Research Department: Work & Transformation of Society

Background The digital transition increasingly poses challenges for educational organizations, as illustrated by the diverse approaches to digitalization processes adopted by German nursing schools. DigCompOrg, an European Union policy framework, addresses the complexity of digitalizing educational organizations and provides guidance on how to develop them accordingly.

Methods Five focus groups (N = 33) were conducted as part of a mixed-methods study. These focus groups aimed to address the question what nursing-specific characteristics influence the digitalization processes at nursing schools.

Results The level of digitalization at German nursing schools varies considerably. In addition to general conditions around nursing education, such as legal frameworks, institutional strategies, financial resources, and funding guidelines, the digital transition in nursing education is influenced by subject-specific factors. These subject-specific factors were found to be highly connected to the seven dimensions outlined in DigCompOrg. As a result, the specification of DigCompOrg was successfully defined in relation to nursing education at nursing schools. We found that facilitating the digital transition requires a shared professional understanding of nursing itself; cooperation between learning environments incorporating a third learning environment; critical reflection; and the pedagogical justification of technology use regarding body-related work in nursing. The specific characteristics of the profession must be considered alongside the existing dimensions of DigCompOrg in digitalization processes.

Conclusion A DigCompOrg framework specifically designed for nursing education can support the digital transition of nursing schools and can help schools focus their organizational development in the context of nursing education.

DigCompOrg, Domain-specific, Nursing education, Digital transition, Digitalization