Paper Number
ECIS2026-1562
Paper Type
CRP
Abstract
We examine how digital management systems reshape emotional and organizational life in early childhood education. Drawing on a longitudinal qualitative study of two childcare centers, we show how platforms introduced to enhance efficiency and safety gradually create data dependency among educators, parents, and administrators. Our analysis identifies three interrelated mechanisms (perceived control and safety, data reassurance dependency, and internalized data-driven surveillance) through which digital systems transform care work into continuous acts of documentation and verification. What begins as a tool for reassurance and coordination evolves into a self-sustaining rhythm of monitoring once digital technologies are in place. These findings contribute to research on datafication, situated and relational data studies by revealing how organizational data practices do not simply support existing trust relations but actively reconstitute them toward the perpetual flow of digital proof.
Recommended Citation
Püchel, Lea and Brandt, Tobias, "When We Cannot Stop The Data Flow: The Emotional Life Of Data In A Children’s Daycare Center" (2026). ECIS 2026 Proceedings. 6.
https://aisel.aisnet.org/ecis2026/datasc_isresearch/datasc_isresearch/6
When We Cannot Stop The Data Flow: The Emotional Life Of Data In A Children’s Daycare Center
We examine how digital management systems reshape emotional and organizational life in early childhood education. Drawing on a longitudinal qualitative study of two childcare centers, we show how platforms introduced to enhance efficiency and safety gradually create data dependency among educators, parents, and administrators. Our analysis identifies three interrelated mechanisms (perceived control and safety, data reassurance dependency, and internalized data-driven surveillance) through which digital systems transform care work into continuous acts of documentation and verification. What begins as a tool for reassurance and coordination evolves into a self-sustaining rhythm of monitoring once digital technologies are in place. These findings contribute to research on datafication, situated and relational data studies by revealing how organizational data practices do not simply support existing trust relations but actively reconstitute them toward the perpetual flow of digital proof.
When commenting on articles, please be friendly, welcoming, respectful and abide by the AIS eLibrary Discussion Thread Code of Conduct posted here.