In recent years the educational policy environment has emphasised data-driven change. This has increased the expectation for school personnel to use statistical information to inform their programs and to improve teaching practices. Such data include system reports of student achievement tests and socio-economic profiles provided to schools by various state education departments’ data services. This paper reports on a pilot study that explored factors affecting Mathematics and English teachers’ intentions to engage with the statistical data their schools receive and to consider these data when making decisions about their teaching practices. It was found that most teachers perceived that such data identify weak students and some teachers (mostly mathematics teachers) thought that they can help to identify curriculum topics that need attention. Most teachers felt that the reports were not easy to understand. Confidence in dealing with statistical data was a problem for many teachers, but especially for English teachers.

Item Type:	Refereed Article
Keywords:	professional statistical literacy, Theory of Planned Behaviour, intentions, statistics education, education system data
Research Division:	Education
Research Group:	Curriculum and pedagogy
Research Field:	Mathematics and numeracy curriculum and pedagogy
Objective Division:	Education and Training
Objective Group:	Teaching and curriculum
Objective Field:	Teacher and instructor development
UTAS Author:	Chick, H (Associate Professor Helen Chick)
ID Code:	79131
Year Published:	2011
Web of Science® Times Cited:	17
Deposited By:	Education
Deposited On:	2012-08-20
Last Modified:	2015-03-05
Downloads:	0