The effects of the use of a school self-evaluation instrument

School quality care has become important in many Western countries. A number of self-evaluation instruments have been developed in response. The goal of these instruments is improving the quality of education. One such system, ZEBO, was developed for performing quality assessment in Dutch primary schools. The use of this self-evaluation instrument was studied in 79 primary schools in The Netherlands over a period of 5 years. The results of the multilevel analyses with repeated measures show that the use of the self-evaluation results had no effect on pupil achievement scores (so far). However, it did have other effects, for example, an impact on the professional development of teachers.     

Improving the quality of education through self-evaluation in Dutch secondary schools

In countries with a governance structure in which responsibility for the quality of education is shared between government and school boards, the past decades school self-evaluation has been stimulated as a way to encourage continuous quality improvement. However, working on the goals of quality assurance and school improvement at the same time is a challenge in general. To make a valuable contribution to both goals, the self-evaluation effort has to be of sufficient quality itself. In this article, we present a research-based framework for school self-evaluation (SSE) composed of both content and process factors that allows to evaluate the quality of self-evaluation in schools. We then used this model to evaluate the experiences in a comprehensive self-evaluation project that has been designed and used to help Dutch secondary schools promote the quality of student care. Our sample encompassed 79 Dutch secondary schools involved in this project. The findings show that the quality of SSE depends on the quality of the instruments (content) and process factors. However, to make a valuable contribution to school improvement and thereby the quality of education in The Netherlands more attention is needed for a balance between internal and external supervision and the role of school managers in the process of SSE.For future research more insight is needed in the challenges of meeting the content and process conditions of school self-evaluations, the governance and supervision issue at the level of schoolboards, the competence of change management in schools and the effects of SSE on the quality of education.     

Using value-added data for school self-evaluation: a case study of practice in inner-city schools

This study demonstrates how value-added research undertaken at the local education authority (LEA) is used directly by heads and teachers in their efforts to raise standards in schools. It draws on a decade of experience of supporting schools in the effective use of performance data for school self-improvement. The article highlights the various approaches of feeding back research findings to schools, including illustrations of contextual and value-added information, and examples of working with schools to support school self-evaluation. This is followed by detailed discussions of key issues raised during the training sessions on the use of performance data and analysis of the views of headteachers, teachers and governors about the performance data feedback to schools. The main findings from this research suggest that schools use performance data and research findings effectively for school improvement purposes. Reasons for this success story in the LEA's schools are critically discussed. The article concludes that research which addresses headteachers, classroom teachers, governors and policy makers' concerns, as is the case with this study, is likely to attract their attention and be used for raising standards.     

Enhancing school HIV and AIDS strategic plan through expanded stakeholder involvement

Abstract

This article focuses on the need for expanded stakeholder involvement as a means of enhancing the Botswana Department of Secondary Education (DSE) HIV and AIDS strategic plan. Research has indicated that the effects of HIV and AIDS on the supply of and demand for education are considerable. Using a questionnaire and interviews, the research has established that the current DSE HIV and AIDS strategic plan lacks comprehensive strategies for preventing HIV spread in schools. Furthermore, the study has shown that there is limited external stakeholder involvement. The study, therefore, has explored how greater success could be realized. The study has concluded that the strategic plan can be improved through expanded external stakeholder involvement at all the stages of the strategic plan. In order to enhance the DSE strategic plan, a stakeholder involvement model is presented.     

Irish teachers,starting on a journey of data use for school self-evaluation

With much of the literature on school self-evaluation (SSE) stressing the importance of data use, this article explores how teachers in Irish post-primary schools are coming to terms with this new challenge. Since 2012, all schools in Ireland are required to engage in SSE for the purpose of improving student outcomes. For the first time, teachers and school leaders are being asked to systematically gather and analyse various types of data, devise improvement plans and implement improvements. Despite such demands, the compulsory education system in Ireland operates within a low-stakes accountability environment, with an absence of published school league tables and no consequences for poor school performance. It is also interesting to explore the introduction of a school improvement process that requires data as evidence for self-evaluation, but where very little data currently exists compared to other jurisdictions and where the discourse of data use in schools is relatively new.This article outlines the experience of 13 post-primary schools that were supported by the DCU Centre for Evaluation, Quality and Inspection to complete an SSE process, during which, each school gathered and analysed a range of data. This study is part of a larger action research project which explores various aspects of the implementation of SSE in schools, including models of support and continuing professional development for schools. This article looks specifically at the use of data by the schools involved. The key research questions ask: what data was gathered by the schools and what was the attitude to and experience of data-use among teachers? In doing so, this article explores some of the current research questions in relation to data use in schools. Overall, the findings indicate that schools gathered a range of data, which was mainly quantitative due to a focus on quantitative target setting. Despite a generally positive attitude to the usefulness of data and the skills learned, participants did not appear convinced that they would be involved in data use on an ongoing basis.     

