Abstract
Despite the growing influence of data-based technologies on our lives – often described as the ‘datafication’ of society – citizens’ knowledge of how digital and data technologies function and affect their lives remains limited. Calls for more and better education about data(fication) have been increasing and scholars have even posited educational responses as the “most plausible and successful strategy to combat the challenges of datafication” (Pangrazio and Sefton-Green 2020, pp.212). Yet, despite various new conceptual suggestions for data literacies, a “more complete theorisation” of critical data literacy is lacking (ibid., p.208).
This study addressed this gap by developing a framework for critical datafication literacy that is grounded in theoretical and empirical research. The framework draws upon existing critical data literacies, an in-depth analysis of three well-established educational approaches – media literacy, the German “(politische) Bildung” and Freirean “critical pedagogy” – and empirical research on online educational resources about datafication. The talk will present key findings of the research and outline the process of developing the theoretically and empirically grounded framework for critical datafication literacy.
Ina Sander
Dr. Ina Sander works as a research fellow at the Helmut-Schmidt-University in Hamburg. Her research is located in the field of Critical Data Studies and examines how data systems transform our societies and how citizens can be empowered through critical education about datafication. From 2019, she conducted her doctoral research at the Data Justice Lab at Cardiff University in Wales, completing her PhD in 2023. She is also the co-founder and co-coordinator of the ‘Critical Big Data and Algorithmic Literacy Network’, and a former research fellow at the Center for Advanced Internet Studies, Bochum, Germany.
