The Need for a Broader Understanding of Data under the Professional Standards for Educational Leaders

International Council of Professors of Educational Leadership. Web site: https://www.icpel.org/

Y

15

Data Use; Administrator Effectiveness; Administrator Attitudes; Expectation; Teachers; Standards; Leadership Styles; Accountability; Administrator Role; Decision Making; Principals; Central Office Administrators; Data Collection; Coding; Curriculum; Instruction; Evaluation; Student Needs; Academic Achievement; Communities of Practice; Professional Development

1532-0723

The purpose of this study was to examine administrators' use of data, their perceptions of data, and what their expectations were in terms of teacher use of data. In conjunction with this examination will be a closer look at the new Professional Standards for Educational Leaders (PSEL) to determine the connections as well as the disconnections to the way school leaders currently use data in their everyday practice and the standards of practice called for by the PSEL. A qualitative approach using interviews, focus groups, and document review was used to answer a question about the adequacy of current data-driven decision practices of school leaders in light of the new Professional Standards for Educational Leaders. Findings suggest that the participants in this study used data to inform their practice as it relates to the four PSEL standards focusing on instructional leadership. However, there was little evidence that administrators used data to inform their practice related to the other six PSEL standards related to cultural awareness, organizational culture and climate, and community awareness. As a result, we suggest that the new PSEL standards demand a broader view of data and its use in decision making.

As Provided

2021

EJ1279918