Examining the relationship between teacher organizational commitment and school health in Turkish primary schools

The purpose of this study was to examine the relationships between teachers' perceptions of organizational commitment and school health in Turkish primary schools. The Organizational Commitment Scale and the Organizational Health Inventory were used to gather data from 323 randomly selected teachers employed in 20 primary schools in Ankara. Results indicated that teacher compliance commitment was negatively related to both identification and internalization. Three dimensions of school health, institutional integrity, principal professional leadership, and morale, negatively predicted teacher commitment based on compliance. However, teacher internalization commitment was positively predicted by these 3 health dimensions. Professional leadership was the only school health dimension that was significant in predicting identification commitment. Two other dimensions of school health, academic emphasis and resource support, were not significant predictors of the commitment factors. Results of the study are discussed in relation to developing the organizational health of schools and improving the organizational commitment of teachers.     

Drivers for student and parent voice in school self-evaluation activities: A cross-country analysis of Flanders (Belgium), Ireland and Portugal

School self-evaluation (SSE) has become a key strategy in terms of safeguarding educational quality. In order to reach its full potential, it is argued that parents and students should be given a role in an SSE process, as they can help understand the complex environment in which schools operate. However, little is known about how different education systems include parent and student voice in SSE activities, and what driving factors at the individual, system and organisational level can foster this. This study reports on an international survey among school management team members in Flanders (Belgium), Ireland and Portugal. The results show statistically significant differences between countries in terms of parent and student voice in SSE. In particular, driving factors at the system and organisational level are found to explain differences in parent and student voice inclusion in SSE. The paper discusses the implications for researchers, policymakers, and the field of practice.     

Critical facilitators: External supports for self-evaluation and improvement in schools

This paper explores approaches used to support schools to engage in self-evaluation for the purpose of improvement. General models of support are outlined which emphasise evaluation capacity building however the usefulness of this approach is questioned. Instead the role of the critical friend as a provider of external professional support is explored. An approach which emphasises facilitation and the engagement of an external professional to lead self-evaluation processes in schools is suggested with a view to making the process ‘easier’ and more ‘useful’. Research in relation to such an approach carried out in a range of educational contexts is presented. Implementation issues which will have relevance for schools, and for self-evaluation policy and practice in other jurisdictions are outlined.     

Towards an operationalized and effective school self-evaluation system: An ongoing action research study in Chinese secondary schools since 2011

School self-evaluation (SSE) is an effective mechanism that helps schools to put in place strategies to improve an aspect of school quality. By implementing an action research study of SSE in 24 Chinese secondary schools across seven cities since 2011, the present study generalizes and proposes an operationalized and effective SSE system to illustrate how to operationalize SSE effectively. The system was developed in three essential parts: (a) constructing the measurement model of SSE, which included identifying the framework and indicators to determine the primary evaluation contents, and designing operational evaluation modules to apply SSE indicators to school practices and integrate them into routine school operations; (b) establishing a cooperation mechanism between internal SSE groups and external “facilitative friends” to conduct SSE with different roles allocated; and (c) summarizing detailed implementation procedures and key strategies to implement a cyclical, regular and sustainable SSE process step by step.     

Exploring bilingualism in a monolingual school system: insights from Turkish and native students from Belgian schools

A growing body of empirical studies indicates the educational benefits of bilingualism. Despite this tendency, bilingual minority students are being pressured by school authorities to shed their mother tongues. We conducted qualitative interviews with Turkish‐bilingual and native‐monolingual students in Flemish (Belgium) secondary schools to investigate how students evaluate their languages, how Dutch monolingualism is imposed, and how students respond to the dominance of monolingualism. Our results indicate that the mother tongues of bilingual students are mainly perceived as a barrier to educational and occupational success, while the benefits of bilingualism are unknown. Thus, both Turkish‐bilingual and native‐monolingual students approved of speaking one language. We also found that monolingualism was strongly imposed on students by explicit encouragement, formal punishment when bilinguals speak their mother tongue, and exclusion of foreign languages from the cultural repertoire of the school. These results are discussed as they relate to policy‐makers, scholars of bilingualism and institutional racism.     

