Call for papers SPECIAL ISSUE: Digital platforms and datafication in the educational system. Possibilities and challenges

27-11-2022

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Editors of the Special Issue: 

Keywords: Platformisation, Datification, Public Education, Privatisation, Managerialism, BigTech

Publication date of the issue: March 2024

 

Introduction:

As a consequence of the transformations initiated in recent years and accelerated in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic, the penetration of new infrastructures, digital platforms and data-intensive tools in national education systems has intensified (Mann et al. 2021; Williamson & Hogan, 2020; Pangrazio et.al 2022). This phenomenon is rapidly transforming teaching-learning processes and affecting dimensions such as school justice, privacy and the right to education.

In part, this is due to the growing importance of BigTech corporations, which have an increasing influence on the design of educational policy and the creation of new educational markets through the sale and distribution of commercial digital devices and platforms to governments and their educational systems (Sancho et al., 2020; Saura et al., 2022). 

Digital platforms are developed by both private technology corporations and public (or private non-profit) entities (Van Dijck & Poell, 2018). In this sense, they can be understood as "a programmable digital architecture designed to organize interactions between users, not only end users, but also corporate entities and public bodies. It is oriented towards the systematic collection, algorithmic processing, circulation and monetization of user data" (Van Dijck & Poell, 2018: 4). Putting the focus on education, numerous research has pointed out that the use of digital platforms in schools could occur in two ways:

Firstly, the widespread use of educational digital platforms provided by BigTech, is creating new forms of education governance (Williamson & Hogan, 2020; Nichols & Garcia, 2022), as well as new datified subjects (Lewis et al. 2021). Through these new digital platforms, BigTech can extract, process and store data produced by individuals on their private servers. This data has a high market value and is considered the new "gold" of the digital era. Therefore, issues linked to data protection and privacy are generating a strong debate at the academic, political, social level (Zuboff, 2019). Specifically, about childhood, this debate involves the educational and parental relationship spheres (Pangrazio & Selwyn, 2019; Barassi, 2021). 

Secondly, beyond the preponderance of BigTech, there are also alternative initiatives to the management of large technological corporations, which defend the use of certain digital platforms based on the following principles: (1) favoring the governance of data generated by the educational community in the centers themselves, (2) focusing on the protection of users' privacy, and (3) defending diversity of access to information and content (Selwyn, 2021).

Starting from this general framework, this special issue aims to deepen knowledge about practices and approaches to the use of digital platforms in global education systems and, from there, to identify their effects on teaching and learning, equity, privacy, digital identity, school communities and children's rights.

 

Topics or lines of interest:

In this context, this special issue aims to bring together empirical studies from different disciplines and methodological approaches to promote understanding and reflection on the possibilities and limits of this phenomenon based on the following questions:

  • How has the use of digital platforms impacted school cultures?
  • What practices and what professional knowledges are articulated (or disarticulated) around the entry of digital platforms for educators? What possibilities and alternatives are found, what responses or reactions are generated?
  • What are the consequences of the use of commercial digital platforms (BigTech) on the governance of educational systems and (public) schools?
  • What are the potentials and limitations of these digital platforms and ratification for improving educational opportunities for youth and adolescents?
  • How and to what extent do these educational digital platforms condition the teaching-learning process?
  • What are the main potentialities and fears perceived by teachers, parents and students in relation to the use of educational digital platforms and the data which it stores?
  • Are there initiatives that promote transformative and alternative uses of educational digital platforms, with respect to BigTech commercial interests?

