Building Data Wisdom and Governance in Schools for Evidence-Informed Educational Improvement

European education systems face growing complexity due to rapid digitalisation, demographic shifts, and evolving labour market demands, yet educational data practices remain highly fragmented across technical, pedagogical, and governance dimensions. The lack of standardised data infrastructures and interoperability limits data access and cross-border comparability, while national variations create inconsistencies that hinder meaningful insights. At the same time, educators often lack the skills and tools to effectively interpret diverse data sources, as existing systems prioritise administrative monitoring over practical classroom application. Current Learning Analytics approaches remain limited in scope, focusing mainly on quantitative data and overlooking qualitative and contextual dimensions of learning. Governance fragmentation and differing national policies further contribute to uneven implementation, compounded by socioeconomic disparities that affect digital access and data literacy, ultimately restricting the potential of data-driven improvements in education.

SCHOOLWISE aims to address these challenges by developing a comprehensive and coherent framework for responsible educational data use in primary and secondary education across Europe. The project will establish an integrated educational data literacy framework to support educators in transforming data into meaningful insights, while also designing ethical governance models aligned with GDPR and the AI Act to ensure responsible and transparent data use. It will promote cross-border data governance policies to enhance harmonisation and collaboration between education systems, alongside building sustainable institutional capacities for ethical data collection and management. Guided by the Data-Information-Knowledge-Wisdom (DIKW) framework and a human-centred approach, SCHOOLWISE seeks to bridge technical, pedagogical, governance, and ethical dimensions, ultimately enabling evidence-based decision-making that improves teaching quality, student outcomes, and educational equity across Europe.

Privanova leads the project’s data protection and ethics compliance efforts, ensuring that all activities align with the highest European standards and evolving regulatory frameworks. Responsible for the Data Management Plan and Ethics Compliance Management, Privanova supports the coordinator in addressing requirements arising from the European Commission’s Ethics Appraisal Process, translating them into clear, actionable steps for all consortium partners. The team works closely with work package and task leaders to proactively identify and mitigate potential ethical, privacy, and data protection risks throughout the project lifecycle. In addition, Privanova establishes and coordinates an independent Ethics Advisory Board (EthAB), composed of external experts, to provide impartial oversight, conduct regular reviews, and offer guidance on ethical and societal implications. Through continuous monitoring, stakeholder collaboration, and the promotion of responsible research and innovation practices, Privanova ensures that the project maintains full compliance while fostering trust, transparency, and accountability across all its activities.