Centering complexity in ‘educators’ data literacy’ to support future practices in faculty development: a systematic review of the literature

As algorithmic decision-making and data collection become pervasive in higher education, how can educators make sense of the systems that shape life and learning in the twenty-first century? This paper outlines a systematic literature review that investigated gaps in the current framing of data and faculty development, and explores how these gaps prevent the formulation of potential pathways and principles for fostering educators’ data literacy. The analysis of 137 papers through classification by relevant categories and key word mapping shows that there is little attention on higher education teachers. It also makes clear that most approaches to educators’ data literacy address management and technical abilities, with less emphasis on critical, ethical and personal approaches to datafication in education. The authors conceptualize this situation as a ‘complicated’ approach to data literacy in the academic profession, as opposed to a complex vision which would bundle management and technical skills together with a critical, systemic approach to professional learning and data.