The importance of trust and authenticity among stakeholders involved in higher education data infrastructure redevelopments
An Australian critical discourse study
Written by Elizabeth J. Cook from Edith Cowan University, working paper, 2023.
Abstract
Governments require higher education providers (HEPs) to be transparent in their use of public funds and have developed specialised higher education (HE) data infrastructure to enable data transfer from HEPs to government departments. In 2018, Australia’s Department of Education, Skills and Employment launched Transforming the Collection of Student Information (TCSI) to enhance HE data infrastructure for student data transfer. This critical discourse study explores the discourses, discursive strategies and perspectives surrounding TCSI. Findings included HEP issues and concerns that the interviewees believed were inadequately addressed or ignored despite the Department’s claims of extensive engagement with HEPs to achieve mutually beneficial objectives. This study highlights the importance of trust and authenticity among stakeholders involved in major HE data infrastructure redevelopment projects and is the first known study of its kind in this context. Recommendations for TCSI and similar projects are provided, and broader implications for data infrastructure are discussed.
Keywords: higher education data infrastructures, government collaboration, critical discourse study.
Bio
Elizabeth J. Cook is currently employed as a Senior Analyst, Strategy and Performance at Edith Cowan University in Australia.
Her doctoral research has developed a new relational employability teaching-learning approach for universities.
Elizabeth’s research interests include career development learning, inquiry graphics, sociomateriality, educational futures, student experience and equity in higher education, and higher education institutional research, policy and evaluation.
Citation
Cook, E. J. (2023, January). The importance of trust and authenticity among stakeholders involved in higher education data infrastructure redevelopments: An Australian critical discourse study. (CHERE@LU Working Paper No. 4). https://ro.ecu.edu.au/ecuworks2022-2026/1649/
Also available on ResearchGate and Lancaster University’s Centre for Higher Education Research and Evaluation working papers page (see working paper 4).
About the working paper
I completed this working paper for my first major assessment in the coursework component of the PhD in Higher Education, Research, Evaluation and Enhancement, with the Department of Educational Research, Lancaster University.
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