School Leaders’ Data Literacy: A Prerequisite for System Improvement and Just Education

• In Event: AERA Roundtable Session Friday 3:20 pm Four Seasons Ballroom 2-3
  In Roundtable Session: Preparation and Professional Development for Leading School Improvement (Table 1)

Abstract

To level out quality differences, professions typically merge external and internal knowledge and use a supporting infrastructure to synthesize experience-based (internal) knowledge with research and data (external knowledge). When organizing for knowledge-informed school improvement, school leaders need analytical competence and understanding of how to facilitate teachers’ collective professional learning. As research reveals that school leaders’ data literacy is weak, we decided to ask school leaders how they understand analytical competence and perceive their need for support in data analyzes. We discuss how teachers and leaders collaboratively can synthesize knowledge from various sources for continuous professional learning and argue that a supporting infrastructure can strengthen the educational system’s research- and data use, level out and reduce current differences in student achievements.

Authors

• Kristin Børte, University of Bergen

• Sølvi Lillejord, University of Bergen