The effect of school inspections on school improvement

This study uses a school-level longitudinal control-group design to examine how teachers and principals of inspected versus uninspected schools perceive school improvement at their schools. During the phasing in of school inspections in the states of Berlin and Brandenburg (Germany), both inspected and uninspected schools were surveyed with respect to school improvement activities over a 1-year period. The main finding is that principals’ and teachers’ perceptions of school quality were highly stable, irrespective of the introduction of school inspections. The results show school inspections had a comparatively low impact on the aspects of school quality measured here.     

Setting expectations for good education: how Dutch school inspections drive improvement

With decentralisation becoming increasingly widespread across Europe, evaluation and accountability are becoming key issues in ensuring quality provision for all (Altrichter & Maag Merki, 2010; Eurydice, 2004). In Europe, the dominant arrangement for educational accountability is school inspections. The purpose of this research is to identify and analyse the ways in which school inspections in The Netherlands impact on the work of schools. The results of 2 years of survey data of principals and teachers in primary and secondary schools show that inspection primarily drives change indirectly, through encouraging certain developmental processes, rather than through more direct and coercive methods, such as schools reacting to inspection feedback. Specifically, results indicate that school inspections which set clear expectations on what constitutes “good education” for schools and their stakeholders are strong determinants of improvement actions; principals and schools feel pressure to respond to these prompts and improve their education.     

Comparing effects of school inspections in Sweden and Austria

In recent years, school inspections have been newly introduced or adapted to the evidence-based governance logic in many European countries. So far, empirical research on the impact of school inspections has produced inconclusive results. Methodologically, it has mainly focussed on analysis of a national inspection model and used cross-sectional data. In the following paper, we investigate the effects of school inspections in a comparative and longitudinal perspective in Sweden and Austria (province of Styria). In these countries, inspections follow different governance approaches. While Austria represents a low-stakes system which does not link consequences for schools to inspection results, sanctions and even financial penalties are potential consequences of Swedish inspections. To discuss the effects of inspections, we asked principals in three consecutive years about the impact of inspections. Our results indicate that school inspections in Austria and Sweden do have a small to medium impact on school improvement and school effectiveness.     

Instructional and Distributed Self-leadership for School Improvement: Experiences of Schools in the Kavango Region

This article uses the lens of self-leadership to understand the leadership practice of school principals in the Kavango region of Namibia. Self-leadership emphasises the focus on leading the self to enhance one's leadership in the organisation. Self-leadership will always function with other leadership styles; hence, the article uses instructional and distributed leadership styles to understand the possibility of principals having an influence on the improvement of academic quality in schools. This article explores how six secondary school principals in the Kavango region have employed self-leadership styles to improve and sustain the performance of learners. The study adopted a qualitative method that examined the selfleadership of the six school principals in the Kavango region. The data were collected from the six principals and two teachers of each school by using semi-structured interviews. The findings showed that school principals unknowingly employ self-leadership in their schools and in the process use distributed leadership together with instructional leadership to collaborate and share their leadership with teachers.     

THE RELATIONSHIPS BETWEEN SCHOOL INSPECTIONS, SCHOOL CHARACTERISTICS AND SCHOOL IMPROVEMENT

ABSTRACT:  The effects of school inspections on school improvement have been investigated only to a limited degree. The investigation reported on in this article is meant to expand our knowledge base regarding the impact of school inspections on school improvement. The theoretical framework for this research is partly based on the policy theory behind the Dutch Educational School Supervision Act (the latter includes assumptions about how school inspections lead to school improvement). Interviews and a survey with school inspectors gave insight into how school inspectors implement the Supervision Act and how they assess schools, and stimulate schools to improve. The results of ten case studies showed that all schools started to improve after a school visit. The innovation capacity of the school and the school environment do not seem to contribute to school improvement after school inspections. No effects were found on school-improvement processes of the number of insufficient scores that schools received from inspectors, the extent of feedback and suggestions for improvement, and the number of agreements. The provision of feedback about weaknesses, the assessment of these weak points as unsatisfactory, and the agreements between an inspector and the school regarding improvement activities do appear to make a difference in promoting school improvement.     

