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ERIC Number: EJ1254623
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2020-May
Pages: 9
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-1064-4474
EISSN: N/A
Why All Leadership Faculty Should Initiate a Reform of Quantitative Methods Courses
Pogrow, Stanley
Educational Leadership and Administration: Teaching and Program Development, v32 p37-45 May 2020
It is time to reform the quantitative methods courses in leadership programs -- typically, these are statistics courses with arcane statistics textbooks. There is growing evidence that these "rigorous" scientific methods actually mislead practice because the vast majority of practices found to be "effective" or "evidence-based" using these methods do not work in schools -- including those validated by the federal What Works Clearinghouse. Fortunately, there are other quantitative methods that are more intuitive, and more accessible to leaders, leadership students, and leadership faculty -- methods that are more relevant for improving practice and identifying "evidence-based" practices that are likely to actually improve schools. However, those who control the content of quantitative methods courses tend to be those with the most technical expertise in the traditional methods and will oppose any methodological alternatives as being "non-rigorous." The newer quantitative methods will not be emphasized in EdD and Masters programs until all leadership faculty exert greater voice on the content of such courses. A first step is to stop calling quantitative methods courses "Statistics" courses. They should be "Applied Quantitative Methods" courses. This non-technical article (a) outlines the problems with traditional statistics, (b) highlights some of the newer and simpler quantitative methods that are more relevant for improving schools, and (c) describes an alternative textbook as a key resource for transforming the quantitative methods course.
California Association of Professors of Education Administration. Web site: http://www.capea.org
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Descriptive
Education Level: Higher Education; Postsecondary Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A