Elementary and Secondary School Teachers’ Perceptions of Learning Analytics: A Qualitative Approach

Abstract This study focuses on learning analytics from the perspective of elementary and secondary classroom teachers (grades one to nine). The aim is to explore teachers’ perceptions about the use of learning analytics, the challenges and opportunities associated with the tools, and the future of the analytics. The research is based on qualitative data: open-ended responses from 144 teachers. Analysis was conducted using qualitative content analysis and latent class analysis. The results highlight the prominent role of simple drill and practice applications with dashboards and differing teacher perceptions of analytics. Learning analytics helps teachers better understand class learning activities, focus their attention and attain professional development goals. Challenges discussed include the need for new skill development, increased workloads and pedagogical limitations of the current technology. The study shows the necessity for more versatile learning analytic tools with diverse pedagogical practices. It also demonstrates that teachers’ skills must be enhanced to use analytics for pedagogically sound actions.