Evaluating the data-driven decision making process in school management according to the views of the administrators

Schools have a lot of data that they can use to make improvements in educational activities and the functioning of the school. Literature has revealed that scientific research on the use of data in Turkey is limited. Further investigation of data-based decision-making is seen as important to make data use more effective. The aim of this research is to examine data-based decision-making in schools. For this purpose, the resources, structures and processes necessary for data-based decision making were examined and the factors affecting data-based decision and the implications for development were investigated. A convergent parallel pattern was preferred in the research using a mixed model, in which quantitative and qualitative methods were performed simultaneously. The universe of this study is composed of school administrators who work in primary, secondary and high school level schools in the Onikişubat and Dulkadiroğlu central districts of Kahramanmaraş province. For the quantitative part of the study, the number of school administrators was small, so there was no way to get a sample, and for the qualitative part, participants were determined by maximum diversity and sampling criteria. In the qualitative part of the research, semi-structured interview forms were designed for school administrators, and for the quantitative part, a four-dimensional "data-based decision scale in schools" was developed, consisting of technological infrastructure and equipment, data use culture, data use purpose and data literacy. The qualitative part of the research was first analyzed by descriptive and then content analysis, and appropriate statistical tests were used for the quantitative part. As a result of the study, it was determined that school administrators for data use had a positive attitude in their professional lives, but that data-based decision-making in schools was not considered to be a conscious, adequate and qualified process. The results obtained in the quantitative section of the research can be summarized as follows: school administrators believe that data literacy levels are high, while the technological infrastructure of the systems in which the data is located is not sufficient. According to the results obtained within the scope of demographic variables, it was observed that while the gender of managers, graduate education and the type of school in which he served are not a determining factor for the perception of decision-making based on data, professional seniority is a determining factor. According to the results obtained in the qualitative part of the research, the data is understood as numerical value to the vast majority. In the input data used in the school, it was observed that the students demographic data were mentioned the most, in the process data, guidance studies were mentioned the most, and in the output data, student performance data were mentioned the most. Data is used for student gains and classroom creation in educational activities; budget creation in school development; and informing parents for accountability. The data-driven decision making process consists of five stages: data collection, parsing and editing, analysis, interpretation and action. Data is most often collected from existing systems, edited because they are in a scattered state, analyzed by some administrators, and received by others in the form of reports that are already analyzed in the system. After that, it is discussed at board meetings and the decisions taken are implemented. Factors affecting data-based decision-making in schools; data completeness, accessibility, quality and availability characteristics; organizational characteristics of the school such as Culture, time, support and leadership; the attitude of educators towards the use of data and the level of literacy; the practices of the Ministry of education and provincial and district organizations have been identified as political factors. Administrators have proposed reporting all data and providing feedback for the school, providing data literacy training, making the modules more functional and adopting legislation to make decisions based on data. Findings of this research; can offer opportunities such as increasing the level of achievement of the purpose of Education, making more accurate interventions in the problems they face, and ensuring stability in practice to the policy makers and school administrators, the ministry.