Important deadlines:

  • Initial date for submitting paper:  01/03/2024
  • Final submission and acceptance (EXTENDED): 30/11/2023
  • Publication of the special issue:  01/03/2024

 

Profile of the editors:

Pablo Rivera-Vargas

Universitat de Barcelona

pablorivera@ub.edu

ORCID: 0000-0002-9564-2596

Pablo Rivera-Vargas es profesor del Departamento de Didáctica y Organización Educativa de la Universidad de Barcelona (UB). Doctor en Educación y Sociedad por la Universidad de Barcelona y Doctor en Sociología por la Universidad de Zaragoza. Miembro del grupo de investigación ESBRINA -Subjetividades, visualidades y entornos educativos contemporáneos (2017SGR 1248) y del Instituto de Investigación en Educación de la Universidad de Barcelona.  Su actividad investigadora está relacionada con el análisis de las políticas sociales y educativas, la perspectiva crítica sobre la inserción de las tecnologías digitales en la educación y los procesos de emancipación, transformación y reivindicación social en la sociedad digital.

 

Judith Jacovkis

Universitat de Barcelona

judith.jacovkis@ub.edu

ORCID: 0000-0003-2862-8636

Judith Jacovkis es profesora del Departamento de Didáctica y Organización Educativa de la Universidad de Barcelona (UB). Doctora en Sociología por la Universidad Autónoma de Barcelona. Miembro del grupo de investigación ESBRINA -Subjetividades, visualidades y entornos educativos contemporáneos (2017SGR 1248). Sus intereses de investigación giran en torno a las políticas y la gobernanza del sistema educativo, la experiencia escolar, y las trayectorias y transiciones educativas  mediadas por las tecnologías digitales, y con un foco específico sobre las desigualdades socioeducativas.

 

Juliana Raffaghelli 

Università degli Studi di Padova 

juliana.raffaghelli@unipd.it

ORCID: 0000-0002-8753-6478

Juliana Raffaghelli es profesora en Métodos de la Investigación Educativa en el Departamento de Filosofía, Sociología, Pedagogía y Psicología Aplicada de la Universidad de Padua (UNIPD). Doctora en Ciencias de la Educación y de la Cognición por la Universidad Ca' Foscari de Venecia. Coordinador e investigador en proyectos nacionales (Italia y España) e internacionales y europeos con la Universitat Oberta de Catalunya, las universidades de Florencia, Trento, Venecia y el Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones de Italia (CNR). Evaluador de proyectos de investigación y desarrollo para la Comisión Europea, la Agencia Española de Investigación y la Agencia Nacional de Evaluación de la Investigación de Italia. Es miembro internacional del grupo de investigación Edul@b de la UOC (SGR 1471), ex investigador Ramón y Cajal de esa universidad.  Su trabajo investigador explora las dinámicas de desarrollo de la identidad y la práctica profesional dentro de los procesos de digitalización, desde una perspectiva socio-crítica. Recientemente, ha trabajado sobre la alfabetización de datos en contextos de post-digitalidad, datificación y plataformización.

 

GUIDELINES FOR AUTHORS AND SUBMISSION OF CONTRIBUTIONS

We welcome original contributions, written in English or Spanish that thoughtfully engage: 

  • Research projects reports, extension of 5000-6500 words.
  • Innovation experiences scientifically reviewed and susceptible of being transfered to other contexts and situations, extension of 5000-6500 words.
  • Systematic literature reviews, extension of 5000-6500 words.

 

Manuscripts must be sent through the journal management system selecting the special issue "Digital platforms and datafication in the educational system. Possibilities and challenges": http://www.edutec.es/revista/

Publication rules: manuscripts must be submited following the regular structure of the EDUTEC-E journal available at: http://www.edutec.es/revista/

Last call for the reception of manuscripts: 31/07/2023 

Editorial process: Submitted manuscripts will be under revision following established criteria for published manuscripts (editorial board and blind review). Once the Editorial Board has completed all the admission procedures, authors will receive anonymous scientific evaluation reports informing on their acceptance or rejection. More information about the review process and its communication is available at: http://www.edutec.es/revista/

Quality Index: EDUTEC journal is indexed in the main databases, directories and evaluation systems of specialized journals. More information about indexations is available at:  https://edutec.es/revista/index.php/edutec-e/indexacion