Pub Date : 2019-09-18DOI: 10.1177/1365480219879344
Terry Wrigley
{"title":"Sharing knowledge for school improvement","authors":"Terry Wrigley","doi":"10.1177/1365480219879344","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/1365480219879344","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":45995,"journal":{"name":"Improving Schools","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":1.6,"publicationDate":"2019-09-18","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://sci-hub-pdf.com/10.1177/1365480219879344","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"47692464","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2019-07-31DOI: 10.1177/1365480219864812
Elin Borg, Ida Drange
The main objective of this study is to identify and understand interprofessional collaboration practices in schools using a mixed-methods design. First, we conducted a literature review on interprofessional collaboration in schools to give insights into the ways teachers and other professions collaborate with each other, and what kind of interprofessional interventions show positive effects on teaching and learning. Second, we collected data from five Norwegian elementary schools to gain knowledge of factors that facilitate and hinder interprofessional collaboration. The results show that interprofessional collaboration was defined differently in the literature, and that research is lacking on interprofessional collaboration that involves multiple professions in school. Interventions in which social workers and school nurses were involved gave positive, though small-to-moderate, effects on a range of outcome measures. However, interventions that targeted the whole school were found to be the most promising for making changes that persist over time.
{"title":"Interprofessional collaboration in school: Effects on teaching and learning","authors":"Elin Borg, Ida Drange","doi":"10.1177/1365480219864812","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/1365480219864812","url":null,"abstract":"The main objective of this study is to identify and understand interprofessional collaboration practices in schools using a mixed-methods design. First, we conducted a literature review on interprofessional collaboration in schools to give insights into the ways teachers and other professions collaborate with each other, and what kind of interprofessional interventions show positive effects on teaching and learning. Second, we collected data from five Norwegian elementary schools to gain knowledge of factors that facilitate and hinder interprofessional collaboration. The results show that interprofessional collaboration was defined differently in the literature, and that research is lacking on interprofessional collaboration that involves multiple professions in school. Interventions in which social workers and school nurses were involved gave positive, though small-to-moderate, effects on a range of outcome measures. However, interventions that targeted the whole school were found to be the most promising for making changes that persist over time.","PeriodicalId":45995,"journal":{"name":"Improving Schools","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":1.6,"publicationDate":"2019-07-31","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://sci-hub-pdf.com/10.1177/1365480219864812","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"46920046","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2019-07-01DOI: 10.1177/1365480218817983
Nafla Mahdi Al Ahbabi
This article reports on findings related to possible strategies of improving school effectiveness in Abu Dhabi from the perspectives of their stakeholders’ perceptions, namely, principals, teachers, students, and parents. This study considered 18 strategies of meaningful school improvement (SI) to help align Abu Dhabi schools to international standards by assessing their policies, management, and performance as well as the roles played by each of the four groups of stakeholders. The close examination of these stakeholders’ perceptions about change and improvement made it possible to identify five paramount strategies that may contribute to improving schools within the UAE secondary education system and perhaps leading toward more significant reform alignment. These are a participative reflective leadership, a common ambitious vision, a healthy learning environment, high expectations for success, and differentiated instructional strategies. The data indicated that schools could not be improved unless all the school parties are jointly involved as catalysts for change in forging the school’s vision, environment, and prospects for success. The data were taken from research conducted in the Emirate of Abu Dhabi, the capital of the United Arab Emirates.
