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The Data Culture Continuum: An Examination of School Data Cultures

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to examine teachers and school leaders’ experiences using data in the state of Arkansas. Research Design: Initially, an exploratory pilot study was conducted to examine educators’ experiences using data within one Arkansas district. This involved focus groups with 24 participants from 10 schools. Data were analyzed and used to design the second phase of inquiry. The second phase involved an examination of teachers and leaders’ experiences using data throughout Arkansas. Data were collected using focus groups with teachers and in-depth interviews with building-level leaders (52 participants representing eights schools, seven districts). Data were analyzed using multiple cycles of coding, ongoing dialogic engagement, and constant comparative analysis. Findings: Analysis led to the identification of six “data factors” (i.e., trust and collaboration, purpose of data use, leader expectations and teacher agency, data ownership, leader competency, and data as a tool) which we believed influenced schools’ data cultures. Data factors were used to develop the data culture continuum framework, which suggests that schools create data cultures which exist on a continuum—from positive to negative—and a school’s placement on the continuum is fluid and dependent on its unique combination of positive and negative data factors. Implications for Research and Practice: The data culture continuum provides a framework that can assist school leaders in understanding and implementing data factors that support their schools in developing positive data cultures. It also provides a springboard into future quantitative and qualitative studies related to the framework.