Collaboration: Getting All Hands on Deck Facilitates School Change

1993 ◽  
Vol 3 (1) ◽  
pp. 30-39 ◽  
Author(s):  
Henry A. Peel ◽  
Bradford L. Walker
Keyword(s):  
North Carolina ◽  
Public Education ◽  
School Improvement ◽  
School Reform ◽  
Change Process ◽  
School Change ◽  
School Leaders ◽  
State Agency ◽  
Reform Project ◽  
Hands On

Collaboration, a powerful tool for school reform, facilitates school improvement efforts and minimizes the overwhelming dimensions of change. A collaborative change process underway in North Carolina emphasizes using input from teachers, as well as supporting the notion of school leaders working collaboratively with many others who are interested in improving schools: higher education, the state agency for public education, colleagues from other schools, and consultants. Principals are encouraged to take an “all hands on deck” approach to problem-solving and change efforts. This article discusses the successes and frustrations of school leaders involved in this collaborative reform project.

Ideal Schools for the 21st Century: A Comparative Analysis of American and Chinese Principals’ Views and Visions

2003 ◽  
Vol 13 (2) ◽  
pp. 199-218 ◽  
Author(s):  
Zhixin Su ◽  
Jeanne P. Adams ◽  
Elliot Mininberg
Keyword(s):  
School Improvement ◽  
School Reform ◽  
21St Century ◽  
School Change ◽  
Chinese Culture ◽  
Survey Study ◽  
Individual Student ◽  
Chinese School ◽  
Perceptions Of School

The importance of principals to school improvement has been widely recognized, but few studies have focused on principals’ own perceptions of school change and their special roles in reform. This article reports findings from a comparative survey study of American and Chinese school principals’ basic beliefs regarding education and schooling, their views on school reform and the role of the principal in reform, and their visions of ideal schools in the 21st century. Although similarities exist in their perceptions, there are striking contrasts between the American and Chinese views and visions, which point to quite different directions and paths of reform in the two nations. While Americans are busy constructing common standards, developing and using more standardized tests for all students, and moving toward standards-based school reform, the Chinese seem to desire just the opposite—deconstructing uniform standards, moving away from the pressures of national exams, and focusing more on the interests and potentials of each individual student, a goal that has been largely ignored in the past in the Chinese culture and schools.

There is no “T” in school improvement: the missing team perspective

2017 ◽  
Vol 31 (7) ◽  
pp. 922-929 ◽  
Author(s):  
Pascale Benoliel ◽  
Izhak Berkovich
Keyword(s):  
School Improvement ◽  
School Leadership ◽  
School Change ◽  
School Leaders ◽  
Team Leadership ◽  
Coupling Mechanism ◽  
Effective School ◽  
Central Function ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Effective Teams

Purpose The concept of teams tends to be marginalized in the scholarly discussion of school improvement. The purpose of this paper is to argue that teams play a crucial role in promoting an holistic integration of school operation necessary to support school change. Specifically, the paper outlines the dynamic of effective teams at times of school improvement. Design/methodology/approach The paper presents the concept of teams, elaborates on their central function as a “coupling mechanism,” and describes the reciprocal relations between teams and school change. Findings The paper emphasizes the reciprocal effects of teams and change, suggesting that teams can serve as key change agents in school restructuring processes, specifically when balancing between “coping” and “pushing” forces. Based on the model, effective team leadership and effective school leadership at times of school change are introduced. Practical implications are discussed for school leaders. Originality/value The integration of the concept of teams into the school improvement discourse might assist school leaders to develop processes and procedures that will enable both school teams and schools to react more effectively in times of change and restructuring.

Understanding validity issues surrounding test-based accountability measures in the US

2014 ◽  
Vol 22 (1) ◽  
pp. 42-52
Author(s):  
Nancy Koh ◽  
Vikash Reddy ◽  
Madhabi Chatterji
Keyword(s):  
Public Education ◽  
School Improvement ◽  
School Reform ◽  
Public Accountability ◽  
Assessment Data ◽  
High Stakes ◽  
Policy Makers ◽  
Content Type ◽  
The Us ◽  
Test Use

