From a new institutional theoretical perspective, this article explores school actors' sense-making linked to data-based decision making (DBDM) policy in general and processes of data analysis in particular. The study revealed how actors' interpretation of and response to DBDM pointed to strong and weak couplings between and within the local…

Instructional leadership is a complex dimension, which requires that principals possess expertise in goal setting, leading the instructional program, and creating the conditions for a successful school environment. Effective instructional leaders manage the instructional program by planning, coordinating, and evaluating the work of teachers and…

Because learning from failures is just as important as learning from successes, we used qualitative case study data gathered in the Netherlands and the United States to examine instances in which data teams struggle to contribute to school improvement. Similar factors in both the Dutch and U.S. case hindered the work of the data teams, such as…