Education Commons^™

School Improvement Tool Elaborations: Student Engagement And Wellbeing. Background Report And Literature Review, Fabienne Van Der Kleij, Pauline Taylor-Guy, Tanya Vaughan, Marijne Medhurst, Christina Rogers

School and system improvement

This literature review outlines the evidence that underpins the development of a set of evidence-informed elaborations, or specific practices, that support student engagement and wellbeing across the 9 domains of the National School Improvement Tool (NSIT). These observable, measurable practices to support student engagement and wellbeing have been developed from a review of relevant literature in the areas of socio-emotional learning (SEL), health and wellbeing, student engagement and a sense of belonging, and motivations for engagement. They also take account of commissioned research reports by the Queensland Department of Education and the Department's (2018) approach to student learning and wellbeing …

Validating Middle School Principals' Opinions About The Impact Of Investments, David Adler

Doctoral Dissertations

Accountability for American public education systems, which spend more than $750 billion annually as of 2019, has been a topic of longstanding controversy. The test-based accountability movement has led to conditions that penalize schools that educate traditionally underserved students (low socioeconomic status, English language learners and students with disabilities are examined in this paper). Further, leaders of these schools lack evidence-based guidance to help make high-impact improvements, as schools serving high proportions of these students are rarely cited as exemplars of high-quality education. In three phases, this study demonstrates the feasibility of using a demographically normed, test-based status metric to …

School Improvement Tool: A Summary Of The Underpinning Research, Christina Rogers, Fabienne Van Der Kleij, Pauline Taylor-Guy

School and system improvement

In 2023, ACER published the School Improvement Tool (SIT), the second iteration of the National School Improvement Tool (NSIT). A comprehensive review of international research was undertaken to inform the development of the SIT which consists of nine inter-related domains that describe the practices of highly effective schools and leaders. This document provides a summary of research evidence that underpins each of the nine domains of the SIT. Acknowledging interdependencies between domains, it presents a narrative of key evidence and research-based considerations for each domain. Further detail about the evidence for each domain can be found in the School Improvement …

School Improvement Tool: Literature Review, Fabienne Van Der Kleij, Pauline Taylor-Guy, Christina Rogers

School and system improvement

The School Improvement Tool identifies practices of highly effective schools and schools which have undergone substantial improvement, based on evidence from the international literature. It is made up of nine inter-related domains, or areas of practice. This literature review presents a thematic synthesis of the research evidence across the nine domains of the School Improvement Tool. This review underpinned the development of the School Improvement Tool, as the Second iteration of the National School Improvement Tool.

Developing A K-12 School Leadership Plan, Marian E. Truehill

Journal of Research Initiatives

Abstract

The purpose of this paper is to develop a K-12 School Leadership plan for public, private, and parochial educational institutions. The K-12 School Leadership plan will help principals, teachers, staff and students focus on how to accurately operate a successful school culture, climate, and improve academic performance at their educational institutions. I used a pseudonym JFK for the high school examined in this paper. Themes represented in this paper will include assessment of ineffective leadership style, assessment of school culture, climate and performance, school improvement areas, explanation of leadership style, most effective style to improve school performance, research-based leadership …

Building A World-Class Learning System, Geoff N. Masters

School and system improvement

This study sought to understand how five jurisdictions – British Columbia, Estonia, Finland, Hong Kong and South Korea, which have all performed unusually well in international achievement surveys over the past two decades – are approaching school education and its transformation. Geoff Masters describes key aspects of the learning systems these jurisdictions have established, comments on how they are now redesigning their learning systems for the future, and discusses insights into what may be required for any jurisdiction to perform well on measures of the kind currently used in international surveys.

Principal Mentoring As A Retention And Effectiveness Strategy In Comprehensive Improvement Schools., Robert Fulk

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This qualitative study examines Comprehensive Improvement Schools (CSI) principals’ experiences with mentoring programs and their perceptions of how such programs may mitigate administrative attrition. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with eight practicing CSI principals and the study utilized the pragmatic framework. The interviews captured principal’s experiences with being a principal mentee during their first year of CSI principalship, and what actions or activities in their mentorships aided their retention in the position. The analysis suggested several recommendations for practice in principal mentoring programs to increase school leader retention. At the heart of these recommendations was an emphasis on the importance of …

The Principal And Teacher Evaluation: A Study Of Influencing Pressures, Andy Brock