Purpose – This AERI-NEPC eBrief, the fourth in a series titled “Understanding validity issues around the world”, looks closely at issues surrounding the validity of test-based actions in educational accountability and school improvement contexts. The specific discussions here focus testing issues in the US. However, the general principles underlying appropriate and inappropriate test use in school reform and high stakes public accountability settings are applicable in both domestic and international settings. This paper aims to present the issues. Design/methodology/approach – This policy brief is based on a synthesis of conference proceedings and review of selected pieces of extant literature. It begins by summarizing perspectives of an invited expert panel on the topic. To that synthesis, the authors add their own analysis of key issues. They conclude by offering recommendations for test developers and test users. Findings – The authors conclude that recurring validity issues arise with tests used in school reform and public accountability contexts, because the external tests tend to be employed as policy instruments to drive reforms in schools, with unrealistic timelines and inadequate resources. To reconcile the validity issues with respect to educational assessment and forge a coherent understanding of validity among multiple public users with different agendas, the authors offer several recommendations, such as: adopt an integrated approach to develop content and standards of proficiency that represent a range of cognitive processes; support studies to examine validity of assessments and the effects of decisions taken with assessment data before results are fed into high stakes accountability-related actions that affect teachers, leaders or schools; align standards, curricula, instruction, assessment, and professional development efforts in schools to maximize success; increase capacity-building efforts to help teachers, administrators, policy makers, and other groups of test users learn more about assessments, particularly, about appropriate interpretation and use of assessment data and reports. Originality/value – Baker points out that in response to growing demands of reformers and policy-makers for more frequent and rigorous testing programs in US public education, results from a single test tend to get used to meet a variety of public education needs today (e.g. school accountability, school improvement, teacher evaluation, and measurement of student performance). While this may simply be a way to make things more cost-efficient and reduce the extent of student testing in schools, a consequence is inappropriate test use that threatens validity in practice settings. This policy brief confronts this recurring validity challenge and offers recommendations to address the issues.

School Reform and Parental Engagement Learning in the United Kingdom

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Janet Goodall
Keyword(s):  
United Kingdom ◽  
School Improvement ◽  
School Reform ◽  
21St Century ◽  
Parental Engagement ◽  
Reform Movements ◽  
Early 21St Century ◽  
The United Kingdom ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
Per Se

Parental engagement in children and young people’s learning has been shown to be an important lever for school improvement and young people’s outcomes. However, parents are rarely involved in school reform movements. These reform movements are generally centered on the school rather than on improvement of learning per se. Shifting the focus away from the school and to learning as an overarching aim requires the inclusion of and partnership with parents. This is a new way of understanding school reform but has the best chance of supporting all students, including those not best served by the schooling systems in the early 21st century. The reforms here are chiefly concerned with U.K. schooling systems, but could be more widely applicable, and call on a wide range of evidence, from the United Kingdom and beyond.

scholarly journals CHALLENGES OF DISTANCE EDUCATION DURING THE SCHOOL LOCKDOWN: THE LITHUANIAN SCHOOL LEADERS’ PERSPECTIVE

2021 ◽  
Vol 5 ◽  
pp. 127-134
Author(s):  
Lina Kaminskienė ◽  
Yi Chu Ling
Keyword(s):  
Distance Education ◽  
Public Education ◽  
Staff Training ◽  
School Leaders ◽  
School Communities ◽  
Technological Preparation ◽  
Survey Responses ◽  
Start Distance

The COVID19 pandemic has caused massive disruption in education practices worldwide and Lithuania was no exception. This article investigates how this period of uncertainties has been perceived by Lithuanian schools during school lockdown. The study aimed to explore the challenges that Lithuanian schools faced and how distance education practices has been reconsidered during school lockdown. The research was based on a survey of 406 sampled school leaders of public education institutions in Lithuania conducted two months into the first nationwide lockdown in spring 2020. This paper aims to discuss the challenges of distance education from the perspective of school leaders, and to link the findings of the study to recent studies related to schools’ responses to the pandemic situation. The survey responses indicated that schools initially focused on the organisation of staff training and technological preparation to start distance education during the first two weeks of lockdown. Their focus two months into the process shifted towards tackling challenges on students' responsiveness and assessment of students' achievements during distance education. Challenges are perceived as opportunities for reflection and growth, re-examine current institution strengths and weaknesses, and reconsolidate with the school communities in prioritising what the utter function in education is.  

scholarly journals The reality of Educational accountability and its mechanisms among school leaders in public education schools in Sharourah governorate/ Najran

