Public education data at the crossroads of public and private value creation: Orchestration tensions and stakeholder visions in Germany’s emerging national digital education ecosystem

Abstract Accelerated by the COVID-19 pandemic, private EdTech companies and emerging digital education ecosystems have significantly reshaped digital governance in education. This shift has pressured governments into rapid digital transformation while also raising concerns about increasing inequalities, fueled by a data-driven approach to teaching and learning. The public education debate increasingly calls for tighter data regulations, alternatives to private sector dominance, and digital education offerings by traditional education actors that create value in the digital realm. Responding to these pressures, the German government develops a national digital education ecosystem (NDEE) to guide this transformation. Using data from 10 semi-structured interviews, a stakeholder survey ( n = 121), and three stakeholder workshops with in total of 80 participants, our mixed-method research contributes to the discourse on digital education governance and the creation of public data ecosystems. We identify 19 orchestration tensions, aggregated into four tension groups, shed light on education stakeholders’ preferences, and identify with the three ecosystem vision models: “Education Interconnectivity Infrastructure,” “Public Education Space,” and the “Public–Private Education Marketplace.” These findings underscore the importance of a coherent ecosystem vision that balances public and private interests, leads the foundation for ecosystem governance, and aligns the ecosystem’s scope with government orchestration capabilities. We offer valuable insights for researchers and policymakers working toward a government-orchestrated national digital education ecosystem.