Data use for school self-evaluation – The process, factors, and leadership practices in Estonian schools

Abstract

In many countries, including Estonia, school self-evaluation (SSE) is emphasised when deciding on improvements to enhance teaching and learning. SSE is a data-use process where data from various sources is organised as meaningful information to create knowledge for decisions on actions impacting students’ learning. Therefore that leadership practices are clearly key to successful SSE. This study explored the data-use process, factors and leadership practices in SSE based on the perceptions of the leadership teams in Estonian schools. The findings from the interviews with 12 principals and their teams indicated fragmented implementation of the data use process. Moreover, the process was influenced by the data, data users, and organisational and context factors. Several underutilised leadership practices were identified, such as communicating the goal of SSE or stimulating data use in teacher groups indicating that SSE has not been implemented to its full potential.