2019 ◽  
Vol 3 (11) ◽  
Author(s):  
Mohammed Qasim Almqablah
Keyword(s):  
Public Education ◽  
School Leaders ◽  
Point Of View ◽  
School Level ◽  
First Semester ◽  
Female Teachers ◽  
General Average ◽  
And Performance ◽  
High Degree ◽  
Academic Year

The study aimed to identify the reality of practicing accountability among school leaders in public education schools in Sharourah Governorate / Najran and the degree of accountability in the administrative and technical domains. To achieve this goal, the researcher used the analytical survey approach. The study was applied to a sample of )177 ( teachers, including (101) male teachers and (76) female teachers, in the first semester of the academic year 2018- 2019. The results of the study found that, the practice of accountability among the leaders of public education schools in Sharourah governorate / Najran from teachers point of view has got a general average (4.02), high rating, and according to the domains level, practicing accountability in administrative domain has got an average; (3.93), with a high rating, also, practicing accountability in the technical domain has got an average of (3.90) with a high degree. There were no statistically significant differences at the level of (0.05 = α) between the arithmetical averages of the total score for the degree of accountability in administrative and technical domains due to the differences in the variables of the study (years of experience and the scientific qualification). There were statistically significant differences in the degree of accountability in administrative and technical domains due to gender in favor of males; and in the variable of a school level in favor of high school. The study recommended the need to spread the culture of accountability, And to clarify the nature, methods, objectives and mechanisms for teachers, and the need to provide standards and performance indicators used in accountability process.

scholarly journals Head teacher professional networks in Italy: preliminary results of a national survey

2016 ◽  
Vol 8 (1) ◽  
pp. 62-68
Author(s):  
Isabel de Maurissens ◽  
Manuela Repetto ◽  
Alessia Rosa ◽  
Maria Chiara Pettenati
Keyword(s):  
School Reform ◽  
Professional Practice ◽  
National Survey ◽  
Total Population ◽  
School Leaders ◽  
Professional Networks ◽  
Head Teachers ◽  
Preliminary Results ◽  
Teacher Professional ◽  
Teachers Training

Abstract In this article, we present the preliminary results of a national survey conducted by INDIRE on head teachers communities and professional networks. About one-fourth of the total population of Italian public school leaders participated in the survey. One of the main intents of this research is to contribute to understanding of the phenomenon of professional networks frequented by school leaders and to pave the way for a further reflection on how to use such networks for head teachers’ training so as to support their daily professional practice conducted too often in isolation. This contribution is synergetic with what was envisaged by the new Italian school reform introduced with Law 107/2015 and, in particular, with the roles of the school leaders and the networks. This research is conducted within the INDIRE DsinRete2 research project.

scholarly journals Exploring the Relationships Among Innovation, Collaboration, and School Change in a Mixed Methods

2018 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
pp. 1463-1473
Author(s):  
Aneta Hogan Walker
Keyword(s):  
Student Achievement ◽  
School Culture ◽  
School Improvement ◽  
Student Learning ◽  
Learning Outcomes ◽  
School Change ◽  
Research Study ◽  
Achievement Tests ◽  
Student Learning Outcomes ◽  
Mixed Method Research

Continuous school improvement efforts require schools to prepare, organize, and lead change.  This study examined how a school created a context for change by implementing an innovation to improve teaching practices, school culture, and student learning outcomes.  Implementing innovation requires school leaders to understand the process of change to successfully sustain school improvement efforts.  The purpose of this research study was to assess the effectiveness that an innovative hybrid schedule had on improving student learning outcomes and school culture.  This mixed-method research study used data generated by the AdvancEd®’s Stakeholder Feedback Survey, the ACT Aspire® Student Achievement Tests, and teacher interviews. The analysis of this study’s data indicated several factors that facilitated change through the implementation of the innovative hybrid schedule.  The researcher discovered these overall factors related to the benefits of students changing classes, teachers becoming content specialists, collaboration through PLCs and vertical planning.  Additionally, the results revealed that significant change occurred in school culture based on the AdvancEd®’s Stakeholder Feedback Survey.  Additionally, student learning outcomes measured by ACT Aspire® Reading and Mathematics Student Achievement Tests showed a statistically significant improvement in both reading and math.   

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