When duties are not enough: principal leadership and public or private school management in Chile1

The Chilean education system is an emblematic case of school management privatization, with the majority of schools operating under government funding, but private administration. This article addresses the incidence of this dimension on school leadership, showing the differences and continuities established among primary school principals in the subsidized private and municipal sectors. The conclusion is that private school administrators do not recruit principals on a competitive basis, as a result of which these principals do not present a more developed professional profile, and that merely having more duties for executing the principal position – as happens in subsidized private schools – is not enough for an effective development of practices evidencing improved school leadership. These conclusions challenge the statement frequently expressed, but lacking sufficient empirical evidence, that the greater autonomy in school management encompassed by privatization will positively impact on school leadership and, therefore, on educational improvement.     

Large-scale change and survival of school principals in Turkey

ABSTRACT

Turkey possess one of the most vibrant educational systems in the World. This study specifically aims at revealing Turkish school principals’ perceptions about the large-scale changes imposed by the Ministry of Education and the strategies they follow for coping with these changes. The study was designed as a generic qualitative study. Twenty principals from different schools at different levels were identified through snowball sampling and semi-structured interviews were conducted with each of them. The decoupling between change interventions and the needed change, inappropriate change implementation process, the passive role of the school principals in the design phase of change interventions are some of the major challenges that school principals encounter. The passivity of the principals during design phase put them into a state of reluctant activeness to find out resources, create readiness and adopt a mediating role between top authority and the teachers in order to implement the imposed changes.     

From inspection to quality: Ways in which school inspection influences change in schools

Inspection is employed by most European education systems as an instrument for controlling and promoting the quality of schools. Yet there is little research knowledge about how inspection drives the improvement of schools. The study reports on surveys to principals in primary and secondary education in six European countries to attempt to clarify how school inspection impacts on the improvement of schools. Based on an analysis of principals’ perceptions the evidence suggests that inspection primarily drives change indirectly, through encouraging certain developmental processes, rather than through more direct coercive methods. Inspectorates that set clear expectations and standards have an impact on the increased utilization of self-evaluation and on developing the capacity of schools to improve in a variety of ways.     

Implementing Online Counselling in Australian Secondary Schools: What Principals Think

Today’s young people have integrated the online world into their everyday reality and schools have generally accepted the importance of technology in the education process. However, there has been limited use in schools of technology to counsel young people, although early indications suggest that school counsellors may be prepared to offer synchronous online counselling if they were supported by school principals. The aim of this study was to investigate Australian secondary school principals’ views about using an online format for counselling in schools. There were 33 principals who participated and they indicated technological competency and acknowledged the benefits of using technology in the counselling process. The principals were generally supportive of the provision of online school counselling, although their major concern was the need for more counsellors and the impact on the workload of current counselling staff. A few principals, however, were unconvinced about offering online counselling and had a fundamental preference for face-to-face communication experiences for students. Strategies for facilitating the acceptance of online counselling by principals and guiding implementation in schools are proposed.     

加拿大与中国合作办学的管理

自20世纪80年代中期开始,我国实行“对外开放”政策,允许在中国境内创办外国（海外）学校。不列颠哥伦比亚（BE）省是加拿大第一个允许在国外进行合作办学的省份,1995年创办第一所海外学校（在加拿大,所有和教育相关的事务都由各省负责）。这些在国外创办的学校和项目都是私立学校,要同时遵守中国和BC的法律,采用BE的课程、学习目标和教材,以及雇用在BC获得认证的教师和校长。这类学校经过BE教育部的认证,并定期接受检查。加拿大其他省份也纷纷效仿,2007年初加拿大在中国的合作办学机构大约有80所（此时中国约有800所中外合作办学机构）。虽然由于增长的需求,该类学校数量增长迅速,但它们仍处于中国学校体系的边缘。除了目前的经济衰退在短期内会对中外合作办学的需求产生负面影响外,还有一些关键问题,将会长期影响其生存能力。在此将简要讨论其中四个方面．     

