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3. Effective school improvement requires whole school processes aiming to enhance the quality of instruction in classrooms. Individual teachers can never promote lasting changes in the school. The school organisation may add or subtract value to that of its individual members. 4. Schools with little team collaboration might expect to find a large variation in the performance of pupils. However, in a well-led and managed school there is likely to be less variation and greater consistency across the school. This results in the “school effect” - adding value to that of individual teachers 5. However, in most countries studied, the school, as an organisation does not currently play a major role in effective school improvement. 6. Most current practice seems to target teachers as important for influencing effective school improvements. However: • Teachers tend to work independently, perhaps without a school plan of common goals and methods. • Inspectors assess only teachers not the schools. • Teachers are placed centrally at schools, which might reduce their involvement in school improvement. • The principal's main function is administration rather than fostering educational leadership and may be elected for a short time period thus reducing their central role in managing school reform. 7. However, in some countries there is evidence to point to the importance of the school as an organisation: • Use is made of effective school knowledge - by making schools accountable for inspection results that are published in newspapers and the Internet. • The development of schools as “learning organisations” is fostered by, example, peer coaching, team staff development and schools receiving earmarked funds for staff development. 8. Schools do need some form of external pressure from the educational context to start improving. Four types of pressure were distinguished: • Market mechanisms - competition between schools - leading to consumers (parents) being better informed about the schools' quality. However, it can result in parents’ preference for traditional schools, the creation of white and black schools and inequality between schools. • External evaluation and accountability - generally concerns the measurement of student outcomes with a national validated test. When the results are published schools are held accountable and are under pressure to positively change student outcomes. However, this can lead to negative consequences like helping students with the tests. If sanctions are high, schools can be closed down. Sometimes evaluations may not be fair. • External agents - such as inspectors, policy makers, educational consultants and researchers may push schools to improve by giving suggestions of what and how to improve. • Participation of society in education and societal changes - society influences schools in many ways and demands school improvement that is often mediated by government policies responding to influences like learning to learn how to study and the use of information technology. Sometimes these changes are receiving wide support, but there is a limit to the amount of changes schools are willing to perform. 9. Material and non-material forms of support are essential for effective school improvement. Three forms of support are distinguished: • Granting autonomy to schools - this could be in the form of educational goals, educational means, organisation (personnel, management, administration) and finances. For effective school improvement some autonomy is necessary because improvements, which do not tailor to school's needs, are likely to fail. The success of autonomy depends to a large extent on the willingness and capacity of the school team to continuously improve in the direction of a more effective school. Some forms of external control seem to be a requirement to stimulate schools to use their autonomy in a 'good' way. • Financial resources and working conditions - with sufficient financial resources and time, improvement will succeed more easily. Large classes, a large amount of teaching hours and instability of education policies do not contribute to the motivation to improve. • Local support - from parents, district officials, school administrations, and school boards. 88
Key Recommendations 1. Efforts should be made to reduce the negative aspects of market mechanisms. 2. External evaluations should take place at regular periods. The results should be presented in a fair way in order to show what value has been added since the last evaluation. The information collected should be primarily aimed at helping school improvement. 3. High quality external agents should be used as facilitators of effective school improvement. 4. Care needs to be taken not to overload schools with innovations. The Final Report and results of this project are available through the electronic version of this report at: http://www.cordis.lu/citizens/publications.htm (under Reports) Key Publications Creemers & Hoeben, “From effective schools and school improvement to effective school improvement”, paper prepared for the AERA Annual Meeting, Groningen: GION (Montreal, Canada.), 1999. Creemers & Hoeben, “From macro reform to the effective classroom”, paper prepared for the symposium 'Systematic reform' at the annual meeting of the International Congress for School Effectiveness and School Improvement (ICSEI), GION (San Antonio), (Groningen), 1999. Creemers & Jong, “Effective school improvement projects. Two case studies from the Netherlands”, in Studies on researches in school effectiveness at primary stage, National Council of Education and Training (NCERT), publication division (New Delhi), 2000, pp. 342-355. De Jong & Stoll (eds.), “School Effectiveness and School Improvement in a European Context”, Educational Research and Evaluation (special issue). de Jong, R. (ed.), Effective school improvement programmes: A description and evaluation of ESI programmes in eight European countries. Institute for Educational Research, University of Groningen, (Groningen) GION, 2000. de Jong, Demeuse, Denooz & Reezigt , Effective school improvement: Programmes in the United Kingdom and the United States of America. A re-analysis of school improvement programmes. Institute for Educational Research, University of Groningen, (Groningen) GION, 2001. de Jong, R. (ed.), The validity of the ESI model in eight European countries: The results of national