The promise and the ‘dark side’ of platform capitalism in higher education: the use of platforms in university performance management systems

Le séminaire "Enseignement supérieur et recherche" a pour objectif de permettre la présentation et la discussion de recherches menées en France, mais aussi en Europe et dans d'autres régions du monde, sur l'enseignement supérieur et la recherche.

Le 17 novembre de 12h30 à 14h, Liudvika Leišytė, Professor of Higher Education, Deputy Director of the Center for Higher Education (zhb), Faculty of Management and Economics, TU Dortmund University fera une présentation intitulée :

The promise and the ‘dark side’ of platform capitalism in higher education: the use of platforms in university performance management systems

Résumé :

Digitalization of higher education sector has been accelerated by the COVID-19 pandemic, aided by the usage of a variety of online platforms. The increased usage of digital platforms, however, is a rather new phenomenon in higher education systems and deeply understudied. While some authors point to the positive effects that platform services bring to higher education, others warn that higher education’s public stature, principles and values may be eroded by the EdTech industry. It is argued that EdTech companies are ‘designed not only to reduce public investments in education but also to provide potentially lucrative domains for capital, including the EdTech industry’ (Mirrless & Alvi, 2020, p. x- xi).

In this talk, I aim to characterize the usage of platforms in performance management systems, drawing on the ongoing data collection from the Dutch higher education system, that is quite advanced in terms of the digitalization of higher education. I build on the notion on platform capitalism (Cottom, 2020, Srnicek, 2017) to understand the types of platforms that are used in performance management in higher education, characterize the adoption of their products in higher education institutions and reflect on the transformation of performance management processes using digital footprints of users.

Drawing on national digital audit reports from the public sector, website analysis as well as interviews with the users of the platforms at Dutch universities, I will discuss the platform promises as well as reflect on the dubious implications for personal data protection and the emerging ‘dark’ side of platform capitalism in higher education.

Ce séminaire s'adresse et est ouvert à tous les experts, praticiens, chercheurs, enseignants-chercheurs, doctorants, intéressés par ces questions. Cette année, le séminaire prendra la forme d'un webinaire de 12h30 à 14h.

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Voir le programme du séminaire pour l'année 2022/2023

Contacts : Jérôme Aust ; Christine Musselin.