Training Teachers to Use Computers in Third World Schools

ABSTRACT

This paper draws on research on the use of computers in Third World schools undertaken with the help of a grant from the Harold Macmillan Trust and the assistance of teachers and others in 23 Third World countries. In it we stress tfft importance of training all staff concerned in the introduction of computers into Third World schools, including the policy makers. We discuss training in the early days of introducing the innovation, and how a training cascade may or may not help. We examine the link between motivation to be trained and the prospect of leading change. We point out the virtues of teachers learning about computers in private and the need for software evaluation criteria for teachers to use. We look briefly at the links between training, the curriculum and assessment and at the training of programmers and technicians. We conclude that policy makers need to share with school principals, teachers, teacher educators and computer education specialists or consultants the task of reframing policy while reliable understanding of the state of the innovation emerges and the innovating group matures as a training resource in its own right     

Principals’ reactions to feedback received by school inspection: A longitudinal study

This article presents the results of a follow-up study on the attitudes of German principals towards receiving feedback from school inspections. In a first study, we explored the attitudes of 50 principals towards feedback from school inspections [Quality Analysis (QA) in North Rhine-Westphalia] before school inspections took place at these schools (Bitan et al., Int J leadersh Educ 18(4):418–439, 2015). In the present study, the change in attitude of 20 of these principals towards the feedback instrument was investigated in a longitudinal study that took place 6 months after the schools had been inspected. Mixed methods were used. The main aim of the study was to assess the principals’ reactions and attitudes toward the feedback given by school inspectors as well as the change in principals’ attitudes after the school inspection and to explore the underlying reasons for their attitudes and reactions. 20 % of the principals changed to a more negative attitude towards the QA after the inspection, whereas 0 % voiced a neutral attitude. 60 % changed to a more positive attitude and 20 % remained positive after the QA. The discussion presents implications for school inspections as a feedback instrument as well as school development.     

Enabling teachers to become pedagogical leaders: case studies of two IDEAS schools in Singapore and Australia

This research paper is about the role of the principal in enabling teacher leadership for pedagogical innovations and school improvement studied in two Innovative Designs for Enhancing Achievements in Schools (IDEAS) schools in Singapore and Australia over a 3-year period from 2005 to 2007. The research reported is based on the developing relationship between principals and teacher leaders as they collaboratively engage in a process of whole school improvement. Both case study schools used the IDEAS school improvement program which originates from the Leadership Research Institute, University of Southern Queensland. The cases trace the facilitation of the IDEAS process in each school and highlights the centrality of teacher leadership in bringing about change in school-wide pedagogy and a process of school re-culturing. It underlines the fact that principals need to support the enabling of leadership among teachers by giving them the space, time and responsibility to make decisions about curriculum work and ensuring that these are aligned with new organizational structures and processes. The paper discusses how the schools were different and yet similar in many ways between the two countries, Singapore and Australia, with regard to the nature of the enabling processes for organizational revitalization and school capacity building. It draws out some implications for school leadership and school improvement.     

对当前中小学教育科研工作的冷思考

随着新课程改革和教师专业化发展的不断深入,中小学教育科研越来越成为引领学校和教育发展的灵魂以及提升教师专业化水平的动力。但在中小学教育科研大力发展的过程中仍存在许多问题,需要教育工作者冷静思考。通过对中小学教育科研的现状、问题以及原因进行深入分析,并提出几点建议和对策,以期抛砖引玉,引起教育工作者更多的思考,从而促进中小学教育科研工作的健康发展。     

How schools train principals to use new teacher evaluation systems: A comparative case study of charter school and traditional public school principals

Over the past decade U.S. policymakers, practitioners, and researchers have sought to examine if changing teacher evaluation policies and systems have resulted in changes in identifying quality teachers and/or increased student achievement. This research generally shows most states have experienced little change in how teachers are rated. Researchers are now exploring why, in many cases, teacher evaluation reforms have failed to produce the desired systematic changes of better identifying quality teachers and better distinguishing teacher performance. Embedded within this line of inquiry is how principals (and other evaluators) are trained to use new teacher evaluation systems. This comparative case study observed six principals (three charter school principals and three traditional public school principals) in the U.S. state of Michigan as they learned and enacted a new teacher evaluation system. Additionally, all principals were interviewed three times throughout the school year, in an effort to examine how their initial teacher evaluation training impacted their evaluation of teachers. The research questions that guided this work were: (1) how are principals initially trained when their school adopts a new teacher evaluation system?; (2) in what ways does the training received by charter school principals compare to that of traditional public school principals?; and (3) how does initial training impact how principals evaluate teachers? Results indicate principals are trained to navigate the logistics of new teacher evaluation systems, but are not trained to evaluate teacher performance. Implications for policy and practice are discussed.     

