School Safety and Climate Improvement From a Data-Driven Perspective: Case Studies in Trinidad and Tobago

• In Event: Marriott Roundtable Session 17
  In Roundtable Session: Analytic Technologies and Tools to Support Data Use at System and School Levels

Abstract

School safety and climate (SSC) improvement is a relatively recent approach to improving secondary schools in the Anglophone Caribbean. In this paper we report on a data driven SSC improvement process in four schools in Trinidad and Tobago. We adopt an explicitly data-driven perspective by emphasizing the capture, analysis, visualization, and actioning of knowledge. We argue that a successful data-driven improvement process requires strong participant involvement and sensemaking to generate insight. This process is helped by the use of high-quality data visualizations. We theorize and explore the role of data visualization in sensemaking and motivation. Guided by a philosophy of holistic school quality, we describe the utility of the instruments, data visualization tools, and the improvement actions pursued.

Authors

• Tracey Michelle Lucas, University of the West Indies

• Jerome De Lisle, The University of the West Indies - St. Augustine