The intersection of school context and teachers’ data use practice: Implications for an integrated approach to capacity building

• Published in: Studies in educational evaluation 2021-06, Vol.69, p.100868, Article 100868
• Main Authors: Abrams, Lisa M., Varier, Divya, Mehdi, Tareque
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Data culture; Data literacy; Data use; Program evaluation; School leadership
• ISSN: 0191-491X; 1879-2529
• DOI: 10.1016/j.stueduc.2020.100868

•Data use PD increased teachers’ data literacy, efficacy, and collaboration skills.•Relational trust and collaboration were associated with data literacy.•Principals emphasized direct and indirect forms of communication.•Principals used routines, procedures, and data requirements to facilitate data use. The current emphasis on data is a powerful force behind educational reform strategies. Administrators and teachers are inundated with data and increased expectations for data-driven practices in an effort to drive school reform. This mixed method study examined teachers’ experiences in a pilot professional development program to enhance data literacy and data use practices among nine grade-level elementary and middle school teacher teams in a single school district. Pre, post and follow-up surveys of the 28 teacher participants revealed promising outcomes of the professional development program. Significant increases in teachers’ reported data literacy, efficacy, and collaboration were evident. The study also examined school-level factors that supported data use practices and data cultures. Interviews with 15 school principals revealed how structural features such as district requirements, school expectations, and established policies and routines influenced teachers’ data use practice. Structural factors facilitating collaboration were associated with instructional goals and improvement cultures.