Students' expectations of Learning Analytics across Europe

• Published in: Journal of computer assisted learning 2023-08, Vol.39 (4), p.1325-1338
• Main Authors: Wollny, Sebastian, Di Mitri, Daniele, Jivet, Ioana, Muñoz‐Merino, Pedro, Scheffel, Maren, Schneider, Jan, Tsai, Yi‐Shan, Whitelock‐Wainwright, Alexander, Gašević, Dragan, Drachsler, Hendrik
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Best practice; College Students; Colleges & universities; comparison; Ethical standards; Ethics; Europe; Expectation; Foreign Countries; Goethe, Johann Wolfgang von (1749-1832); Higher education; Higher education institutions; Learning; Learning Analytics; Learning Processes; Mathematical analysis; Modular systems; Privacy; Questionnaires; SELAQ; Services; Student Attitudes; Students; students' expectations; Systems analysis
• ISSN: 0266-4909; 1365-2729
• DOI: 10.1111/jcal.12802

Background Learning Analytics (LA) is an emerging field concerned with measuring, collecting, and analysing data about learners and their contexts to gain insights into learning processes. As the technology of Learning Analytics is evolving, many systems are being implemented. In this context, it is essential to understand stakeholders' expectations of LA across Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) for large‐scale implementations that take their needs into account. Objectives This study aims to contribute to knowledge about individual LA expectations of European higher education students. It may facilitate the strategy of stakeholder buy‐in, the transfer of LA insights across HEIs, and the development of international best practices and guidelines. Methods To this end, the study employs a ‘Student Expectations of Learning Analytics Questionnaire’ (SELAQ) survey of 417 students at the Goethe University Frankfurt (Germany) Based on this data, Multiple Linear Regressions are applied to determine how these students position themselves compared to students from Madrid (Spain), Edinburgh (United Kingdom) and the Netherlands, where SELAQ had already been implemented at HEIs. Results and Conclusions The results show that students' expectations at Goethe University Frankfurt are rather homogeneous regarding ‘LA Ethics and Privacy’ and ‘LA Service Features’. Furthermore, we found that European students generally show a consistent pattern of expectations of LA with a high degree of similarity across the HEIs examined. European HEIs face challenges more similar than anticipated. The HEI experience with implementing LA can be more easily transferred to other HEIs, suggesting standardized LA rather than tailor‐made solutions designed from scratch. Lay Description What is currently known about this topic Implementing Learning Analytics is a promising but challenging task. SELAQ is a questionnaire that can be used to determine students' expectations of Learning Analytics. Several institutions in Europe applied SELAQ to implement Learning Analytics that meet the needs of their students. What this paper adds to this This study applies SELAQ for the first time at a German university and compares the results to studies from the UK, Spain, and the Netherlands. The participating students at the German university show relatively homogeneous expectations of Learning Analytics. The expectations towards Learning Analytics of students across Europe are comparable. The implications o