The role of a data coach in supporting data use in school teams: voices of experts and practitioners

Abstract

A data coach is necessary to support school teams in the use of data to adjust school and classroom practices (Marsh, 2010; 2012). Research shows that depending on the context of the school, the profile of the data coach can take many different forms (Decabooter et al., in preparation). In this study a multifaceted perspective on the role of a data coach is presented by interviewing international academic experts in the field of data use and conducting focus groups with practitioners such as school leaders, teachers and educational support staff. The focus is on the perceived benefits and pitfalls of the different data coach profiles and how they contribute to supporting data use. The results show that experts highlight the importance of coaching skills of a data coach, whereas practitioners prefer a hands-on and practical approach. There are also some similarities between these two groups regarding the combination of an internal-external position.