Conceptions and perspectives of data literacy in secondary education

Abstract

Data literacy has been suggested as an important competence that individuals need to succeed in a data-intensive society. However, there is no common understanding as to what data literacy entails and how it could be developed. Instructional emphasis on developing competence of individuals fails to capture learners' relationship to data in everyday life and limits what they can possibly achieve in data-rich environments. This paper critically reviews conceptualizations of data literacy in the literature with a focus in K-12 education. The analysis determined four orientations of data literacy: development of competence, inquiry with data, awareness of personal data and civic engagement. I proposed a broader conceptualization of data literacy that integrates conceptions, competencies and contexts. The study offers holistic and context-oriented framing of data literacy for researchers and educators.

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