The datafication of student engagement and children's digital rights

Abstract

In this commentary paper, I will introduce the concept of engagement data. I define engagement data as the digital metrics, calculations and visualisations that are deemed to give an insight into students’ on-task behaviour, their participation, their perceived capacity to pay attention, or their (technical) interactions with an educational platform. These kinds of data are common in Learning Management Systems and learning content platforms on which schools increasingly rely. The categories of engagement data discussed in this paper include time spent on-task, task completion, contribution, and biometric data. Besides conceptualising engagement data, this paper invites both scholars and educators to reflect critically on the datafication of engagement. I will argue that engagement data only offer a limited, quantified idea of student engagement and that this has far-reaching implications for children's digital rights. Children's behavioural data is harvested without their explicit consent or knowledge. These engagement data then become prescriptive constructs used for monitoring and accountability purposes, ignoring children's voice in relation to their own (dis)engagement.