1. Project overview
Learning Analytics offers new opportunities for teachers to gain insight into students’ learning and make more informed educational decisions. Yet its adoption in higher education varies considerably between institutions.
The Power Project investigates this variation in uptake of Learning Analytics in higher education, and how its responsible adoption can be supported. The project examines how power dynamics shape the implementation and use of Learning Analytics, both within educational institutions and in interactions between teachers and students. By understanding these dynamics, the project aims to support the responsible and effective adoption of Learning Analytics in higher education.
2. Why is this research needed?
Although Learning Analytics is often presented as a promising educational innovation, its implementation is not straightforward.
Teachers operate within complex educational systems that influence how and whether Learning Analytics can be used. At the same time, Learning Analytics may affect relationships between teachers and students by providing teachers with new forms of information about student learning. To support responsible adoption, it is important to understand these interconnected institutional and classroom dynamics.
Existing research on Learning Analytics often focuses on individual stakeholders, such as teachers or students. As a result, it may overlook the broader systems in which Learning Analytics is implemented and used.
The Power Project takes a different approach by examining the complex interactions between institutions, teachers, and students. This broader perspective may help explain why Learning Analytics remains underused and how its responsible adoption can be encouraged.
3. Research aims
To effectively understand and encourage responsible use of Learning Analytics, it is crucial to consider power dynamics both within educational institutions and within the classroom.
The overall aim of the Power Project is to understand how power dynamics shape the responsible use of Learning Analytics in higher education.
By examining both institutional contexts and teacher-student interactions, the project seeks to better understand how teachers respond to the power that Learning Analytics offers, how students and teachers perceive its consequences, and how targeted interventions can support responsible adoption.
4. Research themes or work packages
The project is organised into four interconnected work packages:
- examining institutional and teacher factors that influence how teachers respond to the power Learning Analytics offers;
- investigating teachers’ and students’ views on the consequences of Learning Analytics use and evaluating system awareness interventions;
- integrating these insights into comprehensive frameworks;
- developing and disseminating toolkits that support the responsible and effective implementation of Learning Analytics in higher education.
5. Research approach
The project uses a mixed-methods approach, including interviews, surveys, workshops, and other research methods. By studying institutions, teachers, and students across different levels of the educational system, we aim to develop an in-depth understanding of the power dynamics that shape responsible Learning Analytics adoption.
Key concepts
- Learning Analytics
- Data-informed education
- Power dynamics
Learning Analytics refers to the collection, analysis, and use of data about learners and their learning environments to better understand and improve learning.
The goal is not simply to collect data, but to generate insights that can support teaching, learning, and educational decision-making.
Data-informed education involves using evidence and data, alongside professional judgement and educational expertise, to guide decisions about teaching and learning.
Data can provide useful information, but it should complement rather than replace teachers’ professional judgement and educational expertise.
Power dynamics refer to the ways decision-making authority and responsibilities are distributed among individuals, groups, and institutions.
In the context of this project, power dynamics refer to how Learning Analytics shapes relationships, responsibilities, and decision-making within educational institutions and between teachers and students.