Data Gathering Strategies Data Gathering: Recommendations ]
Data on gender are constantly available to schools. In a sense, schools are a perpetual site of research and action in gender. Once schools acknowledge and understand the significance of gender, they are immersed in potential data bases on gender.
While this section makes recommendations on gender data gathering, it is important that schools simultaneously work on developing their understanding of gender and how it impacts on schools' prime business of education. Hence, the recommendations coming from the sections on Interpretive Frameworks and The Little Things That Educate You in Gender are important adjuncts to this section on data gathering.
In looking at their data collection on gender, schools are encouraged to make the most of all the existing sources of information on gender, to link into current school data bases, to tap the knowledge of all the key players and, in addition, to then seek new data where necessary.
What existing school programs can, or do, provide you with data on gender issues?
What existing school procedures can you tap into to link to your gender data gathering?
What school information systems can provide information on gender?
What school or departmental data bases can provide gender specific information on student outcomes?
Can your gender based student outcome information be further broken down according to other variables such as non-English speaking background, Aboriginality, disability?
How accessible are the above-mentioned data bases to all staff?
How are the data maintained and updated?
Focused classroom research ...
Using the broad range of data gathering strategies suggested in this document, check which teachers have collected data on gender?
Get them to share:
What they researched ...
What led them into the particular enquiry ...
What strategies they used ...
What they found out ...
The implications/actions from their findings
Discussion forums ...
Check which group forums individual teachers have used to find out about gender issues in their class or the school.
These might include, for example, parent forums, whole class discussions, focus group discussions, guest speaker forums.
Teachers should recognise that all of these provide valuable information on gender and add to the ongoing accumulation of gender data.
Range of strategies ...
The data gathering examples in this document range from structured questionnaires to informal talks with students. Some are useful in providing quantifiable, others qualitative data.
Discuss the relevance of various strategies within the context of your own school needs.
Data recording ...
Consider your school's data recording procedures.
Check useful ways individual teachers have recorded data. These may vary from the incidental and impressionistic journal approach through to formal recording of student achievement.