Data, Knowledge, Action: The Uses of Data Systems as Auxiliary Tools to Aid Teachers’ Thinking About Children’s Curriculum Experiences and Teacher Practices

The Data, Knowledge, Action (DKA) programme of research begins from the premise that access to and use of quality data can enhance early childhood teachers' practices in multiple ways, including assessment for children's learning, pedagogy and relationships with children's families and evaluation of teacher practice. In our work to date in the DKA research programme, we have worked with teachers in seven New Zealand kindergartens across three projects to explore the use of different data systems and tools intended to help teachers gather information to broaden and deepen their knowledge about their pedagogical practices and children's curriculum experiences and learning. Each project has collected data related to specific aspects of practice and children's learning that teachers inquired into. As part of our work to support teachers' inquiries, we also explored and collected data on teachers' experiences, perceptions and shifts in thinking and practice resulting from their engagement with the data systems and ensuing information. In this chapter, we provide an overview of the DKA research programme and component projects and describe the key tools and systems used to date. The impact on teachers' thinking about both children's curriculum experiences and their own pedagogical practice through use of these tools is examined.