The school effectiveness movement: origins,shortcomings and future possibilities

ABSTRACT

This paper argues that the school effectiveness/school improvement movement has provided an antidote to the pessimism and fatalism of the 1970s. However, it is deficient in four important respects: (1) it places too much emphasis on the notion of progressive school management as the dynamic of change; (2) it fails to take full account of the characteristics of the education system as a whole; (3) it shows little regard for issues of social class; (4) it has little to say about issues of curriculum content and pedagogy.     

Using growth models to monitor school performance: comparing the effect of the metric and the assessment

This paper investigates whether inferences about school performance based on longitudinal models are consistent when different assessments and metrics are used as the basis for analysis. Using norm-referenced (NRT) and standards-based (SBT) assessment results from panel data of a large heterogeneous school district, we examine inferences based on vertically equated scale scores, normal curve equivalents (NCEs), and nonvertically equated scale scores. The results indicate that the effect of the metric depends upon the evaluation objective. NCEs significantly underestimate absolute individual growth, but NCEs and scale scores yield highly correlated (r >.90) school-level results based on mean initial status and growth estimates. SBT and NRT results are highly correlated for status but only moderately correlated for growth. We also find that as few as 30 students per school provide consistent results and that mobility tends to affect inferences based on status but not growth – irrespective of the assessment or metric used.     

The impact of school self-evaluation upon student achievement: a group randomisation study

This paper investigates the impact of three different approaches to establishing School Self Evaluation (SSE) mechanisms upon student achievement. Using group randomisation, four groups of schools were created. Different types of support were provided to the first three groups of schools in order to help them establish SSE mechanisms, whereas no SSE mechanism was established in any of the schools of the fourth group. In the first group, school stakeholders were offered the opportunity to develop their own SSE mechanisms and design their own improvement strategies. The second group followed the same process in designing SSE mechanisms as the first, but before introducing this approach support was offered to the stakeholders in order to address and reduce their concerns about SSE. The third group was asked to develop SSE mechanisms and take decisions for their improvement strategies which were in line with the knowledge base of educational effectiveness research. All three experimental groups had better results than the control group, but the impact of the third approach on student achievement was higher than the impact of the other two approaches to SSE. Implications for research on SSE are drawn.     

Measuring systematic long-term trajectories of school effectiveness improvement

The objective of this study was to identify trajectories of school improvement experienced by Chilean elementary schools over the last decade. Using econometric analysis and controlling for potential confounding factors, we created an index of school performance combining outcome indicators focused on different school dimensions, and estimated the 2002/2010 evolution of school improvement for all Chilean schools with available data. Broadly, we estimated an average increase in the school performance of about 0.19 SD; nevertheless, while 41% of the schools increased their educational performance by at least 0.1 SD, 25% of the schools decreased it during the same period; we also found that improving school effectiveness was more probable among schools with lower student socioeconomic status (SES). Finally, we found that the observed school improvement trajectories tended to be non-linear; thus, we estimated that only 13.4% of the schools improved their performance in a systematic way during the entire decade.     

Negotiating the constraints of schools: environmental education practices within a school district

The purpose of this study was to explore environmental education (EE) practices within elementary and secondary schools. Using complementary mixed-methods (survey and focus groups), we detail these practices in schools (n?=?58) within one school district. Our findings are categorized according to classroom teaching conditions affecting EE, and whole-school perspectives of the supports and resources for EE in these schools. Our analyses reveal that while typical normative teaching and cultural constraints of schools are still evident (e.g. curriculum standards, school-level organization), there are identifiable practices involving administrators and teachers negotiating these challenges due to their personal commitment to schools and the environment. In particular was a provincial environmental certification program called Ecoschools supporting environmental educators’ initiatives at their respective schools. We conclude with a discussion of recommendations based on an interpretation of our findings in relation to the school reform literature on how to enhance EE in schools and propose future research opportunities.     

comparison of three growth modeling techniques in the multilevel analysis of longitudinal academic achievement scores: Latent growth modeling, hierarchical linear modeling, and longitudinal profile analysis via multidimensional scaling

This study introduces three growth modeling techniques: latent growth modeling (LGM), hierarchical linear modeling (HLM), and longitudinal profile analysis via multidimensional scaling (LPAMS). It compares the multilevel growth parameter estimates and potential predictor effects obtained using LGM, HLM, and LPAMS. The purpose of this multilevel growth analysis is to alert applied researchers to selected analytical issues that are required for consideration in decisions to apply one of these three approaches to longitudinal academic achievement studies. The results indicated that there were no significant distinctions on either mean growth parameter estimates or on the effects of potential predictors to growth factors at both the student and school levels. However, the study also produced equivocal findings on the statistical testing of variance and covariance growth parameter estimates. Other practical issues pertaining to the three growth modeling methods are also discussed.     

