Using Data for Program Improvement in Teacher Education: A Study of Promising Practices

Autor/inn/en	Davis, Susannah C.; Peck, Charles A.
Titel	Using Data for Program Improvement in Teacher Education: A Study of Promising Practices
Quelle	In: Teachers College Record, 122 (2020) 3, (48 Seiten)Infoseite zur Zeitschrift PDF als Volltext Verfügbarkeit
Sprache	englisch
Dokumenttyp	gedruckt; online; Zeitschriftenaufsatz
ISSN	0161-4681
Schlagwörter	Data Use; Program Improvement; Teacher Education Programs; Educational Policy; School Policy; Educational Practices; College Faculty; School Personnel; Decision Making + Suchen Sie Ihr Suchwort? Politics of education; Bildungspolitik; Schulpolitik; Bildungspraxis; Fakultät; Schulpersonal; Decision-making; Entscheidungsfindung
Abstract	Background/Context: Contemporary accountability policies in teacher education often require that programs systematically use data for program improvement (Council for the Accreditation of Educator Preparation, 2013). However, social science research from multiple fields of human service suggests that the challenges of using data involve much more than creating policies and related information technologies to support collection, archival, and analysis of information about program outcomes. In this study we investigated organizational policies and practices implemented within ten high data-use teacher education programs to support faculty and staff engagement with opportunities to use a variety of data for the purposes of program improvement. Purpose/Objective/Research Question: What organizational tools, policies, and practices are associated with systematic use of data for program improvement in high data-use teacher education programs? Research Design: We used qualitative field research methods to study a set of teacher preparation programs situated in institutions that varied considerably in size, mission, and organizational structure. Using a comparative case-study approach (Ragin, 2007), we hoped to identify a set of practices that were robust across variations in institutional setting and that therefore might be useful to other teacher educators as they attempt to navigate the pressures of current accountability mandates in ways that are consonant with their aspirations for program improvement. Conclusions/Recommendations: Organizational practices associated with high levels of data use in the programs we studied included the allocation of specific times and places to allow thoughtful engagement with opportunities to use data in deliberation of program actions, as well as the integration of these activities into regular organizational routines. Consistent with earlier studies, we found that faculty in these programs more readily and vigorously engaged data-use work organized around local inquiry goals, rather than compliance with external policy mandates or grant expectations. Leadership actions related to establishing local inquiry and program improvement as the primary goal of data-use work appeared to be crucial to motivating faculty and staff to take up opportunities to use data as a resource for learning and program decision-making. (As Provided).
Anmerkungen	Teachers College, Columbia University. P.O. Box 103, 525 West 120th Street, New York, NY 10027. Tel: 212-678-3774; Fax: 212-678-6619; e-mail: tcr@tc.edu; Web site: http://www.tcrecord.org
Erfasst von	ERIC (Education Resources Information Center), Washington, DC
Update	2024/1/01