Efforts in Europe for Data-Driven Improvement of Education – A Review of Learning Analytics Research in Seven Countries

Abstract

Information and communication technologies are increasingly mediating learning and teaching practices as well as how educational institutions are handling their administrative work. As such, students and teachers are leaving large amounts of digital footprints and traces in various educational apps and learning management platforms, and educational administrators register various processes and outcomes in digital administrative systems. It is against such a background we in recent years have seen the emergence of the fast-growing and multi-disciplinary field of learning analytics. In this paper, we examine the research efforts that have been conducted in the field of learning analytics in Austria, Denmark, Finland, Norway, Germany, Spain, and Sweden. More specifically, we report on developed national policies, infrastructures and competence centers, as well as major research projects and developed research strands within the selected countries. The main conclusions of this paper are that the work of researchers around Europe has not led to national adoption or European level strategies for learning analytics. Furthermore, most countries have not established national policies for learners’ data or guidelines that govern the ethical usage of data in research or education. We also conclude, that learning analytics research on pre-university level to high extent have been overlooked. In the same vein, learning analytics has not received enough focus form national and European national bodies. Such funding is necessary for taking steps towards data-driven development of education.

Putting learning back into learning analytics: actions for policy makers, researchers, and practitioners

“…What knowledge and skills are needed to understand the role of new data science methods and fit those with conventional qualitative and quantitative traditions of research? Some writers have called for a re-examination of the foundations of educational research, in order to introduce data science methods into the open space that can potentially integrate qualitative and quantitative methods with AI-driven computational assistance and assistants (Nouri et al 2019). These writers have pointed out the current status and the existing gaps in readiness of higher education to leverage learning analytics (West et al 2016a, b).…”

Demystification of Artificial Intelligence in Education – How much AI is really in the Educational Technology?

“…In areas such as the economy or the transport sector, the use of analytics has long been part of our everyday life. With the help of analytics, large amounts of data can be processed to develop data-driven insights into people's activities to optimize processes and outputs [20]. But it is often not clear which things in everyday life are supported by algorithm -or AI-based systems and it is rather difficult for the user to determine when such implementations are present [6].…”

“…Although the research on LA is scarce in Germany, the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research has funded several projects in 2019. For example, the STELA project aims to conduct systematic reviews and construct a set of policies for the German Higher educational institutions to adopt the benefits and capabilities of LA [20]. Even though there are a number of attempts to emphasize the usage of LA in Education, there is a constant need due to ethical and privacy implications.…”

Looking for the “More Knowledgeable Other” through Learning Analytics

“…The goal is to optimize learning outcomes by upgrading the learning experience by enhancing the interactions, updating the learning material, and improving the learning environment. However, learning analytics has not received enough focus form national and European level bodies (Nouri et al 2019) to successfully create a wide-range strategy towards data-driven development of education. In an era of continuous change in the educational setting, even the curriculum is constantly on the spotlight for updating and adjusting to the new demands of transferable skills.…”