Drawing on Data, Proposals, or Expertise? Administrators’ Rationales When Allocating Resources

• In Event: Money Matters: Finance, Markets, and Equity in School Choice Systems

Abstract

Equity funding policies allocate additional resources (staff, funding, or further support) to schools serving disadvantaged communities. This might be an effective way to reduce educational inequalities. However, empirical evidence regarding the extent, configurations, and intentions of equity funding schemes is rare, which is particularly true for Germany. Thus, we (1) systematically analyzed equity funding policies in K-12 education in German municipalities and federated states conducting a document analysis and an online survey and (2) explored administrators’ sensemaking processes in four case study municipalities. Our results show considerable differences between municipalities and different attitudes regarding equity funding. Respondents seem to rely on their own expertise to a greater extent than they rely on available data.

Authors

• Denise Demski, Ruhr-Universität Bochum

• Gabriele Bellenberg, Ruhr University Bochum

• Sarah Eiden, Ruhr University Bochum