The missing voice of culturally relevant teachers in school restructuring

This article addresses the role of exemplary teachers of students of color in educational reform. Using an ethnographic study of two urban junior high schools in the beginning stages of restructuring, I describe threeculturally relevant teachers who create empowering educational experiences for low-achieving African American students. Despite their exemplary practice and their enthusiasm for educational change, thewisdom of practice of these teachers was largely discounted in the restructuring process. They were marginalized by ideological and political contexts which suppressed racial issues and advocacy for African American students and which supported a deficit model of low-achieving African American students. Restructuring fostered little examination of policies, practices, and beliefs which tended to marginalize African American students. This research suggests that professional dialogue and collaboration are mediated by teachers' ideologies and by relations of power in schools and communities. If exemplary teachers of children of color are to influence educational change, reformers need to legitimize their knowledge and sponsor their leadership. Also, reforms that benefit marginalized children of color may require the mobilization and participation of parents and communities of color as well as their teacher-advocates. Even though I'm not doing the Mentoring and Counseling Program any more, I can't reject them. They know I care about them. They know when you're not pretending. You don't turn off realness. Paulette I find them where they are. I say, “You've told stories. When you say, ‘The way I see it,’ that's point of view.” I just do it like that. When kids believe you think they can learn, they will. Samuel We have to challenge these students. When we don't give them an opportunity, we're taking something away from them. Helen     

高等职业教育校企合作办学模式研究

目前高等职业教育校企合作尚处于浅层次水平。其制约因素包括政策因素、体制因素和观念因素。要促进校企合作向纵深发展，应考虑校企合作的纵深发展及校企双方承担的责任与义务，同时还要建立起合作办学的激励、调控、保障和评价机制。     

The interactive attribution of school success in multi-ethnic schools

The study shows how explanations for school success are expressed and dialogically constructed during teacher–parent conferences at school. Attribution theory is used to conceptualize the various explanations for school success that were expressed. However, instead of only looking at attributions as beliefs which individuals or groups ‘have’, the aim of this study is to show how attributions are part of co-constructed processes in which multiple partners impact upon each other’s attributions over the course of a conversation. The results indicated that in the conversations between teachers and minority parents, school performance is more often attributed to effort while in conversations with majority parents, psychological attributions were more common. Besides these differences in content, the process through which these accounts were constructed was different. While the diagnosis on what went wrong was more commonly constructed in case of the conversations with majority parents, they were more characterised by opposition or a passive position by the parent in case of the conversations with minority parents. The analyses show that instead of a simple mismatch between explanations of the home and the school, these explanations are interactionally co-constructed as both parents and teachers necessarily ‘re’-act on each other’s claims and understanding of school success. The results ultimately reveal how the interactive process impacted upon the construction of the attributions and the possibilities this creates for partnerships between parents and teachers to create an understanding of the child’s academic potential across home and school.     

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.     

Incidence of violence in Turkish schools: A review

The present article deals with the incidence of violence cases inTurkish schools. A review of research based on published research reports andunpublished M.Sc. and Ph.D. dissertations is presented and basic lines of researchare discussed. Special emphasis was placed upon culturally specific issues,besides the culturally determined attitudes of parents and teachers. The need for anationwide system for the prevention of violence and corporal punishment wasemphasized.     

Predictors of e-democracy applicability in Turkish K-12 schools

Education and Information Technologies - Today, the COVID-19 pandemic has paved the way for a more democratic climate in K-12 schools. Administrators and teachers have had to seek out new ways...     

The politics of student voice: unravelling the multiple discourses articulated in schools

For almost two decades student voice has been used and enacted in educational settings for a range of purposes. Student voice theorists have framed it in sociocultural, social constructionist and poststructural terms. It has been located in a range of schooling discourses and there have been powerful critiques of instrumentalist uses of student voice. It has been reified for its potential to leverage schooling reform, associated with accountability, governmentality and technologies of control, and also heralded as a process to activate radical collegiality in educational settings. This article investigates how school leaders from Aotearoa/New Zealand discursively locate the complex and contested construct of student voice in their schooling settings. Drawing data from principal interviews, discourses inherent in school leader comments are analysed to consider the contribution of student voice. A consideration is provided of how young people are ascribed positions as agents in contemporary Aotearoa schools.