Strategic data use in Danish schools: how school leaders navigate different data logics across four organisational arenas

Purpose This article explores how school leaders in primary and lower secondary schools strategically use different types of data to navigate the dual demands of accountability and professional learning. Design/methodology/approach Based on a secondary qualitative cross-case analysis of three case studies across four Danish municipalities, the article examines how 10 school leaders engage with data across four organisational arenas: professional learning communities, leadership team discussions, class reviews and annual reviews with municipal administrators. Findings Our findings show that data use is shaped by the specific logic of each organisational arena. PLCs and leadership team discussions function as reflection arenas: in PLCs, leaders promote broad, situated and dialogue-based data to support teachers’ professional learning, while in leadership team discussions, mixed forms of data are used for strategic sensemaking and organisational direction. Class reviews and annual reviews with municipal administrators function as review arenas: in class reviews, data are used to monitor student progression and initiate intervention, while in annual reviews, comparable quantitative data become central to accountability and the documentation of school quality. This variation illustrates how school leaders navigate competing expectations by adapting their data practices to the purposes and accountability relations of each arena. Practical implications Empirically, the study contributes to leadership and administration research by showing how multiple data logics coexist in practice. Theoretically, it offers a nuanced perspective on how leadership practices are shaped by organisational context and the strategic purposes assigned to data. Originality/value Empirically, the study contributes to educational leadership and administration research by showing how multiple data logics coexist across organisational arenas. Theoretically, it offers a nuanced perspective on data-informed school leadership as a situated practice shaped by organisational context and by the different purposes assigned to data.