Neil Selwyn and Luci Pangrazio present a short 15 minute talk on emerging findings from the ‘Data Smart Schools’ project. This is part of the ‘Why Talk About Data (In Education)?’ symposium run by Sheffield Hallam University. The abstract of the DSS paper is below … click here to watch Neil and Luci’s presentation.
The surprising non-appearance of the datafied school?
This presentation considers an unexpected finding from our ongoing research into digital data use in Australian high schools – why is it that critical concerns over the steady ‘datafication’ of education are not readily reflected in current school data practices? We first identify apparent tensions between: (i) established ‘teacherly’ logics of ‘data-driven’ schooling; and (ii) emerging ‘datafied’ practices associated with digital systems, platforms and devices. In particular, we consider how promises/threats of digital dataism appear to be largely subsumed into prevailing institutional logics of state bureaucracy and professionalism. We then consider the extent to which these ‘school data’ logics can endure amid the increased digitisation of K-12 education and commercial pushes for personalised learning. Alternately, what scope might there be to encourage more resistant appropriations of digital data by otherwise marginalised groups within school communities?