of the large-scale horizontal ICT investment in the education. More precisely, it will show how the major investment in digital infrastructure through establishing local computer networks, equipping school staff, classroom upgrades, e-services implementation, and development of digital educational materials, including teaching scenarios and staff training raised the digital maturity level of Croatian Schools. Unlike existing research, this paper will provide unique insights into the importance of the concept of digital maturity for the measurement of the programme impact.