Dissertations

This quantitative study focused on determining the amount of influencing pressure principals encountered during summative teacher evaluations, determining if there was a relationship between the pressures a principal experienced while completing a summative teacher evaluation and the summative evaluation score teachers received, and determining if there was a relationship between teacher evaluation scores and district accountability levels. A survey instrument was created containing 23 possible influencing pressures derived from a literature review along with 14 items for the purpose of collecting demographic data from each participant. The survey instrument used a horizontal numeric scale to measure the amount of influencing …

Nurturing Wonder And Igniting Passion: Designs For A Future School Curriculum. Nsw Curriculum Review Interim Report, Geoff N. Masters

NSW Curriculum Review

This report is an interim report of the New South Wales Curriculum Review. This review has concluded that change is required. The changes proposed by the Review are significant. They relate to the amount and nature of syllabus content, the overall structure of the curriculum, and the focus of learning in the senior years of school. It has been produced as a progress report and a basis for consultation on the broad directions it identifies.

“How Can He Be So Cruel?” Examining Issues Of Trust In School Improvement Efforts, Jacqueline R. Wettlaufer, Steve Sider

Education Faculty Publications

In this case, a high school vice-principal encounters tension and anger when she rewrites a staff member’s report card comments without his knowledge. The case narrative examines the conflict that arises when, under time constraints and pressures to produce student reports, the vice-principal acts on a decision she believes is ethically correct only to find that she incurs a significant setback with staffing relationships largely due to wavering of trust. The analysis examines how transformational leadership builds self-efficacy in all staff founded on trusting relationships. Professional reflection provides a conduit through which educational leaders can assess their own practice and …

Leadership That Transforms Schools And School Systems, Brian Caldwell

2009 - 2019 ACER Research Conferences

This paper will report on the findings of four international research projects on leadership in high-performing school systems around the world. The paper will focus on building the capacity of school leaders to exercise professional autonomy and how different levels of government achieve strategic alignment among policies in their efforts to lift performance. The paper will summarise findings reported in The Autonomy Premium published in 2016 by ACER Press, along with the findings of a national survey of principals in Australia. The major part of this presentation is devoted to comparing Australia on 15 benchmarks derived from international studies in …

Leading Empowered Evaluations To Develop Trust And Improve Learning: Insights From Qualitative Research, Peter Mcclenaghan, Kerrie Ikin

2009 - 2019 ACER Research Conferences

What does ‘empowering teachers-as-evaluators’ mean in whole-school strategic planning and evaluation? Our work seeks to develop and empower teachers as whole-of-school evaluators to embrace ownership of the school’s plan and directions, build communities of practice, create transparency, openness and trust, and ultimately improve student learning outcomes. Our previous research in whole-school qualitative empowerment evaluation showed that principals who were fully engaged in their schools’ evaluations were more likely to be influenced by the evaluation process, use the evaluation results and build evaluation capacity than those who merely participated as a guest. They engaged in double-loop learning. We further found that …

The Assimilation Of Beginning Teachers Into An Established School Improvement Project: A Qualitative Case Study Examining Formats Of Job-Embedded Professional Development, Lynn A. Fuller

Department of Educational Administration: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

This dissertation examined formats of job-embedded professional development that were experienced by beginning teachers at a high-poverty, high-mobility elementary school in the third year of a School Improvement Grant. A qualitative case study was conducted to examine formats of job-embedded professional development that were most useful to help beginning teachers assimilate into an established school improvement project and support gains in effective teaching practices and student achievement.

In an effort to define what good teaching is and how we can support it, this study informs education leaders about the power of instructional coaching as a way to provide support and …

Turnaround Elementary Principals In Rural Missouri, Julie C. Delaney

Department of Educational Administration: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Rural high poverty schools can often be invisible to those not living in rural areas. The number of students in rural areas is not far below the number of urban students, yet there has been little attention or research about rural school student achievement (Arnold et al., 2006; Pitchford 2011; Richard, 2005). The state of Missouri has established a program entitled Top Ten By Twenty. This initiative has been an impetus for change in rural high poverty schools. The program has led to increased student achievement in more than 60 rural high poverty schools. In this study, these schools were …

Utilizing A Systematic Approach To Problem-Solving In The Elementary School Setting: A Program Evaluation Project, Edie Sohigian

