ABSTRACT

The past 20 years have seen the steady ‘datafication’ of school systems – i.e. the rendering of key aspects of school practice into data that is digitally collected, processed and circulated. In contrast to assumptions of ‘data-driven’ schools as sites of more efficient and automated forms of data work, this paper examines the extensive human labour that now supports data production within schools. Drawing on in-depth interview data generated within three Australian secondary schools, the paper explores three distinct stages of data production involving the increased labour of teachers, school leaders, administrative and technical staff, parents and students. These findings highlight how the production of digital data within schools is associated with heightened levels of human labour – from formally recognised activities to less visible infrastructural maintenance and ‘repair’ work. The paper concludes by discussing how ‘school data’ corresponds with broader tensions relating to school working conditions, occupational cultures, employment relations and worker organisation. Rather than being a source of more efficient and machine-led work with data, the increased prevalence of digital data seems to perpetuate some of the less desirable features of schools as workplaces.

摘要

在过去的20年中，学校系统一直处于稳定的“数据化”状态，即将学校实践的关键方面呈现为以数字方式收集，处理和分发的数据。与“数据驱动型”学校是更高效，更自动化的数据工作形式的假设相反，本文研究了目前支持学校内部数据生产的大量人力资源。本文利用澳大利亚三所中学的深入访谈数据，探讨了数据制作的三个不同阶段，涉及教师，学校领导，行政和技术人员，父母和学生的劳动增加。这些发现凸显了学校内部数字数据的产生与人工水平提高之间的关系-从正式认可的活动到看不见的基础设施维护和“维修”工作。本文最后通过讨论“学校数据”如何与学校工作条件，职业文化，雇佣关系和工人组织等更广泛的紧张关系相对应。数字数据的普及似乎不是使数据更高效和机器驱动的来源，而是使学校作为工作场所的一些不太理想的特征得以延续。