In this review, I examined the last two decades of research on data use in education to outline the ways in which principals used data to inform their own leadership practices. I found three themes: first, student achievement data were the most widespread form of data that principals used; second, principals' work has been reshaped by teacher…

This study focuses on the impacts of programs designed to develop and support teacher leaders to improve instruction in their schools. Using surveys of teachers in 45 schools in four districts and interview data, we found that the frequency of teachers' work with a teacher leader on professional growth, instructional planning, and…

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…

In the context of digital transformation processes in schools, the introduction of technology is often discussed in terms of the individualization and optimization of teaching, learning and school management. However, it is often neglected that technologies are preconfigured and provide socio-material offers that invite certain actions and thus…

The use of data in schools may contribute to reducing educational and social inequalities. This article seeks to examine the use of data in school intervention programs implemented within vulnerable schools in Chile and the transfer and use of this data by schools. Utilizing an exploratory descriptive multiple case study design. Results indicate…

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…

This study aimed to investigate how data are used to inform instructional leadership practices in three Kuwaiti public schools, in addition to the factors that impact building data-use capacity. This study conducted three qualitative case studies in high-performing public schools. The findings reveal that data usage in the Kuwaiti schools…

The current study explores how principals (n = 568) experience a new teacher evaluation model under Race to the Top. Findings suggest that principals felt the least confident in their ability to identify teacher behaviors associated with student achievement gains and placed the least value on student achievement data. Evaluation experience…