Datafied

• Duration: 2018 – 2021
• Project lead: Prof. Dr. Andreas Breiter

Cooperation with the Institute for Information Management Bremen, the Georg Eckert Institute – Leibniz Institute for International Textbook Research (GEI), the Helmut Schmidt University Hamburg (HSU) and the Leibniz Institute for Research and Information in Education (DIPF)

Funding: Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF)

Collaboration: Irina Zakharova and Tjark Raabe

The Institute for Information Management Bremen, together with the Georg Eckert Institute – Leibniz Institute for International Textbook Research (GEI), the Helmut Schmidt University Hamburg (HSU) and the Leibniz Institute for Research and Information in Education (DIPF), is researching the influence and effects of progressive digitalization on the school education system. The ifib is responsible for coordinating the network.

Both the Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) and the Standing Conference of the Ministers of Education and Cultural Affairs (KMK) are calling for a closer examination of the opportunities and risks of digitalization in the education sector. The joint project DATAFIED (DATA For and In EDucation) is investigating how the construction of schools is changing in this process. Digital practices in both school administration and classrooms are being examined. The focus is on the question of how the availability of digital data through information systems and educational software is linked to changing roles, professional practices and socio-educational relationships and what constitutes a “good school”.

In order to ensure this, various organizational levels of information acquisition, processing and use will be examined as part of the joint project.

The four sub-projects (SPs) each examine different interfaces within the public school system. SP1 (school supervision and school) is dedicated to the interface between school authorities and the school. The aim is to identify possible changes in the relationship between these organizations, particularly with regard to (external) evaluations and consultations. SP2 (School management and school information systems) looks at the information systems used by the school management. It asks how the organization of schools is changing through the use of data and algorithms and what role software developers play in this. SP3 (Digital educational software and teaching) examines the digital tools used in teaching and analyzes the interface between digital educational software and teaching practice. It asks how educational software configures certain data practices, educational priorities and the role of teachers and students. SP4 (Teachers and students in the classroom) looks at the interface between teaching staff and students in the classroom. It examines media use and the associated data collection, monitoring and analysis, as well as the changing relationships and roles in the classroom.

The project is being carried out at a total of four locations: Potsdam, Frankfurt am Main, Hamburg and Bremen. ZeMKI member Dr. Juliane Jarke is in charge of sub-project 2, Prof. Dr. Andreas Breiter is responsible for the overall coordination of the network.