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Examination of state-level school safety data dashboard characteristics

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DOI:

https://doi.org/10.14507/epaa.32.8559

Keywords:

dashboards, school safety, data use, data visualizations, education dashboards

Abstract

Choices made on data visualizations guide how users make meaning of the information presented. This research investigates design decisions made on 115 state-level dashboards reporting school safety data. Using pre-determined codes drawn from a framework of visualization rhetoric, dashboard characteristics were described and analyzed. Analysis demonstrates that school safety dashboards vary significantly in types of school safety data included as well as how such data are presented. Most dashboards lack specific interpretative text or narration, meaning the messages and stories communicated by dashboards are influenced largely by choices in data included, how it is visually represented, and the interactivity provided to users. The choices craft divergent stories about school safety for dashboard users—including, but not limited to, those that foreground student behavior as the central threat, those that present school practices as problematic, and those that center community creation—which may shape public discourse around school safety. In concert, rhetorical choices reflect different perspectives on safety, students, and schools.

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Author Biographies

Ann Marie Cotman, University of Texas, Austin

Ann Marie Cotman, PhD, is a Post-Doctoral Associate at the University of Texas, Austin. Her research focuses on policy and leadership practices that help make schools safe for all students. Before earning her PhD in school improvement from Texas State University, she was a teacher and leader in a range of school contexts.

F. Chris Curran, University of Florida

F. Chris Curran, PhD, is an Associate Professor and Director of the Education Policy Research Center at the University of Florida. His research focuses on school discipline and safety and improving educational outcomes for historically marginalized groups of students. He was previously a middle school teacher.

Katherine Harris-Walls, University of Florida

Katharine Harris-Walls is a doctoral candidate at the University of Florida. Her research focuses on understanding how capital and opportunity hoarding impact access to resources and opportunities within educational systems. Before beginning her PhD, she was an education policy analyst at the Texas House of Representatives.

Published

2024-10-22

How to Cite

Cotman, A., Curran, F. C., & Harris-Walls, K. (2024). Examination of state-level school safety data dashboard characteristics. Education Policy Analysis Archives, 32. https://doi.org/10.14507/epaa.32.8559

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