From reform to reform: how school reforms are motivated and interrupted – the case of ‘school inspections’ in Germany

ABSTRACT

In this article, we analyse the implementation and change of a specific school reform in Germany using the example of external school evaluation in Lower Saxony: the school inspection. We investigate how and why a newly implemented reform is itself subject to reform shortly afterwards. We begin with a historical background of German school reforms over the last 40 years. Then, we consider school reforms through the lens of organisational theory. Finally, we combine the historical and theoretical perspectives on school reforms placing particular emphasis on more recent developments in external school evaluation. Based on these considerations, we elaborate some theses on reform and routine in schools.     

权力下放、绩效责任与学校自我评估

权力下放与校本管理运动赋予了学校一定的自主权,但权力和责任必须相称.享有一定自主权力的学校,必须承担起学校发展成败和教育品质高低的责任.但有了权力,又具备绩效责任意识的学校并不必然就是一个不断提升自我能力而创造未来的组织,它还必须拥有自我评估、自我完善的机制与能力.赋权、问责与增能的有机结合才是学校转变为学习型组织和实现可持续发展的动力和途径.     

校本研训中课堂教学评价的基本问题

校本研训中的课堂教学评价着眼于教师的专业发展和长远的教学效益提高,评价重点关注教师教的发生情景和教师组织、实施课堂教学的专业素养、专业行为。校本研训中的课堂教学评价以促进学生的有效学习为基准,倡导建立新型的教学评价文化,依据不同的对象、场合,立足整体、立足长远、关注细节、关注多元。     

School self-evaluation instruments and cognitive validity. Do items capture what they intend to?

School self-evaluation (SSE) often makes use of questionnaires in order to sketch a picture of the school. How respondents cognitively process questionnaire items determines the validity of SSE results. Still, one readily assumes that respondents interpret and answer items as intended by the instrument developer (referred to as cognitive validity), but it remains unclear whether they do. This study tested an exemplary SSE instrument by focusing on the extent to which SSE results are cognitively valid, and on the extent to which differences in cognitive validity can be attributed to respondents and/or items. Cognitive interviews with 20 participants made respondents’ answering processes manifest. Results show that, overall, fewer than 50% of respondents’ processes of interpreting and elaborating on items are cognitively valid. Cross-classified multilevel analyses indicate that various hierarchical levels, respondents and items, are significant in explaining differences in cognitive validity, but not for all stages of the answering process.     

英国大学的自我评估：南安普顿大学的院系评估案例评析

英国南安普顿大学的案例展示了一个复杂的院系评估方案从无到有、从计划到实施的完整过程,为我国大学开发和实施院系评估方案提供了一个反思和借鉴的对象。案例研究表明：大学院系评估不宜仓促实施,应该在达成广泛共识的基础上,审慎推进,逐步完善;大学应该充分尊重院系自我评估的权利,因为自我管理和监控是学术组织自治的内在要求,植根于学术自由的理想。因此,对于即将实施大学院系评估的院校而言,基于大学宪章的院系自我评估方案或许是唯一现实的选择。     

教师自我评价的多维透视

教师自我评价是教师评价的重要组成部分,无论从教师的职业特点还是从心理学、教育学理论等角度分析,教师自我评价都是合情合理的,对提高教师素质、提高教学质量起着重要作用。教师在进行自我评价时,应根据不同阶段的需求评价不同的内容,并采用多种评价方法,客观、合理的对自己进行评价,从而促进教师个人价值的实现,推动教师专业发展。     

问责制时代美国学校领导发展的变革

自20世纪90年代以来,美国基础教育改革的重要特征之一就是越来越严格地推行问责制。问责制对美国的学校领导者提出了新的要求和挑战,极大地推动了美国学校领导发展的变革。这些变革主要包括:确立新的学校领导标准;提高入学标准;实施实践性教学策略;建立强有力的实习制度;大力发展在职学习。     

