Googlization(s) of education: intermediary work brokering platform dependence in three national school systems

Abstract

The ‘googlization’ of education is emblematic of the growing power of private tech companies in schools across the globe, challenging education as a public good. While critical scholarship has started unpacking the ideological, pedagogical and economical logics underpinning Google’s digital infrastructure in schools, we have little insight into how googlization unfolds in education systems across the world. This article addresses this by examining the googlization of education across three countries – The US, Australia, and The Netherlands – focusing on the work by new and established intermediary actors which mediate platform power between private tech companies and public education systems. Our findings highlight five different types of intermediary work that broker dependence on Google in schools. The paper concludes by outlining how education researchers and institutions might reclaim public education by intervening in the googlization of education.