A Survey Of Novice English Teachers’ Data Literacy In Primary And Secondary Schools

The application of big data to education has become an unavoidable trend as the digital era progresses.As a result,teacher data literacy is becoming a prominent topic in the field of teacher professional development.In 2014,teacher data literacy was listed as one of the prerequisites for teacher certification in 19 states in the United States to enhance teachers’ data-driven decision-making abilities.At present,the majority of domestic research on teachers’ data literacy was conducted by questionnaire surveys,with relatively few studies employing a mixed method approach.While the research objects are less subject-specific,there are few studies on the current condition of data literacy of English instructors,and even fewer on the status quo of data literacy for novice English teachers in China.Research questions are as follows:1)What is the status quo of novice English teachers’ data literacy(data knowledge and skills,data-based teaching practice,data-based teaching exploration,and data awareness and ethics)in primary and secondary schools?2)What are the internal and external factors that affect the data literacy of novice English teachers in primary and secondary schools?Based on data-driving decision making theory,hierarchical competence framework of teacher data literacy,and teacher professional development theory,this study comprehensively utilized quantitative and qualitative research methods to respectively conduct a questionnaire survey of 293 primary and secondary school novice English teachers as well as semi-structured interviews with 5 of them.The study found that(1)The overall level of data literacy of novice English teachers in primary and secondary schools is above average and not stable.The level of data awareness and ethics is relatively high and stable,and the data knowledge and data skills are at medium-high level.However,the data teaching practice and inquiry ability are at medium-low level.Although aware of the value of data in teaching,due to the lack of data knowledge and skills,novice English teachers’ data literacy remains on the level of data monitoring,and it is difficult for them to apply and explore data.(2)The study investigates external factors including teaching targets,data literacy training,school policies,and the urban-rural gap,as well as internal factors including teacher age,degree,and gender.Novice English teachers’ data literacy training,teaching age and degree have positive influences on their teachers’ data literacy.The study found that there was a significant difference in the data literacy between novice English teachers who received relevant training and teachers without relevant experience(P<0.05).The study’s enlightenment for the development of novice English teachers’ data literacy was unraveled from the perspectives of the government,schools,and teachers based on the above research findings.Due to the lack of data literacy research in English subjects,the lack of my own research experience and the subjective perspective,the study has limitations.However,the study investigates the status quos of novice English teachers’ data literacy,which can provide references for future research such as the design of data literacy training courses for primary and secondary English teachers,and data literacy development strategies.