ERIC Number: EJ1353045
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2022-Nov
Pages: 15
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: N/A
EISSN: EISSN-1474-9041
New Shadow Professionals and Infrastructures around the Datafied School: Topological Thinking as an Analytical Device
Lewis, Steven; Hartong, Sigrid
European Educational Research Journal, v21 n6 p946-960 Nov 2022
Drawing upon the growing datafication of contemporary schooling, our purpose in this article is to use topological thinking as an analytical device to better understand the professionals and practices within emergent data infrastructures. We address this by attending to an influential national (and subnational) data infrastructure of school monitoring in the United States, managed by the federal Department of Education, known as "EDFacts." Informed by policy documents relating to EDFacts, as well as by various related software platforms and portals, we explore the "whom" and "how" of datafication, and expose the increasing presence and influence of otherwise 'hidden' technology mediators, or 'shadow professionals'. In particular, we argue that the increasing dependency of EDFacts on data has necessitated the introduction of new professional roles associated with optimising the flow of data, and thus stabilising and normalising the topological space of the infrastructure. We conclude by suggesting that EDFacts encourages teaching professionals and shadow professionals alike to engage in "acts of data submission"; that is, providing data to EDFacts and, at the same time, positioning themselves as wholly responsive to the infrastructure and its datafied renderings of schooling.
Descriptors: Data Analysis, Learning Analytics, Educational Policy, Computer Software, Information Systems, Teacher Role, Educational Legislation, Elementary Secondary Education, Federal Legislation, Federal Aid, Federal Programs, Civil Rights Legislation, Federal Government, Professional Personnel
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Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Evaluative
Education Level: Elementary Secondary Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Identifiers - Laws, Policies, & Programs: Elementary and Secondary Education Act; Race to the Top; No Child Left Behind Act 2001; Civil Rights Act 1964
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A