Countering the code: Emancipatory teaching and critical digital literacy in platformized schools

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  1. NORA PIRECI SEJDIU ,  
  2. Rezarta Ramadani ,  
  3. Sejdi Sejdiu
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Abstract

Background

As learning experiences are increasingly mediated through digital platforms, educational settings are increasingly vulnerable to being drawn into the logic of surveillance, personalization, and exploitation of data. These dynamics impose dominant ideologies on platform technologies, risking the restriction of pedagogical freedom and democratic engagement. Therefore, the need for emancipatory pedagogical practices and critical digital literacies is becoming increasingly urgent.

Methods

Grounded in sociocultural and ecological theoretical frameworks, this study draws on qualitative evidence from interviews with teachers. The analysis explores how educators navigate tensions between pedagogical goals and platform constraints, particularly in relation to resisting algorithmic determinism and reclaiming learner agency.

Results

Findings highlight a range of teacher-initiated interventions that promote transparency, ethical engagement with data, and collective critical examination of digital platforms. Special emphasis is given to how teachers engage students in investigating the socio-political implications of platform use e.g. algorithmic bias, datafication, and commercial exploitation.

Conclusion

This paper offers theoretical and practical insight into how educators can reclaim digital space as a domain of democratic engagement and critical inquiry. In doing so, this study contributes to broader calls for reimagining the role of education in a platform society from passive adoption to actively transforming technological platform use through critical pedagogical strategies and institutional support.

Plain Language Summary

This study examines how secondary school teachers in Kosovo use digital learning platforms and how these tools impact teaching. While platforms make it easier to share materials and communicate with students, they also collect personal data and can shape the way learning happens in ways that are not always transparent.

Interviews with teachers revealed that most of them use the platforms out of necessity, not because they fully understand how they work. Most of them are concerned about students’ privacy, as they do not receive training or guidance from their institutions. Despite this, teachers still take small steps to protect students, such as limiting the data they upload and helping students use the platforms more independently.

The study concludes that teachers want to use technology ethically, but they need stronger institutional support. Schools and policymakers need to help teachers and students understand issues of data privacy and algorithmic bias so that digital tools support safe learning environments.

Corresponding author
NORA PIRECI SEJDIU
0000-0002-7195-2266
Grant information

The author(s) declared that no grants were involved in supporting this work.

Copyright
© 2026 NORA PIRECI SEJDIU (Corresponding Author, Co-Author); Rezarta Ramadani (Co-Author); Sejdi Sejdiu (Co-Author) Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

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Amendment

In the revised version, we have further enriched the manuscript in terms of its analytic and theoretical depth, based on the peer reviewers’ suggestions. Specifically, we have further developed the concept of the "awareness-action gap" by conceptualizing it as a structural and ecological phenomenon.

We have also further clarified the role of emancipatory teaching within the framework by differentiating it from the practical application, critical awareness, and emancipatory practice. Finally, in the discussion section, we have further elaborated on the limited presence of emancipatory teaching and the structural conditions necessary to support such a practice.

From a methodological perspective, we have further enriched the manuscript by elaborating on the process of researcher reflexivity, saturation, and coding. Additionally, in the results section, we have further developed the interpretative analysis by considering the tensions and contradictions in the teacher's practice.

Finally, we have further elaborated on the contribution to the research in the area of platformized education, critical digital literacy, and teacher agency.

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Authors & roles

NORA PIRECI SEJDIU

FShMN, University of Prishtina, Prishtina, Kosovo, 10000, Kosovo (Serbia and Montenegro)

Roles
Corresponding Author, Co-Author, Conceptualization, Data Curation, Formal Analysis, Funding Acquisition, Investigation, Methodology, Project Administration, Resources, Software, Supervision, Validation, Writing – Original Draft Preparation, Writing – Review & Editing
0000-0002-7195-2266

Rezarta Ramadani

ENGLISH LANGUAGE AND LITERATURE, University of Prizren, Prizren, Kosovo, 20000, Kosovo (Serbia and Montenegro)

Roles
Co-Author, Conceptualization, Formal Analysis, Methodology, Resources, Software, Writing – Original Draft Preparation, Writing – Review & Editing
0000-0002-7283-6638

Sejdi Sejdiu

ENGLISH LANGUAGE AND LITERATURE, University of Prizren, Prizren, Kosovo, 20000, Kosovo (Serbia and Montenegro)

Roles
Co-Author, Conceptualization, Formal Analysis, Investigation, Methodology, Project Administration, Resources, Software, Writing – Original Draft Preparation, Writing – Review & Editing
0000-0003-0136-7843

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