Dissertations

Sunnyside Elementary School, an anonymous name, had a high number of discipline referrals. The purpose of this inquiry was to develop and follow an action plan to reduce behavior issues. Using both qualitative and quantitative methods of inquiry, I collected discipline and academic achievement data as well as survey data to analyze the impact of the Eight-Step Problem-Solving Process on the rate of discipline referrals. Although the overall number of referrals increased, other significant findings were determined. The leadership team and faculty must be vested in the action plan as a priority in order to achieve positive results. It was …

Building A Culture Of Hope For At-Risk Students, Emily Louise Gibson, Robert D. Barr

National Youth Advocacy and Resilience Conference

Presenters will share research on the school culture differences found between high-performing and low-performing high-poverty schools. Participants will learn about A Culture of Hope and the four Seeds of Hope. After learning explicit steps and strategies for collecting and using survey data, participants will practice using surveys to assess components of school culture, and develop additional survey questions relevant to individual circumstances.

The Georgia School Improvement Specialists: A Qualitative Study Exploring Their Roles With Principals Of Middle Schools Identified As Focus Schools, Jessie Adelaide Beaumont

Doctoral Dissertations

While educational initiatives have used external consultants to effect change since the 1950s (Sulla, 1998), understanding their roles and their work has become increasingly important in helping low-performing schools facilitate change and guide the school improvement process (Brady, 2003; Mass Insight Education, 2012; Toppings, 2013). The purpose of this exploratory qualitative study is to identify and explore the roles Georgia’s school improvement specialists serve when working with principals of middle schools in Focus School status. The benefits and challenges of the school improvement specialists supporting principals with school improvement efforts are identified as well. This study will be framed in …

Factors That Impact Administrator-Teacher Relationships, Patrick Sean Gray

Dissertations

Retaining teachers continues to be problematic for educational leaders across the country. With these numbers steadily increasing, one must examine the reasons as to why teachers are leaving the profession and how school administrators can address these problems if schools are going to maintain and increase their levels of success. Reasons teachers leave the profession can be attributed to the relationship teachers have with their building-level administrator.

The purpose of the study is to identify as well as describe the frequency and relative importance of circumstances that may impact administrator-teacher relationships. A questionnaire, developed by the researcher, was mailed to …

Accessing The Inaccessible : Educational Development And Improvement Programme (Edip) An Extenstion Of The Diamir District Gilgit-Baltistan : A Case Study, Mola Dad Shafa, Haider Fancy

Professional Development Centre, Gilgit

No abstract provided.

Parental Perceptions Of School Quality : Contesting The Notion Of Quality, Dilshad Ashraf

Institute for Educational Development, Karachi

No abstract provided.

Principals' Strategies For Improving The Academic Achievement Of Students Of Disadvantaged Rural Junior High Schools In Ghana, Erasmus Kormla Norviewu-Mortty

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

The academic performance of students in public basic schools in rural Ghana during the past two decades has declined significantly (Akyeampong, 2007). Government efforts to remedy this have not yielded any sustainable result (Atta-Quayson, 2007). The Saboba District Junior High Schools are among the lowest-performing rural schools. Generally, inadequate funding and resourcing are blamed for poor academic achievement of disadvantaged, rural students. During eight years of teaching in the Saboba District, the Researcher observed that the academic achievement of students in some schools remained high while that of others in the same locality remained low. Further, the Researcher’s experiences suggested …

A Multiple Case Study Of Principals' Instructional Leadership In "Level 5" Schools Of Excellence For Improvement, Janice V. Mccoy

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

After 28 years of federal and state policy development, regional and local initiatives and various budgetary appropriations, the status of American schools continues to decline. Lyne (2001) reported that Finland, Japan and Korea had the world's highest literacy in reading, math, and science, while the United States ranked 15 in reading literacy, 19 in mathematical literacy, and 14 in scientific literacy. Many factors may contribute to the decline in America's schools. However, with the prevailing economic decline in the United States schools continue to struggle with student achievement, especially students with who are low socio-economic. In addition, to meeting the …

The Effects Of Scheduling On Criterion-Referenced Assessments In Arkansas High Schools, Sheila Marie Trinkle

