Digital Capitalism and Education: Teacher precariousness in the state school system in the state of Paraná, Brazil

Abstract

Within the framework of contemporary digital capitalism, this article critically examines how educational technology (EdTech) companies are shaping new dynamics in global education systems, specifically through platforms based on artificial intelligence (AI) and adaptive learning. From a perspective of critical pedagogy and digital capitalism, it argues that these technologies not only consolidate the commodification of education, but also profoundly reconfigure pedagogical practices and the role of teachers, amplifying neoliberal logics in educational institutions.

The study is based on an analysis of empirical data collected in two public schools in the state of Paraná, Brazil. The Paraná state  school system was the first in Brazil to implement the mandatory use of a wide range of digital platforms in basic education. The findings reveal a precarization of teaching work, manifested in the loss of professional autonomy, an increasing workload, and a drastic shift in pedagogical functions toward technical tasks associated with data management. Furthermore, it is observed that EdTech platforms, managed in this case by the government of Paraná, not only reinforce commercial interests, but are also instrumentalised as mechanisms of state control over the teaching function, further limiting teachers capacity to act as autonomous and critical pedagogical agents.