Rethinking school effectiveness and improvement: a question of paradigms

The purpose of this article is to contribute to progressive school change by developing a more systematic critique of school effectiveness (SE) and school improvement (SI) as paradigms. Diverse examples of paradigms and paradigm change in non-educational fields are used to create a model of paradigms for application to SE and SI, and to explore the implications of their hegemony, their rootedness in a neoliberal policy environment, and their limitations as theories and methodologies of school evaluation and change. The article seeks to identify reasons for the inadequacy of orthodox SI in helping schools face contemporary challenges, including schools serving populations burdened by poverty, and finally identifies some alternative approaches to educational change. The article draws examples from an English context, but with international resonances.     

Executive functioning predicts academic achievement in middle school: A four-year longitudinal study

Executive functioning (EF) is a strong predictor of children's and adolescents' academic performance. Although research indicates that EF can increase during childhood and adolescence, few studies have tracked the effect of EF on academic performance throughout the middle school grades. EF was measured at the end of Grades 6–9 through 21 teachers' and 22 teacher assistants' assessments of 322 adolescents from disadvantaged backgrounds who attended an urban, chartered middle/high school. Assessment of EF was done through the completion of the Behavior Rating Inventory of Executive Function (BRIEF). BRIEF global executive composite scores (GEC) predicted both current and future English/language arts, mathematics, science, social studies, and Spanish annual grade point averages (GPAs). The effect of BRIEF GEC scores often overshadowed the effects of gender, poverty, and having an individual education plan; the other, non–BRIEF-related effects retained slightly more impact among teacher assistant–derived data than teacher-derived data. The strong relationships between BRIEF GEC scores and these GPAs also remained constant over these 4 years: There was little evidence that EF changed over the measured grades or that the relationship between EF and grades itself regularly changed. The findings indicate that EF scores during early middle grades can well predict academic performance in subsequent secondary-school grades. Although methodological constraints may have impeded the abilities of other factors (i.e., poverty) to be significantly related to GPAs, the effects of EF were strong and robust enough to prompt us to recommend its use to guide long-term, academic interventions.     

Researching literacy in context: using video analysis to explore school literacies

This article addresses how methodological approaches relying on video can be included in literacy research to capture changing literacies. In addition to arguing why literacy is best studied in context, we provide empirical examples of how small, head‐mounted video cameras have been used in two different research projects that share a common aim: understanding the complex ways in which literacy is a part of school practices. The complexity of literacy practices taking place in classrooms, where students draw on a number of texts for a variety of purposes and different literacy discourses co‐exist in the same setting, poses a serious challenge for those who wish to study literacy in educational settings. The methodology presented in this article is our attempt to meet this challenge. Our approach relies on using video equipment in innovative ways to capture multiple perspectives, involving research participants in the data collection process and the early stages of analysis, and analysing video data with digital coding software. These methods are combined to obtain a more systematic and detailed insight into the contexts in which literacy takes place.     

A methodological review of statistical methods for handling multilevel non-nested longitudinal data in educational research

As applications of multilevel modelling in educational research increase, researchers realize that multilevel data collected in many educational settings are often not purely nested. The most common multilevel non-nested data structure is one that involves student mobility in longitudinal studies. This article provides a methodological review of three statistical methods for handling student mobility in longitudinal studies: a multilevel approach, a cross-classified approach, and a cross-classified multiple membership approach. The strengths and weaknesses of each approach and the essential differences between the three approaches are discussed. The Early Childhood Longitudinal Study Kindergarten Cohort data are analysed to demonstrate the differences in parameter estimates and statistical inference between the three approaches. Potential applications of the three approaches in educational research and beyond and directions for further methodological investigations are discussed.     

Co-constructing distributed leadership: district and school connections in data-driven decision-making

The purpose of this paper is to examine leadership practices in school systems that are implementing data-driven decision-making employing the theory of distributed leadership. With the advent of No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 (NCLB) in the US, educational leaders are now required to analyse, interpret and use data to make informed decisions in all areas of education, ranging from professional development to student learning. The emphasis on data-driven decision-making practices to bring about improved student outcomes is relatively a new feature of the education reform landscape and thus requires educators to learn and develop new competences. Leadership is one crucial bridge that can support and direct these new learning efforts. Using qualitative data from a case study of four urban school systems, the authors’ findings indicate that: (1) leaders at all levels co-constructed the vision and implementation of productive data-driven decision-making by creating an ethos of learning and continuous improvement rather than one of blame; (2) in order to give data relevance, leaders also distributed decision-making authority in a manner that empowered different staff members to utilise their expertise; and (3) the school systems directed their resources on building human and social capacity mainly by focusing on modelling and knowledge brokering amongst their staff. The paper concludes with a discussion of research and policy implications based on the findings.     

Contextualised self-beliefs in totality: an integrated framework from a longitudinal perspective

The present longitudinal research investigation explored the differential effects of contextualised self-efficacy beliefs (i.e. task, course, global) on the concepts of personal resolve and effective functioning, and two adaptive outcomes, namely: school experience and academic achievement. 291 (141 girls, 150 boys) Year 7 secondary school students participated in the study, which spanned the course of four time points. Subsequent SEM analyses produced the following results, for example: (i) Time 1 task self-efficacy positively influenced Time 2 personal resolve and Time 2 effective functioning, (ii) Time 2 personal resolve positively influenced Time 3 contextualised self-efficacy beliefs, (iii) Time 2 effective functioning positively influenced Time 4 school experience, and Time 4 academic achievement, and (iv) Time 3 task-specific self-efficacy positively influenced Time 4 academic achievement and Time 4 school experience. This evidence, collectively, provides grounding for further research development (e.g. the importance of effective functioning) and educational practices for implementation.     

