Program Overview

M Ed on Educational Leadership and School Improvement (ELSI): ELSI6: Leading Data Systems for School Improvement

The M Ed on Educational Leadership and School Improvement (ELSI) program offers a course titled ELSI6: Leading Data Systems for School Improvement. This course focuses on providing educational leaders with advanced knowledge, tools, strategies, and techniques for developing fit-for-purpose data management systems and creating a culture of inquiry and evidence-informed policies and practices.

Course Description

Data is a powerful tool in driving evidence-based decisions and creating sustainable school growth and improvement. This course enables students to collect, analyze, interpret, report, and use multiple and diverse sources of data related to patterns of student learning achievements. Students will also learn how to compare and contrast, on the basis of their analysis of schools' data, learning achievements, trajectories, and trends of different groups of learners and individuals. Additionally, they will identify additional resourcing, staff professional development needs, and the pedagogic implications of their data analysis.

Course Resources

The course resources include:

• Data Analysis for Continuous School Improvement by Victoria Bernhardt
• Practical Statistics for Educators by Ruth Ravid
• Schools and Data: The Educator's Guide for Using Data to Improve Decision Making by Theodore B. Creighton
• Data Analysis with SPSS Software: Data Types, Graphs, and Measurement Tendencies

Weekly Required and Recommended Readings

The course is structured into weekly required and recommended readings, which include:

Week 1

• Required Reading: Bernhardt, V. L. (2018). Data Analysis for Continuous School Improvement (4th ed.). Routledge. (Chapters 1 & 2)
• Recommended Reading: Lasater, K., Albiladi, W. S., Davis, W. S., & Bengtson, E. (2020). The Data Culture Continuum: An Examination of School Data Cultures. Educational Administration Quarterly, (4), 533-569.

Week 2

• Required Reading: Bernhardt, V. L. (2018). Data Analysis for Continuous School Improvement (4th ed.). Routledge. (Chapters 3 & 4)
• Recommended Reading: Sandoval, M., & Messiou, K. (2022). Students as Researchers for Promoting School Improvement and Inclusion: A Review of Studies. International Journal of Inclusive Education, (8), 780-795.

Week 3

• Required Reading: Bernhardt, V. L. (2018). Data Analysis for Continuous School Improvement (4th ed.). Routledge. (Chapters 5 & 6)
• Recommended Reading: Starkey, L., & Eppel, E. (2019). Digital Data in New Zealand Schools: Policy Reform and School Leadership. Educational Management Administration & Leadership, (4), 640-658.

Week 4

• Required Reading: Bernhardt, V. L. (2018). Data Analysis for Continuous School Improvement (4th ed.). Routledge. (Chapters 7 & 8)
• Recommended Reading: Meyers, C. V., & VanGronigen, B. A. (2020). Planning for What? An Analysis of Root Cause Quality and Content in School Improvement Plans. Journal of Educational Administration, 59(4), 437-453.

Week 5

• Required Reading: Ravid, R. (2020). Practical Statistics for Educators (6th ed.). Rowman & Littlefield Publishers. (Chapters 5 & 6)
• Recommended Reading: Creighton, T. B. (2007). Schools and Data: The Educator's Guide for Using Data to Improve Decision Making (2nd ed.). Corwin Press. (Chapters 1, 2, & 3)

Week 6

• Required Reading: Ravid, R. (2020). Practical Statistics for Educators (6th ed.). Rowman & Littlefield Publishers. (Chapters 7 & 8)
• Recommended Reading: Creighton, T. B. (2007). Schools and Data: The Educator's Guide for Using Data to Improve Decision Making (2nd ed.). Corwin Press. (Chapter 4 & 5)

Week 7

• Required Reading: Ravid, R. (2020). Practical Statistics for Educators (6th ed.). Rowman & Littlefield Publishers. (Chapter 9)
• Recommended Reading: Creighton, T. B. (2007). Schools and Data: The Educator's Guide for Using Data to Improve Decision Making (2nd ed.). Corwin Press. (Chapters 6 & 7)

Week 8

• Required Reading: Ravid, R. (2020). Practical Statistics for Educators (6th ed.). Rowman & Littlefield Publishers. (Chapter 10)
• Recommended Reading: Creighton, T. B. (2007). Schools and Data: The Educator's Guide for Using Data to Improve Decision Making (2nd ed.). Corwin Press. (Chapter 8, 9, & 11)

Week 9

• Required Reading: Ravid, R. (2020). Practical Statistics for Educators (6th ed.). Rowman & Littlefield Publishers. (Chapters 11)
• Recommended Reading: Creighton, T. B. (2007). Schools and Data: The Educator's Guide for Using Data to Improve Decision Making (2nd ed.). Corwin Press. (Chapter 11 & 12)

Week 10

• Required Reading: Ravid, R. (2020). Practical Statistics for Educators (6th ed.). Rowman & Littlefield Publishers. (Chapters 15)
• Recommended Reading: Creighton, T. B. (2007). Schools and Data: The Educator's Guide for Using Data to Improve Decision Making (2nd ed.). Corwin Press. (Chapter 13)