{"title":"Data-based decision making in developing countries: balancing accountability measures and improvement efforts","authors":"K. Schildkamp, C. Poortman, P. Sahlberg","doi":"10.1108/JPCC-07-2019-037","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1108/JPCC-07-2019-037","url":null,"abstract":"Research has shown that data use can lead to increased student achievement (Carlson et al., 2011; Lai, et al., 2009; Poortman and Schildkamp, 2016; Van Geel et al., 2016). At the same time, more and more data have become available to schools and teachers. Education authorities are increasingly expected to make use of data (e.g., national assessment data, international large-scale assessments) in decision-making regarding education policy and reforms. School leaders and teachers have more data available from classrooms and schools through observations and surveys that they can take into account in individual and collective professional judgment regarding teaching. This is often referred to as data-based decision making, data use for short. This involves the systematic collection, analysis, and interpretation of multiple data sources, such as assessment results and classroom observations, to improve education (Schildkamp and Kuiper, 2010).","PeriodicalId":44790,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Professional Capital and Community","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":3.8,"publicationDate":"2019-07-08","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://sci-hub-pdf.com/10.1108/JPCC-07-2019-037","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"44580995","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"教育学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Monitoring and data use in developing countries","authors":"D. Eddy-Spicer, M. Ehren, M. Bangpan","doi":"10.1108/JPCC-11-2018-0028","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1108/JPCC-11-2018-0028","url":null,"abstract":"\u0000Purpose\u0000The collection and dissemination of standardized performance information about students, teachers, schools and school systems offer potentially important tools for school accountability and resource allocation as well as school improvement in developing countries. However, performance monitoring systems in developing countries are in many cases copied from those in high-income countries without a clear understanding of their functioning in contexts of limited resources and capacity for change. The purpose of this paper is to examine the conditions under which and the mechanisms through which system-wide performance monitoring affects school-level organization and processes in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs).\u0000\u0000\u0000Design/methodology/approach\u0000The review employs realist synthesis because of the complexity and dynamism of conditions in LMICs, the wide variability in available literature and the aim of explaining how particular organizational outcomes arise, given particular conditions. The authors draw on findings from a systematic review of 22 studies and reports, published since 2001, related to the implementation of performance monitoring.\u0000\u0000\u0000Findings\u0000The findings highlight key barriers to the use of data to inform school accountability and improvement. Capacity to collect, interpret and use data is an important condition to both effective external accountability as well as improvement of schools.\u0000\u0000\u0000Originality/value\u0000The review uses realist approaches to building middle-level theories to help scholars, educational advisers, policy makers and educational leaders understand the causal processes that result in certain outcomes from monitoring activities and to identify the conditions that are necessary for those processes to have the desired outcomes.\u0000","PeriodicalId":44790,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Professional Capital and Community","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":3.8,"publicationDate":"2019-07-08","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://sci-hub-pdf.com/10.1108/JPCC-11-2018-0028","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"46976200","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"教育学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Data-based decision making in primary schools in Ethiopia","authors":"A. Y. Ahmed","doi":"10.1108/JPCC-11-2018-0031","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1108/JPCC-11-2018-0031","url":null,"abstract":"\u0000Purpose\u0000The Ethiopian educational system has witnessed considerable structural and curricular changes aimed to address access, equity and relevance. At the same time, there are serious concerns about educational quality as a consequence of these changes. Data use can be an important approach for changing the planning, execution, monitoring and evaluation of activities having the purpose of improving teaching and learning. The purpose of this paper is, therefore, to investigate data use in primary education in Ethiopia.\u0000\u0000\u0000Design/methodology/approach\u0000Using a mixed methods approach, surveys and semi-structured interviews were conducted to collect data from a cluster random sample of eight primary schools representing four different levels of effectiveness in implementing a mandated school improvement program in Ethiopia.\u0000\u0000\u0000Findings\u0000The availability of wider ranges of input, process, outcome and context data per se does not ensure actual use. A complex combination of data, user and organizational factors influences data use in schools, with organizational factors appearing to be most influential. Unrealistic accountability pressures and lack of targeted supervision support seemed to cause unintended data use, such as abuse of data.