Digital Data at School: Building Data Education Futures with Secondary School Students in Scotland
This report summarises the postgraduate research of Kyra Fong, an MSc Education Futures student at the Edinburgh Futures Institute, conducted with consultation from Data for Children Collaborative. The project centers student voices in discussions about the future of digital data education at school.
Through ‘Digital Data Workshops’, a participatory research approach was used to investigate how Scottish secondary school students experience data collection and digital privacy in their education, and how they would like to learn about these issues in the future. The research found that although students perceive their digital data being collected at school, there is a lack of opportunity and adequate curriculum for them to understand what this means and how this data may be used. Using creative futures-making methods, participants expressed their desires for future data education.
Prepared by the research author, this report presents the research process, findings, and future recommendations for the group of young participants that contributed their experiences and opinions for study. Divided into two sections (Transparency and Action), the report intends to be an accessible and empowering way for participants to see how their voices influenced academic research on data education. The report provides resources and action items for students who wish to continue making an impact in this field.