教学案例研讨对中小学教师专业成长的有效性

教师专业成长不仅关涉教师个体的职业发展,而且也是影响基础教育质量的关键因素之一。教学案例研讨以其特有的优势,能有效避免和弥补集体培训、教研活动以及自主探索等传统途径存在的问题和不足,促进教师开展教学反思,加强教师之间的交流与合作,使教师在短时间内积累丰富的教学经验,实现专业知识和技能的全面提高。     

高职院校走内涵式发展道路的个案研究

高职院校走内涵式发展道路,首先必须树立以提高教育教学质量为目标的科学发展观。以此为指导,加强制度建设,建立特色鲜明的高职教育课程体系,工学结合,并建立科学的教育教学质量监控体系,全面促进院校向高品质目标迈进。     

In support of teachers’ learning: specifying and contextualising teacher inquiry as professional practice

Drawing upon research into a case study of teacher inquiry in one school in Queensland, Australia, recent theorising into professional practice, and relevant literature on teachers’ learning, this article reveals the complexity and particularity of teacher inquiry processes in support of teachers’ learning. Specifically, the research reveals how particular actions, dialogue, and relationships collectively constitute a practice of teacher inquiry which seeks to promote substantive teacher-led learning. The research draws upon a group of Year 5 teachers engaged in collective inquiry into their work in what was described as an “Inquiry Cycle” approach in a school in northern Queensland, during a period of support for substantial curriculum reform. The research reveals the Inquiry Cycle approach as characterised by specific actions, dialogue, and relationships – “doings,” “sayings,” and “relatings” – productive of the development of a learning culture focused on significant curriculum reform; overt support for whole-school “explicit” approaches to teachers’ pedagogies; and active/robust critique of data-focused assessment processes. The research reveals necessary texture and detail in support of teachers’ learning, and the specific circumstances and contextual “arrangements” that help constitute this learning.     

森林学校老师培养机制的建立

当前越来越多幼儿园和教育机构开始尝试森林学校这种模式,旨在让孩子重新回归大自然,促进孩子身心全面发展。不过老师的培养问题一直是困扰这个行业发展的关键。目前国内有一些诸如户外自然讲解员、户外自然体验师、研学导师等培训,但更多是一种临时解决方案,没有一个机制的建立,一定程度上会影响整个行业的发展。因此本文主要以广西南宁的户森校园作为研究对象,以教师的持续专业发展为基础,通过案例分析探讨如何建立森林学校老师的培养机制,最后指出做好招聘选拔,以体验、认识、参与、反思、内化、迁移为模型进行培训,定期开展工作坊反馈,通过培养内部培训师引领老师们的学习,从而实现森林学校老师可持续发展的良性循环机制。     

英美大学与中小学合作促进教师专业发展的经验与启示

教师素质的好坏直接影响教育质量的高低,教师教育担负着提高教师素质的重任,可见教师教育改革是教育改革的关键。在20世纪80年代以来的西方新一轮教育改革中,许多国家都将教师培养和培训的改革作为重点。美国的专业发展学校和英国的校本教师培训就是这种改革的产物,它们所反映的面向中小学实际需要的教师教育观,在一定程度上代表了未来教师教育的发展方向。因此,考察英美教师教育改革的经验,能为我国当前的教师教育改革提供有益的启示。     

读书会与学校读书会:对教师专业发展的意义

读书会起源于美国,在瑞典得到蓬勃发展,在我国台湾地区的学校读书会广泛用于治疗性活动以及教师专业发展领域。读书会与学校读书会在组织运作上对组织目标与规范、活动组织与规模、人员分工与经费、活动时间与地点都有相对特殊的要求。与传统教师进修或培训方式相比,学校读书会体现了非正规的终身教育及成人学习理论的特点,是促进教师专业发展的校本教师教育活动,有利于增强教师专业发展的自主性、自愿性与平等性。     

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