\u0000\u0000\u0000Practical implications\u0000Schools need more systematic professional development in data use, with explicit attention to school leadership. Moreover, it is important to make educational inspection processes more responsive to the demands of the school improvement process by adding aspects of the school improvement tradition, such as data-based decision making.\u0000\u0000\u0000Originality/value\u0000This study contributes to understanding of the nature, characteristics and processes of data use in a developing country context, in which competing accountability mandates often shape policy and practice.\u0000","PeriodicalId":44790,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Professional Capital and Community","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":3.8,"publicationDate":"2019-07-08","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://sci-hub-pdf.com/10.1108/JPCC-11-2018-0031","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"43679163","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"教育学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Study on data use in Indonesian primary schools","authors":"Ikhsan Abdusyakur, C. Poortman","doi":"10.1108/JPCC-11-2018-0029","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1108/JPCC-11-2018-0029","url":null,"abstract":"\u0000Purpose\u0000Many studies have underlined data use for school improvement. However, these are mainly based on developed countries; studies on data use are still lacking on developing countries. The purpose of this paper is to investigate data use in Indonesian primary schools. This study is based on a conceptual framework focusing on kinds of data, purposes of data use and factors promoting or hindering data use in schools.\u0000\u0000\u0000Design/methodology/approach\u0000The authors employed a mixed-method research design, with a total of 194 teachers and 28 heads of schools from 60 schools participating in the survey. Based on the survey analysis, six schools were purposively sampled for a multiple-case study approach.\u0000\u0000\u0000Findings\u0000The results show that Indonesian primary schools have similar kinds of data available and most data are used for accountability purposes only. These findings might be explained by the government trying to counter-balance the schools’ autonomy, so that the focus of data use seems to be more on accountability than on school development and instructional purposes. The results also reveal that the factors had a different influence for each data use purpose: high data use schools provided insight into promoting factors, while the low data user schools provided an understanding of hindering factors.\u0000\u0000\u0000Originality/value\u0000This study makes a scientific contribution by offering understanding of data use in a different context. Indonesia has become decentralized in most state functions, including education. Therefore, this study can be used as a guideline for future studies of data use in other developing countries context in supporting the decentralization of educational systems.\u0000","PeriodicalId":44790,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Professional Capital and Community","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":3.8,"publicationDate":"2019-07-08","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://sci-hub-pdf.com/10.1108/JPCC-11-2018-0029","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"44446046","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"教育学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Data-based decision making in developing countries: the influence of system and culture","authors":"J. Voogt, J. Pieters","doi":"10.1108/JPCC-03-2019-0007","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1108/JPCC-03-2019-0007","url":null,"abstract":"\u0000Purpose\u0000This contribution to the special issue integrates findings addressed by the other papers. In order to structure the insights delivered by the studies and to address the perspectives with the objectives of the special issue, the purpose of this paper is to identify two major components: system characteristics and culture.\u0000\u0000\u0000Design/methodology/approach\u0000These are discussed and subsequently the studies are positioned according to this framework.\u0000\u0000\u0000Findings\u0000The authors further discuss elements involved in increasing the power of clients of the educational system, needs for capacity building, and the need for horizontal and vertical accountability.\u0000\u0000\u0000Originality/value\u0000Discussion paper to a special issue on data-based decision making.\u0000","PeriodicalId":44790,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Professional Capital and Community","volume":"341 1-2","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":3.8,"publicationDate":"2019-07-08","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://sci-hub-pdf.com/10.1108/JPCC-03-2019-0007","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"41286652","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"教育学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Affordances and constraints of communities of practice to promote bilingual schooling","authors":"M. Scanlan, Min-Seong Kim, L. Ludlow","doi":"10.1108/JPCC-01-2018-0003","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1108/JPCC-01-2018-0003","url":null,"abstract":"PurposeAs the demographic landscape in the USA becomes more culturally and linguistically diverse (CLD), schools must build educators’ professional knowledge and skills to better serve students whose mother tongues are not English. The purpose of this paper is to report on the formation of a network of schools collaboratively transforming their approaches to teaching and learning in order to meet the educational needs of this changing student population.Design/methodology/approachTo determine how relational networks in this network affect the learning of educators to implement the bilingual education model, the authors drew from three data sources: a social network survey, semi-structured interviews and archival documents.FindingsThe schools in