A Grounded Study of Higher Education Leaders’ Perspectives on ‘Big Data’

Harvey, David

A Grounded Study of Higher Education Leaders’ Perspectives on ‘Big Data’

dc.contributor.advisor	Winchester, Ian
dc.contributor.advisor	Kowch, Eugene
dc.contributor.advisor	Parsons, Dennis
dc.contributor.author	Harvey, David
dc.contributor.committeemember	Childs, Ruth
dc.contributor.committeemember	Stortz, PJ
dc.date	2022-02
dc.date.accessioned	2022-01-21T16:40:45Z
dc.date.available	2022-01-21T16:40:45Z
dc.date.issued	2022-01
dc.description.abstract	Higher Education (HE) institutions are facing a series of transformative challenges. From the increasingly pervasive use of Internet Communications Technology (ICT) to relative decreasing public investment and learner demographic changes, HE leaders are seeking new ways to improve learning environments and increase cost-effectiveness. ‘Big Data’ is an ICT technology that records and analyses massive sets of complex data to reveal previously hidden correlations linked to organizational performance. While ‘Big Data’ is widely implemented in sectors such as retail and healthcare, adoption in the HE sector is relatively sluggish. The purpose of the study is to develop a conceptual framework that describes and explains the adoption of ‘Big Data’ technology in the Alberta HE sector. A constructivist approach to grounded theory method is utilized to develop the conceptual framework from seven semi-structured interviews with HE leaders employed in a variety of HE institutions in Alberta. The study concludes that the adoption of ‘Big Data’ at HE institutions is impeded by IT governance that prioritizes risk mitigation through deductive reasoning. ‘Big Data’ proposals are not able to meet IT governance requirements. ‘Big Data’ project proposals are unconvincing because they require data collection and analysis before problems and cost-effective solutions are identified. Despite the challenges, HE leaders in the study demonstrate adaptive organizational learning through small scale ‘Big Data’ workarounds. Despite the slow pace to date, ‘Big Data’ adoption is poised to increase as educational technology venders begin integrating capacities in existing products – surmounting current IT governance and risk mitigation challenges. While acknowledging the potential of ‘Big Data’, the study also encourages a strengthening of HE leaders’ ethical understandings, particularly as more advanced predictive and prescriptive analytics emerge and begin to impact learners and other HE stakeholders.	en_US
dc.identifier.citation	Harvey, D. (2022). A grounded study of Higher Education leaders’ perspectives on ‘Big Data’ (Doctoral thesis, University of Calgary, Calgary, Canada). Retrieved from https://prism.ucalgary.ca.	en_US
dc.identifier.doi	http://dx.doi.org/10.11575/PRISM/39531
dc.identifier.uri	http://hdl.handle.net/1880/114316
dc.language.iso	eng	en_US
dc.publisher.faculty	Werklund School of Education	en_US
dc.publisher.institution	University of Calgary	en
dc.rights	University of Calgary graduate students retain copyright ownership and moral rights for their thesis. You may use this material in any way that is permitted by the Copyright Act or through licensing that has been assigned to the document. For uses that are not allowable under copyright legislation or licensing, you are required to seek permission.	en_US
dc.subject	'Big Data'	en_US
dc.subject	'IT Governance'	en_US
dc.subject	'Higher Education'	en_US
dc.subject.classification	Education--Higher	en_US
dc.title	A Grounded Study of Higher Education Leaders’ Perspectives on ‘Big Data’	en_US
dc.type	doctoral thesis	en_US
thesis.degree.discipline	Education Graduate Program – Educational Research	en_US
thesis.degree.grantor	University of Calgary	en_US
thesis.degree.name	Doctor of Education (EdD)	en_US
ucalgary.item.requestcopy	true	en_US