Structural indicators for monitoring education and

Requirement to have a school digital plan. A requirement by top-level education authorities for 
schools to have a development plan which includes digital education, or a specific school digital 
plan means that the development of both digital competences and innovative teaching and 
learning methods becomes central to school development as part of a whole school approach. 
The International Computer and Information Literacy Study showed 'that teachers who were 
working in schools they saw as supporting ICT use through a planned and collaborative approach 
were more likely to use ICT in their teaching and emphasize the development of students' 
computer and information literacy' (European Commission, 2014, p. 6). More recently, the 2nd 
Survey of Schools on ICT in Education found that 31 % of students in primary education, 34 % of 
students in lower secondary education and 30 % of students in upper secondary education 
attended schools that had written statements specifically on the use of ICT for pedagogical 
purposes (European Commission, 2019, pp. 98–99). 
•
Criteria relating to digital education in external school evaluation frameworks. At European 
level, external school evaluation is seen as an approach to quality assurance; it is a widespread 
practice that aims to monitor the performance of individual schools with a focus on improving their 
quality, and consequently students' learning outcomes (European Commission/EACEA/Eurydice, 
2015). External evaluators usually follow evaluation frameworks or have lists of topics and/or 
indicators to consider when evaluating the quality of a school (Ibid.). These documents might 
include criteria specifically relating to digital education, and therefore require evaluators to assess 
aspects in this area. Most external evaluators are asked to evaluate the quality of teaching and 
learning in each curriculum subject, as well as to assess compliance with requirements relating to 
instruction time or learning outcomes. However, this sub-indicator goes beyond a simple 
requirement for a subject-based evaluation of ICT. Instead, it focuses on whether there are wider 
evaluation criteria relating to the integration of digital technologies across the whole school. The 
criteria include the use of digital technologies across the curriculum and in school management 
processes, as well as the quality of digital infrastructure and the level of investment.