“We’ve Tried to Keep the Beast on a Leash”: The Domestication of Digital Classroom Surveillance

Selwyn, N; Cumbo, B

“We’ve Tried to Keep the Beast on a Leash”: The Domestication of Digital Classroom Surveillance

Selwyn, N Cumbo, B

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Publisher:: SURVEILLANCE STUDIES NETWORK
Publication Type:: Journal Article
Citation:: Surveillance and Society, 2024, 22, (2), pp. 88-103
Issue Date:: 2024-06-16

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Field	Value	Language
dc.contributor.author	Selwyn, N
dc.contributor.author	Cumbo, B https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0914-5575
dc.date.accessioned	2025-01-30T23:02:41Z
dc.date.available	2025-01-30T23:02:41Z
dc.date.issued	2024-06-16
dc.identifier.citation	Surveillance and Society, 2024, 22, (2), pp. 88-103
dc.identifier.issn	1477-7487
dc.identifier.issn	1477-7487
dc.identifier.uri	http://hdl.handle.net/10453/184708
dc.description.abstract	Students’ laptops are subject to growing digital forms of surveillance by their schools. Following the theoretical tradition of media “domestication,” this paper examines the incorporation of Student Activity Monitoring Software (SAMS) into the everyday routines of one Australian secondary school. Drawing on two years of fieldwork, the paper details how SAMS was broadly accepted by school staff and students as complementing—rather than challenging— the moral economy of the school. With school leaders keen to increase student surveillance without being seen to diminish teacher professionalism, the paper shows how SAMS was appropriated and objectified in ways that teachers and students perceived as preserving established classroom power relations. At the same time, school leaders could maintain core school values while also projecting an appearance of innovation and being “data-driven.” However, rather than this surveillance system being wholly “tamed,” we also show how SAMS was leading to subtle shifts within the school—not least the surrendering of governance and accountability to the software company, alongside the further entrenchment of “soft surveillance” logics into classrooms.
dc.language	English
dc.publisher	SURVEILLANCE STUDIES NETWORK
dc.relation.ispartof	Surveillance and Society
dc.relation.isbasedon	10.24908/ss.v22i2.15791
dc.rights	info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess
dc.subject	1602 Criminology, 1608 Sociology, 1801 Law
dc.subject.classification	4402 Criminology
dc.subject.classification	4410 Sociology
dc.subject.classification	4701 Communication and media studies
dc.title	“We’ve Tried to Keep the Beast on a Leash”: The Domestication of Digital Classroom Surveillance
dc.type	Journal Article
utslib.citation.volume	22
utslib.for	1602 Criminology
utslib.for	1608 Sociology
utslib.for	1801 Law
pubs.organisational-group	University of Technology Sydney
pubs.organisational-group	University of Technology Sydney/Provost
pubs.organisational-group	University of Technology Sydney/Provost/TD School
utslib.copyright.status	open_access	*
dc.rights.license	This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License (CC BY-NC-ND 4.0). To view a copy of this license, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/
dc.date.updated	2025-01-30T23:02:40Z
pubs.issue	2
pubs.publication-status	Published
pubs.volume	22
utslib.citation.issue	2

Abstract:

Students’ laptops are subject to growing digital forms of surveillance by their schools. Following the theoretical tradition of media “domestication,” this paper examines the incorporation of Student Activity Monitoring Software (SAMS) into the everyday routines of one Australian secondary school. Drawing on two years of fieldwork, the paper details how SAMS was broadly accepted by school staff and students as complementing—rather than challenging— the moral economy of the school. With school leaders keen to increase student surveillance without being seen to diminish teacher professionalism, the paper shows how SAMS was appropriated and objectified in ways that teachers and students perceived as preserving established classroom power relations. At the same time, school leaders could maintain core school values while also projecting an appearance of innovation and being “data-driven.” However, rather than this surveillance system being wholly “tamed,” we also show how SAMS was leading to subtle shifts within the school—not least the surrendering of governance and accountability to the software company, alongside the further entrenchment of “soft surveillance” logics into classrooms.

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http://hdl.handle.net/10453/184708