this study are engaged in a dramatic restructuring, moving from monolingual English schools to a network of two-way immersion bilingual schools. The evidence from this study revealed different information sharing structures within the relational networks. The authors found organizational structures of interactive spaces and teams supporting the relational networks that created communities of practice, and these communities of practice fostering all three aspects of profession capital (human, social and decisional).Research limitations/implicationsThe analysis points toward the complicated nature of organizational learning within networks of schools. While some relational networks were strong, the authors also note gaps and disconnections in the network interactions, despite the structures promoting connectivity. Hence, this study sheds light on both the power and the limitation of networked learning within and across school striving to improve the teaching and learning for CLD students.Originality/valueThis original analysis lays the foundation for future investigations of networked learning.","PeriodicalId":44790,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Professional Capital and Community","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":3.8,"publicationDate":"2019-04-15","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://sci-hub-pdf.com/10.1108/JPCC-01-2018-0003","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"45466334","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"教育学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Deliberating change","authors":"Marie Lockton","doi":"10.1108/JPCC-06-2018-0018","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1108/JPCC-06-2018-0018","url":null,"abstract":"PurposeHow teachers collectively address conflicting beliefs about reforms and come to privilege some over others is critically important in understanding instructional change and stability. The paper aims to discuss this issue.Design/methodology/approachDrawing on in-depth qualitative data gathered in interviews and observations of teachers’ formal collaboration time, this study focuses on teacher dialogue to examine the voicing and debate of teachers’ beliefs about reform efforts in their schools. Specifically, in two urban middle schools engaged in math instructional reforms, what are the conditions of teachers’ collaboration time that shape their dialogue about the feasibility of these reforms?FindingsThe findings reveal that the beliefs teachers voice vary widely depending on the topic of conversation. Teachers’ conversations about student achievement data and tracking elicited doubts about the possibility of instructional change, and conversations about other forms of student data and instructional strategies elicited a wider range of beliefs. Further, opportunities to meet with trusted colleagues as well as with wider groups provide teachers with different, but both useful experiences in exploring their own conflicting beliefs.Practical implicationsAvenues for shifting institutionalized beliefs about instruction in schools that have struggled to embrace equitable instructional practices for struggling students are discussed, along with implications for future research.Originality/valueThere is considerable research highlighting the characteristics of productive collaboration, but this paper provides a deeper understanding of the way teachers collectively negotiate beliefs about instructional changes in schools struggling to meet that mark.","PeriodicalId":44790,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Professional Capital and Community","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":3.8,"publicationDate":"2019-04-15","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://sci-hub-pdf.com/10.1108/JPCC-06-2018-0018","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"44379966","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"教育学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Data use in Kenyan secondary schools","authors":"E. Omoso, K. Schildkamp, J. Pieters","doi":"10.1108/JPCC-11-2018-0027","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1108/JPCC-11-2018-0027","url":null,"abstract":"\u0000Purpose\u0000The purpose of this paper is to explore the data available and their use by Kenyan secondary school teachers and head teachers.\u0000\u0000\u0000Design/methodology/approach\u0000Using a qualitative case study design, this study utilised interviews and documentary evidence to explore the data available and their use within Kenyan schools.\u0000\u0000\u0000Findings\u0000The data available in Kenyan schools were similar except for context data which had slight variations between schools. Head teachers mainly used school-level data to monitor school functioning, plan and develop school-level policies which mainly focused on school and curriculum improvement but little on teacher improvement. Teacher improvement attempts were mostly via benchmarking. The results also show that Kenyan head teachers hide inspection reports from teachers and that some head teachers used data creatively than others. For example, one head teacher used data to start a feeding programme to support economically disadvantaged students. Teachers, however, mostly used classroom-level data to plan lessons and monitor students’ progress.\u0000\u0000\u0000Research limitations/implications\u0000The study results may be used for data use comparative studies between developing and developed countries.\u0000\u0000\u0000Practical implications\u0000Based on the findings, data use training is needed to help Kenyan schools use data to improve teachers and teaching.\u0000\u0000\u0000Originality/value\u0000Accountability and data use are at the centre of many school improvement efforts the world over. The last two decades, for example, show pressure on schools to account for the resources invested and for the education they provide to children mainly in the form of data. Regrettably, studies pay little attention to data use in schools within developing countries such as Kenya.