Is Data-Driven Decision Making At Odds With Moral Decision Making? A Critical Review of School Leaders’ Decision Making In the Era of School Accountability

Abstract

This article provides a critical review of school leaders’ data-driven decision making (DDDM), drawing attention to the potential tension between DDDM and moral decision making. With mounting accountability in education, DDDM has been espoused as one of the core values in school leadership. Making a data-driven decision means that school leaders use data to set goals, identify problems, seek and evaluate options, and choose a course of action; whereas moral decision making is about deciding what is right, just, virtuous, and ethical. The two decisionmaking approaches could be on a collision course if school leaders are situated in an organizational context in which leaders, teachers, and students have competing interests. This article draws upon literature on decision making in multiple disciplines (e.g., psychology, behavioral economics, and cognitive neuroscience) to discuss the potential tension between DDDM and moral decision making. The article concludes with recommendations for school leaders’ decision making.

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