Dive Brief:
- Research on student information systems is severely lacking, according to eSchool News, but the University of Kansas' William G. Staples would like to change that now that he is the recipient of a Spencer Foundation grant.
- The sociologist, professor, and director of the KU's Surveillance Studies Research Center wants to better understand how such systems are being used with student interest in mind.
- Staples says many of the systems claim to build better communication and trust in schools, and he wants to find out if that is actually the case or just slick marketing.
Dive Insight:
Coming from outside the K-12 education world gives Staples the opportunity to take a fresh look at the topic. His background is in sociology and he only learned about student information systems when he began to focus on surveillance studies.
Staples points to Pearson as an example of a company with a SIS claiming to benefit schools socially, but lacking research or data proving this to be true. With that in mind, it's important to note that Pearson is currently looking to sell its PowerSchool SIS right now.