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Subjugated learning: caregiver perceptions of literacy, learning, and school

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Abstract

Increased datafication of schooling, a common trend in Australia, the UK, Canada, and the USA, involves the use of standardized testing and its associated systems and practices to achieve high-stakes goals. The purpose of this study, set in an urban, low-income, predominately Black neighborhood in the southeast USA, was to better understand the influence of increased datafication on caregiver perceptions of learning. The qualitative study involved one-on-one semi-structured interviews with caregivers of K-8 public school children. Results show that although children learned many new concepts when examined through the lens of funds of knowledge, these caregivers repeatedly returned to ideas of what counts for schooling as it related to test scores. Implications include how the datafication of schooling devalues the families’ funds of knowledge in their homes.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. University of North Carolina Wilmington, Wilmington, NC, USA

    Laura Szech

  2. Illinois State University, Normal, IL, USA

    Michael Young

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  1. Laura Szech
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  2. Michael Young
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Correspondence to Laura Szech.

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Szech, L., Young, M. Subjugated learning: caregiver perceptions of literacy, learning, and school. AJLL 47, 365–378 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s44020-024-00069-3

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