What matters in data use: examining equity and data driven decision making in diverse elementary schools

Although political leaders tout contemporary reform strategies such as data driven decision making (DDDM) as being essential for eliminating the achievement gap between black and white student populations, little scholarly attention has focused on the ways DDDM for instructional decision making has been used to address issues of inequality within schools. This thesis explores the ways in which DDDM for instructional decision making (for teaching and learning) can promote or inhibit equitable arrangements for diverse student populations. What has been needed is an organizing framework for school leaders to provide equity focused questions within schools. In the first paper, I explore the utility of the Hodges Persell (1979) framework in creating appropriate equity-focused questions that promote or inhibit equity within diverse elementary schools. In the second paper, I explore features of DDDM processes within two teacher teams to examine whether the teams are responsive to issues of equity. In the third paper, I explore how leaders took up district mandates declaring schools be more equity-focused and more data driven. Collectively, these papers show the importance of understanding how data use and equity shape the educational experience across three elementary schools.

Name thesis:degree_name

Ph.D.

Level thesis:degree_level

Dissertation

Discipline thesis:degree_discipline

Educational Policy Studies

Grantor

University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

Year dc:date

2016

Author dc:creator

• Crenshaw, Hope L

Contributors dc:contributor

• Greene, Jennifer
• Trent, William
• Schwandt, Thomas
• Dixson, Adrienne
• Welton, Anjalé

• Data use
• equity

Statement dc:rights

• Copyright 2016 Hope L. Crenshaw

Language dc:language

en

Handle dc:identifier

http://hdl.handle.net/2142/90725

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:www.ideals.illinois.edu:2142/90725