school conferences on effective school improvement. Institute for Educational Research, University of Groningen, (Groningen) GION, 2001. Hoeben, W.Th.J.G. (ed.), Effective school improvement: State of the art/ Contribution to a discussion. Institute for Educational Research, University of Groningen, (Groningen) GION, 1998. Muñoz-Repiso, M. et al, “Aportaciones de las Teorías de la Organización al nuevo movimiento teórico-práctico de Mejora de la Eficacia Escolar” (Contributions of the Theories of Organisation to the Effective School Improvement new theoretical-practical movement), 218, 68-84 Revista Española de Pedagogía,, 2001. Muñoz-Repiso & Murillo, Un balance provisional sobre la calidad en educación. Eficacia Escolar y Mejora de la Escuela. (A provisional balance of quality in education. School Effectiveness and School Improvement), Organización y Gestión Educativa, 3, 2001. Murillo, F.J. (coord.), Mejora de la Eficacia Escolar. Tema del mes de Cuadernos de Pedagogía, (Effective School Improvement) 300, 47-74, 2001. Muñoz-Repiso, M. et al, Mejora de la Eficacia Escolar: un estudio de casos. (Effective School Improvement: a cases study), Madrid: CIDE, 2000. Reezigt & De Jong, Kenmerken van effectieve schoolverbeteringsprojecten (characteristics of effective school improvement projects), Onderwijskundig Lexicon. Reezigt & Wikeley, “School Effectiveness and School Improvement: the ESI project”, School Effectiveness and School Improvement (special issue). Reezigt, G.J. (ed.) Effective school improvement: First theoretical workshop/ Contributions from relevant theoretical traditions. Institute for Educational Research, University of Groningen, (Groningen) GION, 2000. Reezigt, G.J. (ed.), A framework for effective school improvement. Final report of the ESI project, Institute for Educational Research, University of Groningen, (Groningen) GION, 2001. Silva & Gois, “Melhoria Eficaz da Escola”, in Noésis, nº 57, pp.77-78, 2001. 89
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REPORT EUR 20791 European Union-sup
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2003 EUROPEAN COMMISSION European U
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Table of Contents Foreword ……
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Notes from the editor This report i
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Briefing Paper 1 Research Instituti
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4. Other incentives to improve mobi
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4. However, the push to make work e
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Key Publications Gornitzka, “Gove
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7. Despite strong resistance from e
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10. There needs to be encouragement
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The full title of the project is: E
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2. Some employers and politicians a
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Briefing Paper 11 Research Institut
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Page 43 and 44: • A greater understanding of the
Page 47 and 48: The Final Report and results of thi
Page 51 and 52: 9. Policy needs to provide opportun
Page 53 and 54: • The levels of teachers’ inter
Page 55 and 56: 4. Strengthening the educational re
Page 57 and 58: Key Recommendations The project mad
Page 61 and 62: National Policy Recommendations 1.
Page 65 and 66: Key Recommendations The following r
Page 71 and 72: 8. Lifelong Learning is still seen
Page 75 and 76: Key Recommendations Specific recomm
Page 77 and 78: Tikkanen, T., Teknologian muutos ty
Page 79 and 80: • Moving from training-based deve
Page 87 and 88: This project is now being taken for
Page 89 and 90: 13. Some of the enterprises have ha
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Page 95 and 96: 10. Although, it has been found tha
Page 97 and 98: 4. Separate analysis of the wage di
Page 99 and 100: Denny & Harmon, The impact of educa
Page 101 and 102: 10. In addition, important learning
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Page 113 and 114: establishing links between the scie
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Page 121 and 122: The Final Report and results of thi
Page 123 and 124: 8. Apprenticeships also have invest
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Page 133 and 134: University of Barcelona 3. Further
Page 135 and 136: Educational research supported by D
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Key Recommendations Political and l
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Further information The final repor
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8. Learning in a “learning compan
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Further Information The full title
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Adaptability and Entrepreneurship 6
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18. Gender audits and relevant acti
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4. As some legislation describes at
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2. There is a need to encourage fle
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Key Recommendations 1. The focus of
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• Shaping European learning relat
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Forthcoming Publications: Arriaga,
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Further Information The project sta
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3. Concerning inequalities it has b
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Summaries of research project clust
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Briefing Paper 36 Contact address:
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7. Policy should encourage long-ter
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• Development of a culture of col
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8. Compensation programmes/schemes
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5. Combating segregation at school
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questionnaire approaches to increas
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learning partnerships, 178 learning
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