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study is to examine the differences in achievement on the end of course assessment in Geometry and the Grade 11 Literacy exam administered to students in Arkansas during the 2005-2006 and 2006-2007 school years. The three main types of scheduling are the traditional schedule with seven or eight periods; the A/B, or the alternating block; and the 4 x 4, or accelerated block. The traditional was utilized by 90% of schools in Arkansas during this time frame. The A/B block and 4 x 4 block were used almost equally, each representing approximately 5% of Arkansas schools. …

What Works In Education In Pakistan, And Why? The Case Of Pdcn’S Whole School Improvement Program In Gilgit-Baltistan Of Pakistan, Mola Dad Shafa, Darvesh Karim, Sultan Alam

Professional Development Centre, Gilgit

This inquiry is part of a country-wide study conducted to explore What Works in Education in Pakistan, and Why? The Whole School Improvement Programme (WSIP) of Aga Khan University-Professional Development Center, North (AKU-PDCN) offered in Gilgit-Baltistan is one of the seven cases chosen based on its best practices in teacher professional development and school improvement in the mountainous and rural Gilgit-Baltistan of Pakistan. Three schools representing the public, private and AKESP systems were selected for this study. The findings emanating from the three cases have been structured and discussed under the themes of „Teachers Professional Development,‟ „School-Community Relations,‟ „Monitoring and …

A Study To Examine Teacher Perceptions Of Leadership Characteristics That Middle School Principals Should Have To Be An Effective Instructional Leader., Gary Dail Mccann

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This study was designed to investigate teachers' perceptions of the role middle school principals played as instructional leaders in 2 rural schools in southwest Virginia. The 2 middle school participants in the study included only teachers in schools classified Fully Accredited by the accountability standards of the No Child Left Behind for changing the academic status of their schools from Needs Improvement in 2005 to Fully Accredited for 2006 to 2009 inclusive. This study examined teachers' perceptions of the principal's role as an instructional leader for school improvement in changing the status of the schools from Needs Improvement to Fully …

The Personal Values Of School Leaders In Pakistan: A Contextual Model Of Regulation And Influence, Sharifullah Baig

Professional Development Centre, Gilgit

This paper illuminates the sources of personal values and their influence on the leadership practices of two school head teachers in the particular context of Pakistan. A comparative case study method has been followed within the qualitative research paradigm where semistructured interviews, observations, and document analyses were used as the main data collection tools. This study finds that the types of personal values and the motivational bases for the acquisition of such values are very much contextually-centered. The data for both principals, despite the exceedingly different characteristics of their childhood communities, reveals that the inherent religious and communal values of …

Teaching And Learning School Improvement Framework, Geoff N. Masters

Monitoring Learning

The Teaching and Learning School Improvement Framework brings together findings from research into the practices of highly effective school leaders. The focus of the Framework is not on everything that effective leaders do, but on those leadership practices that appear to be most directly related to school-wide improvements in teaching and learning. The Framework was developed initially in collaboration with the Queensland Department of Education and Training and was used as the basis for a teaching and learning ‘audit’ of every government school in that state during the 2010 school year. The Framework consists of eight interrelated ‘domains’. Each domain …

Configurations Of Site-Based Financial Leadership Practice Within School Contexts, Sylvia Tegano

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

This study employed an ethnographic perspective to generate a grounded theory that contributes to the understanding of financial leadership practice in four elementary school contexts: Non Title I School, Title I School, Empowerment School and Charter School. The literature, interviews, observations, document analysis, and review of relevant financial artifacts at each site were used to form an Innovation Configuration Map, which represented financial leadership practice.

Results showed that financial leadership practices are rooted in targeted resource tools, mindful internal accountability routines, and collaborative, inquiry based mindsets of school practitioners. Moreover, variations emerged such that financial leadership practices adapted to the …

It Pays For Teachers To Learn Again, Asghari Ummulbanin

Institute for Educational Development, Karachi

No abstract provided.

School Improvement In Multi-Grade Situation (Sims): An Innovation Of The Pdcc, Jalal Wali Khan

Book Chapters / Conference Papers

Professional Development Center, Chitral (PDCC), since its establishment in Chitral, is committed to work with its partner education providers for the improvement of quality of teaching and learning in schools. PDCC believes that effective teaching and learning in primary, acts as a foundation stone for higher education, but currently it does not happen in majority of our primary schools. Multi-grade situation in primary schools is one of the many reasons of low quality education. School Improvement in Multi-grade Situation (SIMS) was piloted in five schools aiming to improve the current Multi-grade Teaching (MGT) situation in schools. This study intended to …