\u0000","PeriodicalId":44790,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Professional Capital and Community","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":3.8,"publicationDate":"2019-03-26","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://sci-hub-pdf.com/10.1108/JPCC-11-2018-0027","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"46671595","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"教育学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Softening the hierarchy: the role of student agency in building learning organisations","authors":"S. Hill","doi":"10.1108/JPCC-07-2018-0019","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1108/JPCC-07-2018-0019","url":null,"abstract":"\u0000Purpose\u0000The purpose of this paper is to explore the role of student agency in building learning organisations (LOs) based on a case study of a student learning community (SLC) model that incorporates learning-centred dialogue between students and teachers.\u0000\u0000\u0000Design/methodology/approach\u0000The case study adopted a multi-phase design involving multiple perspectives. Data were collected using questionnaires and semi-structured interviews following student and teacher involvement in two classroom events and subsequent dialogic encounters.\u0000\u0000\u0000Findings\u0000Key insights emerged demonstrating the value of the SLC model in creating conditions that support LOs by enabling pedagogical spaces where students and teachers learn together, as well as the need for this model to encompass marginal voices and negotiate alternative approaches to accountability.\u0000\u0000\u0000Research limitations/implications\u0000This small-scale case study was based on a purposive sample of 10 teachers and 14 students from a single school setting in England. Therefore, there are limitations in generalising results to other contexts. Furthermore, the use of self-report measures to examine this case limits analysis of the case study conditions.\u0000\u0000\u0000Practical implications\u0000The investigation provides insight into the implementation of this model through a consideration of teacher–student relationships, guidelines for dialogic encounters, training in student-led lessons and observations, as well as factors concerning the inclusivity and authenticity of this approach.\u0000\u0000\u0000Originality/value\u0000Growing interest in student agency emphasises the importance of further investigation into initiatives aiming to develop meaningful student involvement. This paper provides new perspectives on the insights generated by the SLC model in order to support the development of student agency models in other schools.\u0000","PeriodicalId":44790,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Professional Capital and Community","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":3.8,"publicationDate":"2019-02-19","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://sci-hub-pdf.com/10.1108/JPCC-07-2018-0019","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"49254073","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"教育学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
S. Anderson, Caroline Manion, M. Drinkwater, R. Chande, Wesley Galt
{"title":"Looking for learning in teacher learning networks in Kenya","authors":"S. Anderson, Caroline Manion, M. Drinkwater, R. Chande, Wesley Galt","doi":"10.1108/JPCC-07-2018-0020","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1108/JPCC-07-2018-0020","url":null,"abstract":"\u0000Purpose\u0000The purpose of this paper is to review the findings from a study of teacher professional learning networks in Kenya. Specific areas of focus included network participation, network activities, network leadership, and professional impact on network members and their schools.\u0000\u0000\u0000Design/methodology/approach\u0000The research was grounded in the literature on education networks and teacher learning. The research employed a qualitative design and was implemented from September 2015–March 2017, including three two-week field trips to Kenya. Data included network records, 83 personal interviews, 4 focus group interviews, 19 observations of network meetings, and classroom observation of network and non-network teachers in 12 schools.\u0000\u0000\u0000Findings\u0000Network participation had positive effects on teachers’ sense of professionalism and commitment to teaching and on their attitudes toward ongoing professional learning and improvement in student learning. Teachers also highlighted network benefits for learning to use new teaching strategies and materials, responding to student misbehavior and misunderstanding, and lesson preparation.\u0000\u0000\u0000Research limitations/implications\u0000Research constraints did not permit longitudinal investigation of network activities and outcomes.\u0000\u0000\u0000Practical implications\u0000The paper identifies challenges and potential focuses for strengthening the learning potential of network activities, network leadership, and the links between network activity and school improvement.\u0000\u0000\u0000Originality/value\u0000Prior research has investigated education networks mostly in North American and similar high income settings. This paper highlights the benefits and challenges for networks as a strategy for continuous teacher development in a low income low resource capacity context.\u0000","PeriodicalId":44790,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Professional Capital and Community","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":3.8,"publicationDate":"2019-02-13","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://sci-hub-pdf.com/10.1108/JPCC-07-2018-0020","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"42562241","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"教育学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}