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BEYOND THE NUMBERS CHASE:
HOW URBAN HIGH SCHOOL TEACHERS MAKE SENSE OF DATA USE
by
Vicki Park
A Dissertation Presented to the
FACULTY OF THE GRADUATE SCHOOL
UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA
In Partial Fulfillment of the
Requirements for the Degree
DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY
(EDUCATION)
December 2008
Copyright 2008 Vicki Park
Object Description
| Title | Beyond the numbers chase: how urban high school teachers make sense of data use |
| Author | Park, Vicki |
| Author email | vickipar@usc.edu; lattepark@gmail.com |
| Degree | Doctor of Philosophy |
| Document type | Dissertation |
| Degree program | Education (Policy, Planning & Administration) |
| School | Rossier School of Education |
| Date defended/completed | 2008-07-29 |
| Date submitted | 2008 |
| Restricted until | Unrestricted |
| Date published | 2008-09-08 |
| Advisor (committee chair) | Datnow, Amanda |
| Advisor (committee member) |
Astor, Ron Brewer, Dominic |
| Abstract | The growing body of research on data-driven decision making (DDDM) details the implementation and positive results at the district and elementary school levels (Armstrong & Anthes, 2001; Datnow, Park, & Wohlstetter, 2007; Supovitz & Klein, 2003; Togneri & Anderson, 2003). However, theoretically grounded studies of DDDM and the impact of data use in high schools in particular remains limited. This study focused on how urban high school teachers conceptualized data use and how their local contexts shaped their implementation of DDDM.; Using case study research design and drawing on interviews, observations, document reviews and teacher survey methods, I examined how high school teachers in two urban schools perceived and used data for school improvement. To guide instrument design and data analysis, I developed a theoretical framework building on organizational theories and frame analysis, concentrating on how people construct and enact policy messages.; This dissertation presents two major findings on how urban high school teachers make sense of DDDM. First, teachers' sensemaking of DDDM was filtered by how they conceptualized data, their motivations for data use, and the outcomes they expected for using data. From these patterns, a typology of teachers' orientation on DDDM was developed. There were distinctions amongst teachers who view DDDM through an inquiry-centered, solution-centered, bureaucratic-centered, or compliance-centered orientation.; Second, teachers' sensemaking of DDDM was mediated by the accountability, district, and departmental contexts. Policy implementation is ultimately a distributive process where multiple types of contexts play different roles in determining how teachers make sense of data and ultimately, how they use data. The accountability system prioritized the use of data while framing at the district level shaped teachers' construction of DDDM. Departmental structures and norms on sharing data along with the degree of joint work determined the extent to which teachers used data to inform instructional practices. Finally, even when these contextual factors align to promote a robust version of DDDM practices, ignoring teacher learning and professional development will likely lead to a surface level use of data for instructional decision making. |
| Keyword | data-driven decision making; teachers' mediation of reform; policy implementation; high school reform; accountability; frame analysis |
| Geographic subject | educational facilities: Mesa High School; educational facilities: Adams High School |
| Geographic subject (state) | California |
| Language | English |
| Part of collection | University of Southern California dissertations and theses |
| Publisher (of the original version) | University of Southern California |
| Place of publication (of the original version) | Los Angeles, California |
| Publisher (of the digital version) | University of Southern California. Libraries |
| Provenance | Electronically uploaded by the author |
| Type | texts |
| Legacy record ID | usctheses-m1587 |
| Contributing entity | University of Southern California |
| Rights | Park, Vicki |
| Repository name | Libraries, University of Southern California |
| Repository address | Los Angeles, California |
| Repository email | http://www.usc.edu/isd/libraries/services/ask_a_librarian/email/ |
| Filename | etd-Park-2375 |
| Archival file | uscthesesreloadpub_Volume44/etd-Park-2375.pdf |
Description
| Title | Page 1 |
| Contributing entity | University of Southern California |
| Full text | BEYOND THE NUMBERS CHASE: HOW URBAN HIGH SCHOOL TEACHERS MAKE SENSE OF DATA USE by Vicki Park A Dissertation Presented to the FACULTY OF THE GRADUATE SCHOOL UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY (EDUCATION) December 2008 Copyright 2008 Vicki Park |