School placement and classroom participation among children with disabilities in primary school in Norway: a longitudinal study

The purpose of this paper is to address changes in school placement and classroom participation with respect to children with disabilities of primary school age in Norway, as well as examining the factors which explain variation in school placement and classroom participation. School placement refers to whether children with disabilities attend regular school, while classroom participation refers to time spent in regular classrooms at regular schools. The analysis is based on longitudinal data drawn from surveys undertaken in 2003 and 2006, of parents of children with disabilities. Present findings suggest there are no major changes in school placement during primary school years, which is contrary to earlier findings. However, the amount of time children with disability are absent from regular classes does increase significantly as the children become older. Size of municipality population, type of disability and degree of impairment are the main factors which have an impact on school placement. In addition to these, the amount of special education also has an impact on classroom participation. There are small changes in mechanisms that lead children out of both regular schools and classrooms, during their primary school years. However, some of the identified factors strengthen in importance as the children become older. The apparent policy change for older children, from special school placement to an “out of class” practice, is discussed. It could be seen as regular schools’ adaptation to the tension between the prevailing ideology of inclusion and schools’ maintenance of existing practice.     

学区制改革背景下高校思想政治教育人文关怀的实践研究——以温州大学为例

随着我国高校改革的不断推进,许多高校对学生的管理实行学分制,由此产生了班集体功能弱化的缺陷。为了解决这一问题,一些院校探索出"学区制"、"社区制"和"书院制"等新型学生教育管理模式。本文以温州大学为例,将传统的高校思想政治教育中的人文关怀的方法路径、效果同学区制改革背景下进行对比,突出学区制改革的成效;同时提出目前面临的问题,指出了学区制改革对高校思想政治教育人文关怀的实践的相关启示。     

Educational inequality in Colombia: family background,school quality and student achievement in Cartagena

This study examines the effects of family socio‐economic disadvantage and differences in school resources on student achievement in the city of Cartagena, Colombia. Using data from the ICFES and C‐600 national databases, we conduct a multilevel analysis to determine the unique contribution of school‐level factors above and beyond family background. The results from the hierarchical linear models show that while family socio‐economic background significantly affects student achievement, school composition and school resources explain as much as half of the effects of family background. More specifically, the achievement gap in public schools is explained in large part by differential resource allocation and concentration of poor students in public schools, which in turn lowers student achievement.     

Trajectories of math achievement and perceived math competence over high school and postsecondary education: effects of an all-girl curriculum in high school

This study investigated the benefits of all-girls' classroom instruction in math and/or science during Grades 9 and/or 10, within the context of a public co-educational high school. There were 118 participants in this longitudinal investigation: 26 girls in the all-girl classes, as well as 42 girls and 50 boys in the regular co-educational program. A range of pre-existing achievement, background, and psychological characteristics were included as covariates to ensure comparability of the groups. Individual growth curve modeling was used to examine how math achievement and perceived math competence changed over the course of high school and postsecondary education. Change was found to be nonlinear for both constructs (with math achievement starting high, dipping, and then recovering; and with perceived competence doing the opposite). The all-girl intervention appeared to act as a protective mechanism against the temporary decline in math achievement experienced by both co-ed boys and co-ed girls.     

当前我国(大陆)小学社会科研究述评

1992年 ,我国大陆正式启动小学社会课程。随之展开的是各种各样的研究和探索。内容包括 :在小学开设社会科的意义和价值 ;小学社会科的目的、课程性质、课程内容、课程结构 ;小学社会科的教学目标、教学原则、教学模式、教学方法 ;小学社会科的教材研究 ;小学社会科的比较研究以及一些相关学科领域的具体研究等等。总的看来 ,我国大陆小学社会科的研究还相当薄弱 ,尤其是理论方面仍有很多有待深入探讨和澄清的问题 ,历史研究也是一个空白 ,从实际出发的原则还应进一步强化 ,实验探索和经验总结亟需提高质量和水平。     

Education Reform and Reconstruction as a Challenge to Research Genres: Reconsidering School Effectiveness Research and Inclusive Schooling

This project investigates the impact of the dynamic approach to school improvement (DASI) aiming to help schools face and reduce bullying through integrating research on bullying with educational effectiveness research (EER). A network of approximately 15 schools in each participating country (i.e., Belgium, Cyprus, England, Greece, and The Netherlands) received support to use DASI in order to improve the functioning of school factors included in the dynamic model of educational effectiveness which are associated with reduction of bullying. The Revised Olweus Bully/Victim Questionnaire was administered to students of the experimental (n = 1461) and control (n = 1535) group at the beginning and at the end of the intervention. With the use of multilevel modelling techniques, it was found that schools which made use of DASI were able to reduce bullying at a significantly higher level than the schools of the control group. Implications for the development of effective policies and practices in reducing bullying are drawn.