Parents as ‘data bridges’: Platformisation and emerging educational inequities in early childhood education and care

Digital technologies are increasingly embedded within the governance of early childhood education and care. Governments and providers now rely on digital platforms to administer funding, verify eligibility, communicate with families, manage enrolment and document children's learning. While these developments are frequently presented as improving efficiency and access, their implications for educational equity remain underexamined. This commentary argues that the platformisation of the governance of early childhood education and care may create new forms of educational inequality by shifting administrative labour onto families. Drawing on scholarship on administrative burden and platform governance, the article introduces the concept of parents as data bridges. Data-bridge parents undertake the informational and administrative work required to transfer, verify and reconcile information across multiple digital systems that lack direct interoperability. Using examples from England's childcare funding system and emerging digital governance reforms in South Korea, the commentary illustrates how parents increasingly act as human intermediaries linking government, provider and commercial platforms. The article argues that participation in early childhood education and care is becoming shaped not only by the availability and affordability of provision, but also by families’ capacity to navigate complex digital infrastructures. Differences in digital access, literacy, language proficiency, confidence and available time may therefore influence families’ ability to access and benefit from early childhood education and care services. Digital inclusion should consequently be understood as an educational equity issue. Policymakers should evaluate the digital systems in early childhood education and care not only in terms of efficiency, but also in relation to the administrative burdens they impose on families.