Educational Change and Data Thesis Paper

As a selected educational leader, you met the other members of the mayor’s task force at the first meeting. Joining you are other educational and community experts with specialized expertise in early childhood education, special education, business, and technology.

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This week, Mayor Keller’s task force gathered to review the data report collected by each member and to discuss how to advance educational and community change to better serve early childhood and K–12 students in Grand City. You and the task force analyzed community demographics, student achievement, and various other data sets to target areas needing improvement and/or change.

At the conclusion of the first meeting, to start the change process, Mayor Keller has asked each member of the task force to explain what educational change means to you and how data can serve as a foundational source for not only educational change, but as social change in the community.

For this Assignment, you will explore your philosophies related to educational change and data as a foundational source for educational and community change.

To prepare:

Review the Fullan (2016) chapters for this module reviewing the history and context of calls for change in education. Fullan states that it takes “considerable energy” to implement change (2016, p. 37). What will be required of the stakeholders in Grand City to come together to enact change in education programs and the community? Think about what educational change means to you and how you work or have worked to make that change in your professional practice.
Review the Gonzalez-Sancho & Vincent-Lacrin (2016) and Mandinach et al. (2015) articles regarding data collection in education. Think about your own beliefs about data as foundational sources for implementing change.
Conduct a search to locate resources related to how your state (or locality) and/or program collects and uses student data. How does your state’s (or locale’s) and/or program’s processes compare to your own philosophy on the use of data?
Review and reflect on Walden University’s mission and vision. What does it mean to be an agent of educational change in your professional field?
Review and save a copy of the Walden APA Paper Template linked in the Learning Resources as well as other resources in the Writing Center.

Note: All Assignments in this course require the use of the APA Paper Template.

For this Assignment, and for all subsequent Assignments, use the Walden University APA Course Paper Template linked in this module’s Learning Resources.

Write a 2- to 3-page paper that explains:

Your philosophy as to what educational change is, how education and community leaders can work together to enact such change, and how you can become an agent of change in your specialization. Be sure to relate your philosophy to Walden’s mission and vision.
Your philosophy about the use of data as foundational sources for initiating, planning, and implementing on-going change in both educational programs and communities
How student/child data are collected and used in your state (or locale) and/or your program, such as your daycare center, district, school, community organization, or other institution. Support your response with specific reference to resources provided by your state (or locale) and/or program.
How your state’s (or locale’s) process for data collection compares to or aligns with your philosophy regarding the use of data

For this Assignment, and all scholarly writing in this course and throughout your program, you will be required to use APA style and provide reference citations.

Learning Resources

Note: To access this module’s required library resources, please click on the link to the Course Readings List, found in the Course Materials section of your Syllabus.

REQUIRED READINGS

Fullan, M. (2016). The new meaning of educational change (5th ed.). New York, NY: Teachers College Press.

Chapter 1, “A Brief History of Educational Change” (pp. 3–17)
Chapter 2, “The Meaning of Educational Change” (pp. 18–38)

Gonzalez-Sancho, C., & Vincent-Lancrin, S. (2016). Transforming education by using a new generation of information systems. Policy Futures in Education, 14(6), 1-18. doi: 10.1177/1478210316649287

Mandinach, E. B., Parton, B., Gummer, E.S., & Anderson, R. (2015). Ethical and appropriate data use requires data literacy. Phi Delta Kappan, 96(5), 25-27. doi: 10.1177/0031721715569465

Hargreaves, A., & Fullan, M. (2013). The power of professional capital. Learning Forward, 34(3), 36–39. Retrieved from http://www.michaelfullan.ca/wp-content/uploads/2013/08/JSD-Power-of-Professional-Capital.pdf

Walden University. (2017b). Who we are. Retrieved from https://www.waldenu.edu/about/who-we-are

Review this site for information on Walden University’s mission and vision and its focus on social change.

Walden University (n.d.). APA course paper template (APA 7th ed.). Retrieved February 2, 2016, from http://academicguides.waldenu.edu/writingcenter/templates/general

REQUIRED MEDIA

Grand City Community

Walden University has created a simulated community known as Grand City. This community is being used in various other courses, as well as this one. The community consists of several locations that will be useful in completing some of the assignments in this course. When you use a resource within the Grand City community in this course, instructions will be provided pertaining to which location and resource you are to view. The community may be viewed at the link provided in the citation.

Go to the Grand City Community and click into City Hall to view the following for this module:

OPTIONAL RESOURCES

Meyer-Looze, C. L. (2015). Creating a cycle of continuous improvement through instructional rounds. International Journal of Educational Leadership Preparation, 10(1), 29–45.

Roberts-Holmes, G., & Bradbury, A. (2016). The datafication of early years education and its impact upon pedagogy. Improving Schools, 1–10. doi:10.1177/1365480216651519