Exploring the role of digital data in contemporary schools and schooling—‘200,000 lines in an Excel spreadsheet’

Abstract

The generation, processing and circulation of data in digital form is now an integral aspect of contemporary schooling. Based upon empirical study of two secondary school settings in Australia, this paper considers the different forms of digitally-based 'data work' engaged in by school leaders, managers, administrators and teachers. In particular, three distinct aspects of school data work are explored: (i) the distinction between official 'mandated' data requirements from external government agencies, and the unofficial efforts to generate and work with 'useful' data; (ii) the highly mediated nature of digital data work within schools; (iii) the ways in which digital data lead to compromised knowledge and 'work arounds'. These findings, it is argued, illustrate the embedding of digital data within secondary schools as a technology of (self)control in ways that tend to reinforce dominant cultures of school administration and management. As such, the paper considers how the restrictive forms of data governance currently at large within school systems might be problematized and acted against.

Governance, accountability and the datafication of early years education in England

“…Our particular concern with the datafication of early years education resonates with a broader interest in this area from within the ‘digital sociology of education’ (Selwyn et al ., ). This interest arises from the expansion of data in society more generally, and particularly with the shift in terms of volume, velocity and variety of data (Selwyn, ).…”

“…Our particular concern with the datafication of early years education resonates with a broader interest in this area from within the ‘digital sociology of education’ (Selwyn et al ., ). This interest arises from the expansion of data in society more generally, and particularly with the shift in terms of volume, velocity and variety of data (Selwyn, ). This discussion is framed by the notion of ‘the politics of data’ (Selwyn, ), the idea that data are not neutral constructions, but powerfully influenced by particular concepts of what can be measured and analysed.…”

“…Hence despite the aim of reducing bureaucracy, one outcome of these accountability reforms has been the increased production, analysis and comparison of what Selwyn et al . () characterise as ‘compliance data’, as opposed to ‘useful data’ in the early years. It is this ‘datafication’ that is our focus here.…”

The imperative to protect data and the rise of surveillance cameras in administering national testing in Russia

“…This diverse group of people compose the assembly-line of the data-factory. In this manner, the present article shares concern for the workings of the infrastructure of accountability and data infrastructure (Sellar, 2014) at the backdrop of emerging digital governance and data-driven governance (Selwyn, 2015;Selwyn et al,. 2015;Williamson, 2015) in education settings.…”

Quality of Education and Its Evaluation: An Analysis of the Russian Academic Discussion

“…Data collection redefines practices through the logic of "what is counted, counts," especially when evaluation processes bear high stakes for the evaluated persons and institutions through redistribution of funds or recruitment decisions. Equally, the processes of data collection as mandated by the authorities contribute to building or strengthening hierarchies and unequal power relations between those who assemble the data and those who are acted upon as data (Piattoeva, 2015;Selwyn, Henderson, & Chao, 2015). Quality assurance procedures increasingly involve self-evaluation practices which, while seemingly permissive and self-initiated, still have to stay in line with the prescribed indicators and central standards, and put emphasis on constant self-regulation and self-improvement (Lawn & Grek, 2012, p. 146).…”