This article advances an abolitionist reframing of learning analytics (LA) that explores the benefits of productive disorientation, considers potential harms and care made possible by LA, and suggests the abolitionist imagination as an important educational practice. By applying abolitionist concepts to LA, we propose it may be feasible to open…

When higher education institutions (HEIs) have the potential to collect large amounts of learner data, it is important to consider the spectrum of stakeholders involved with and impacted by the use of learning analytics. This qualitative research study aims to understand the degree of concern with issues of bias and equity in the uses of learner…

Data-driven learning analytics (LA) exploits artificial intelligence, data-mining, and emerging technologies, rapidly expanding the collection and uses of learner data. Considerations of potential harm and ethical implications have not kept pace, raising concerns about ethical and privacy issues (Holstein & Doroudi, 2019; Prinsloo & Slade,…

Educational disparities between traditional and non-traditional student groups in higher distance education can potentially be reduced by alleviating social identity threat and strengthening students' sense of belonging in the academic context. We present a use case of how Learning Analytics and Machine Learning can be applied to develop and…

While learning analytics (LA) has been highlighted as a field aiming to address systemic equity and quality issues within educational systems between and within regions, to date, its adoption is predominantly in the Global North. Since the Society for Learning Analytics Research (SoLAR) aspires to be international in reach and relevance, and to…

Learning Analytics are an academic field with promising usage scenarios for many educational domains. At the same time, learning analytics come with threats such as the amplification of historically grown inequalities. A range of general guidelines for more equity-focused learning analytics have been proposed but fail to provide sufficiently clear…

This paper leverages cluster analysis to provide insight into how traditionally underrepresented learners engage with entry-level massive open online courses (MOOCs) intended to lower the barrier to university enrolment, produced by a major research university in the United States. From an initial sample of 260,239 learners, we cluster analyze a…