Abstract
Civil societies may wobble when individuals base decisions on misinformation and disinformation. Patterns of social inequality may persist when people do not understand or question these patterns. In a world filled with data, fostering critical data literacy among youth in grades K-12 may be one of the most important strategies for building democratic and socially just futures.
In this talk, I will propose a definition of critical data literacy that draws from conceptions of statistical literacy and social justice education. I will then discuss two multi-year projects that have been funded by the National Science Foundation to develop high school students’ critical data literacy through classroom-based data investigations of civic and social justice issues. In one study, scaffolded opportunities to interrogate claims about income inequality and immigrants in the U.S. using multivariable person-level census data helped to raise students’ critical consciousness of systemic social inequality and to dispel distorted views of non-dominant groups. In another study, classroom projects in which students examined local civic issues with data helped them to engage in meaningful conversations with local leaders, build stronger agency in civic participation, and develop more nuanced understandings of community processes. I will discuss the promise of the projects’ approaches as well as their challenges.
Josephine Louie
Josephine Louie is a Principal Research Scientist at Education Development Center, in Waltham, Massachusetts. She is the principal investigator of the Strengthening Data Literacy across the Curriculum and WeatherX projects and leads research for the Innovation Pathways to Data Careers project. These efforts have been funded by the National Science Foundation to promote the data literacy of students in middle and high school. She is also the principal investigator of the Data Paths project, a new initiative to promote equitable pathways to data careers in Massachusetts. Previously, she was a research associate and data analyst for the Civil Rights Project at Harvard University and the Harvard Immigration Project. She holds an EdD from the Harvard Graduate School of Education, a Master of City Planning from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and a bachelor’s degree in social studies from Harvard College.
