Digital solidification: learning analytics, the panopticon, and data coloniality in South African higher education

Learning analytics (LA) in South African higher education, while promising to enhance student support and institutional decision-making, carries significant risks. A critical interpretive synthesis suggests that LA can function as a digital panopticon, converting routine digital activity into "deficit identities" for students, particularly within a context of gross inequality and historical coloniality. This process transforms partial digital traces into durable judgments regarding students' ability, engagement, and future potential.

This analysis highlights the critical need for institutions to scrutinize the ethical and societal implications of technology adoption, particularly in historically unequal environments. It underscores how seemingly beneficial tools like learning analytics can inadvertently perpetuate or exacerbate existing inequalities, impacting human capital development and social mobility.

Learning analytics (LA) is a common feature in modern educational institutions, aiming to improve student support, retention, and decision-making.

Forward consideration, not a verified fact.