Becoming Data Driven: The Influence of Teachers’ Sense of Efficacy on Concerns Related to Data-Driven Decision Making

Abstract

Data-driven decision-making (DDDM) reform has proven to be an effective means for improving student learning. However, little DDDM reform has happened at the classroom level, and little research has explored variables that influence teacher adoption of DDDM. The authors propose a model in which teachers’ sense of efficacy for the skills that support classroom-level DDDM and DDDM anxiety significantly influenced teachers’ DDDM efficacy, which then influenced collaboration concerns that influenced refocusing concerns. The authors used structural equation modeling to analyze data on 537 teachers in order to validate this hypothesized model. Results supported this model and are discussed.