“…Recent studies in the performative effects of 'governing by numbers' (Ball, 2017;Grek, 2009;Miller, 2001;Piattoeva & Boden, 2020;Rose, 1991) or data in education, which are propelled by a more and more thorough implementation of tests, performance indicators, economic modelling, algorithmic governance, and many other forms of databased governance in Western educational governance, have brought the analytical concept of affectivity to the forefront (Brøgger & Staunaes, 2016;Sellar & Lingard, 2018;Webb & Gulson, 2012). While these studies demonstrate how data affect various human actors affectively and thereby cause them to act accordingly, and furthermore offer an important alternative conceptualization of human engagements with data than the one offered by rational action theory, the emergence of these studies raises the question if affectivity can account for human responses to data alone, or if the emphasis on affective responses brings about particular analytical biases.…”