Dr. Radhika Gorur is an Associate Professor in the School of Education at Deakin University, Australia. Her research is in the fields of education and education policy, the sociology of quantification and metrics, and critical data studies. She is interested in how policy ideas are assembled and how they gain influence.
What are you working on right now?
One strand of my research is on data and datafication in education, and on the processes and effects of quantification, particularly on policy and governance. More recently, as data has become increasingly ‘big’ and digital, my focus has turned towards governing by dashboard, digital cultures, and other aspects of sociology of measurement and critical data studies.
The second, related strand is on how the UN’s Sustainable Development Goal 4 (access to quality education for all) is being promoted by international organisations and within national policies and practices – including in India. This has led me in new directions – decolonising data, epistemic injustice, and alternative data and accountability practices – which is what I hope to focus on more in the next few years.
What gets you excited about work?
What is both exciting and terrifying is that the politics and practices of education have serious consequences – both immediate and long term – for individuals and for societies. This makes it very important to recognise one’s research as a political endeavour – even if there is no immediate uptake of one’s research or critique.