EdTech for measurable outcomes – can systems thinking move the needle?

South Africa’s education system continues to grapple with a number of persistent challenges, from low matric pass rates and uneven work readiness, to difficulty in transitioning from school to tertiary education, and from tertiary into the workforce. These outcomes are often symptoms of deeper systemic “leakages” within the education pipeline.

These leakages show up in different ways across the system: foundational learning gaps that emerge early and compound over time, learners entering the FET phase already behind, and a growing disconnect between years spent in the system and actual learning outcomes.

Addressing these challenges requires more than isolated interventions. It calls for a step back, to better understand how these outcomes are produced, and what conditions need to be in place for meaningful change to occur.

At the same time, South Africa’s education system is not short on innovation. Over the past decade, there has been a steady increase in the development and introduction of EdTech solutions aimed at improving teaching and learning outcomes.

However, the challenge facing the sector is no longer one of access to innovation, it is one of meaningful integration.

Across engagements with government, funders, and implementers, a consistent theme has emerged: technology is often introduced alongside the system, rather than being designed to work within it. As a result, even well-designed solutions can struggle to gain traction, not because they lack potential, but because they are not sufficiently aligned with the realities of the environments in which they are expected to operate.

This reflects a broader shift in thinking across the ecosystem, from asking “how do we introduce innovation into the system?” to “how do we design for integration from the outset?”

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Rethinking the path to impact

A common approach to education reform assumes a relatively linear path:
identify a problem, introduce a solution, and expect improved outcomes to follow.

In practice, education systems do not behave in linear ways. They are complex, adaptive systems made up of interdependent actors, incentives, and constraints.

This means that introducing a new tool or intervention does not automatically lead to change. Outcomes are shaped by how well that intervention fits within existing structures, whether that be classroom practices and curriculum expectations, to accountability mechanisms and resource constraints.

The ultimate leverage point: Supporting the teacher

Within any complex system, there are specific points where targeted interventions can lead to disproportionate impact. These are often referred to as leverage points, critical points in a system where relatively small shifts can influence broader system behaviour.

A number of these leverage points have been identified through ecosystem engagement, including insights surfaced during last year’s EdTech Week in the form of the 7 core principles for innovation in under-resourced contexts.. While originally framed as principles, they reflect key areas where alignment and intentional design can significantly influence adoption and outcomes.

One of the most consistently identified leverage points is designing for the teacher’s reality first.

Teachers are central to how the education system functions on a day-to-day basis. They navigate the realities of the classroom, interpret and implement the curriculum, and make continuous decisions about how learning is facilitated.

For this reason, the extent to which a solution aligns with and supports teachers is a strong determinant of whether it will be adopted and sustained over time.

This includes alignment with:

• The natural rhythms of classroom practice
• Existing teaching and assessment expectations
• And, where relevant, structures such as the Annual Teaching Plan (ATP), which guide curriculum delivery

When solutions are designed with these factors in mind, they are more likely to be experienced as supportive rather than additive, reducing cognitive load rather than increasing it.

Solving fragmentation

Despite a wealth of data and research about what works (and doesn’t work), the EdTech ecosystem remains fragmented and competitive, meaning our learners aren’t ultimately benefitting from all the solutions.

To see a measurable difference in outcomes, we must shift our thinking in three ways.

Firstly, we must prioritise market access over pure innovation. It’s not always a case of introducing more solutions, but rather collaborating to consolidate a smaller number of targeted approaches that are able to reach classrooms in meaningful ways. This requires engaging government and community stakeholders early, to ensure that pathways for integration are clear from the outset.

Secondly, there is a natural tension between commercial incentives and educational impact, which is why innovators must demonstrate long-term commitment. Sustainable change requires alignment with system priorities, and a willingness to engage beyond short-term funding cycles.

Lastly, we must move from being merely informative to being interpretive. This means actively engaging in the spaces where parents, teachers, and communities are grappling with questions around technology and AI, and using those insights to inform how solutions are designed and positioned.

An agile approach to progress

We find ourselves in a moment that calls for reflection. Why isn’t the financial investment into EdTech consistently translating into improved outcomes?

Part of the answer lies in how we approach change. If the dominant approach has focused on driving adoption, the next phase requires us to interrogate the system more deeply to understand how and where to adapt our strategies.

When it comes to EdTech and its potential to drive positive education outcomes for South African learners, innovation is not only about the tool itself,  it is about the ability to respond to the system it operates within.

Whether through technology or other approaches, the goal remains the same: improving learning outcomes in South Africa. By supporting teachers and designing with the system in mind, there is an opportunity to move closer to meaningful, sustained progress.

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