中小学校长课程领导力构成要素及作用机制研究——基于PLS-SEM的实证研究

校长课程领导力是学校课程发展、教师专业发展与学生素养提升的重要保障。基于校长课程领导力的概念解读与维度分解,研究探讨了校长课程领导力的构成要素以及作用机制。以中小学校长为调研对象,采用描述性统计、PLS-SEM分别进行现状分析与模型检验,探究校长课程意识等对课程领导效能的关系。研究发现:中小学校长的课程规划与管理能力较强,课程意识与课程评估能力则较为薄弱;校长课程管理能力与课程评估能力直接影响课程领导效能,而校长的课程意识会经由六条中介作用路径正向影响课程领导效能。基于以上研究结果,提出了注重校长课程领导力培训的科学精准、加强对校长课程领导情智要素的实证研究、构建基于叙事的校长课程领导力提升机制的建议。     

School improvement through inspections? First empirical insights from Germany

Since the late 1990s, broad discussions on education and educational quality have given impetus to the implementation of many new measures aimed at the improvement of schools in Germany. In this context, school inspections have been introduced in all 16 German federal states during the last 6 years. In the meantime, scientific research into the functioning of this steering instrument has begun. In this article, first empirical findings on the effects of school inspections in Germany are presented by drawing on a survey study with 468 principals of schools in the federal state of North Rhine-Westphalia that were externally evaluated during the years 2005 to 2008. Findings indicate that school inspection results are considered by a large group of stakeholders within schools and that they are discussed in different settings. In many schools, development measures have already been planned and implemented. Moreover, first effects are perceived in different fields. On the whole, findings agree with the results of two thematically related German studies but draw a less heterogeneous picture than the international research context.     

Comparing effects and side effects of different school inspection systems across Europe

In this article, different inspection models are compared in terms of their impact on school improvement and the mechanisms each of these models generates to have such an impact. Our theoretical framework was drawn from the programme theories of six countries’ school inspection systems (i.e. the Netherlands, England, Sweden, Ireland, the province of Styria in Austria and the Czech Republic). We describe how inspection models differ in the scheduling and frequency of visits (using a differentiated or cyclical approach), the evaluation of process and/or output standards, and the consequences of visits, and how these models lead to school improvement through the setting of expectations, the use of performance feedback and actions of the school's stakeholders. These assumptions were tested by means of a survey of principals in primary and secondary schools in these countries (n?=?2239). The data analysis followed a three-step approach: (1) confirmatory factor analyses, (2) path modelling and (3) fitting of multiple-indicator multiple-cause models. The results indicate that Inspectorates of Education that use a differentiated model (in addition to regular visits), in which they evaluate both educational practices and outcomes of schools and publicly report inspection findings of individual schools, are the most effective. These changes seem to be mediated by improvements in the schools’ self-evaluations and the schools' stakeholders’ awareness of the findings in the public inspection reports. However, differentiated inspections also lead to unintended consequences as principals report on narrowing the curriculum and on discouraging teachers from experimenting with new teaching methods.     

A decade of education reform in Thailand: broken promise or impossible dream?

This study addresses the perceived gap between the vision of education reform in Thailand embodied in its Education Reform Law of 1999 and the results of implementation a decade later. Drawing upon opportunistic data obtained from a sample of 162 Thai school principals, we analyze trends in reform implementation across schools in all regions and levels of Thailand’s K-12 education system. The results suggest that a decade following the formal initiation of education reform, changes in teaching and learning, ICT implementation and school management systems have yet to engage the nation’s teachers to a substantial degree. The lack of results is linked to a reform strategy that has emphasized top-down implementation and a cultural predisposition to treat change as an event rather than as a long-term process.     

校长在学校管理创新中的引导作用

本文在梳理了前人关于教育管理理论、创新理论及校长学理论与实践成就的基础上,对基础教育面临的挑战、中学管理的弊端,以及作为校长应如何应对挑战、进行管理创新等问题进行了研究探讨;并对中学管理创新和校长引领作用的模式和方法进行了分析论证.最后形成了既有逻辑分析、实证分析,又有操作案例支持的理论与实践相结合的成果.