<![CDATA[This study examines how school actors construct and justify managerial decisions through evidence, practical consequences, collective deliberation, and institutional values. This qualitative, multi-site case study examined three elementary educational institutions in Samarinda, Indonesia: a public school, a state Islamic elementary school, and a privately managed Islamic elementary school. Researchers collected data over five months through semi-structured interviews with 24 participants, non-participant observations of 14 meetings, and document analysis. The study analyzed data using the Miles, Huberman, and Saldaña framework. The findings reveal five interconnected themes: consequence-based validation, collaborative inquiry cycles, contextual adaptation of national policy, evidence as a warrant for action, and value-bounded pragmatism. These findings show that defensible managerial decisions require observable educational improvements, systematic interpretation of evidence, meaningful participation, and ethical accountability. The study concludes that pragmatic reasoning provides a valuable foundation for responsible educational management. Its proposed Pragmatic Problem-Solving Cycle offers practical implications for strengthening school leadership, data literacy, reflective decision-making, and context-sensitive policy implementation while safeguarding pupils’ welfare and institutional values.]]>
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