{"title":"Key stakeholders’ perceptions about school improvement strategies in UAE","authors":"Nafla Mahdi Al Ahbabi","doi":"10.1177/1365480218817983","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/1365480218817983","url":null,"abstract":"This article reports on findings related to possible strategies of improving school effectiveness in Abu Dhabi from the perspectives of their stakeholders’ perceptions, namely, principals, teachers, students, and parents. This study considered 18 strategies of meaningful school improvement (SI) to help align Abu Dhabi schools to international standards by assessing their policies, management, and performance as well as the roles played by each of the four groups of stakeholders. The close examination of these stakeholders’ perceptions about change and improvement made it possible to identify five paramount strategies that may contribute to improving schools within the UAE secondary education system and perhaps leading toward more significant reform alignment. These are a participative reflective leadership, a common ambitious vision, a healthy learning environment, high expectations for success, and differentiated instructional strategies. The data indicated that schools could not be improved unless all the school parties are jointly involved as catalysts for change in forging the school’s vision, environment, and prospects for success. The data were taken from research conducted in the Emirate of Abu Dhabi, the capital of the United Arab Emirates.","PeriodicalId":45995,"journal":{"name":"Improving Schools","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":1.6,"publicationDate":"2019-07-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://sci-hub-pdf.com/10.1177/1365480218817983","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"48532304","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2019-06-06DOI: 10.1177/1365480219853456
Hadar Baharav, Elizabeth. Newman
Using an inquiry-based approach to address the challenge of improving schools provides opportunities for informed decision making and carries great promise for return on investment. Taking a collaborative approach toward improvement can be complex, yet also rewarding because of the opportunity to leverage the knowledge and capacity of multiple entities. The article presents an example of an education collaborative in Northern California that took an inquiry-based approach to their regional school improvement challenge of improving rates of college readiness and completion. The article provides insight into the structure, framework, and tools that were used to build and support the work of the collaborative, and reflects on the conditions that promote successful implementation of an inquiry-based approach to drive system change. Moreover, because each partner in the collaborative progressed through a unique process of inquiry and improvement, the article affords an opportunity to consider school improvement in multiple settings.
{"title":"Contextual research for educational improvement: A collaborative process in Northern California","authors":"Hadar Baharav, Elizabeth. Newman","doi":"10.1177/1365480219853456","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/1365480219853456","url":null,"abstract":"Using an inquiry-based approach to address the challenge of improving schools provides opportunities for informed decision making and carries great promise for return on investment. Taking a collaborative approach toward improvement can be complex, yet also rewarding because of the opportunity to leverage the knowledge and capacity of multiple entities. The article presents an example of an education collaborative in Northern California that took an inquiry-based approach to their regional school improvement challenge of improving rates of college readiness and completion. The article provides insight into the structure, framework, and tools that were used to build and support the work of the collaborative, and reflects on the conditions that promote successful implementation of an inquiry-based approach to drive system change. Moreover, because each partner in the collaborative progressed through a unique process of inquiry and improvement, the article affords an opportunity to consider school improvement in multiple settings.","PeriodicalId":45995,"journal":{"name":"Improving Schools","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":1.6,"publicationDate":"2019-06-06","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://sci-hub-pdf.com/10.1177/1365480219853456","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"46781369","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2019-05-31DOI: 10.1177/1365480219853457
C. Skerritt
Despite a lack of conclusive evidence connecting autonomous schools and academic success, school autonomy is regularly championed as being a way of not only improving schools but as a way of improving the quality of education in socially and economically deprived areas. This research builds on a recent paper published in Irish Educational Studies that argues that school autonomy should not be advanced in Ireland by exploring how teachers feel about features of autonomous schools. Irish teachers who have previously worked in academy schools in England, and who now teach in disadvantaged schools in Ireland, were interviewed about their experiences and how they would feel about features of autonomous schools being implemented in Ireland. The experiences the participants had in England indicate how school autonomy can be experienced in different ways – morally proper ways that engage with the broad purposes of schooling such as focusing on students and their learning, and morally improper ways that prioritise looking good on external measures at the expense of students and their learning. Overall, the participants were opposed to schools in Ireland becoming more like English academies but felt that having greater local flexibility over the curriculum in schools and offering a wider range of subjects would be beneficial, provided that it was embraced and enacted in a morally proper manner.
{"title":"‘I think Irish schools need to keep doing what they’re doing’: Irish teachers’ views on school autonomy after working in English academies","authors":"C. Skerritt","doi":"10.1177/1365480219853457","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/1365480219853457","url":null,"abstract":"Despite a lack of conclusive evidence connecting autonomous schools and academic success, school autonomy is regularly championed as being a way of not only improving schools but as a way of improving the quality of education in socially and economically deprived areas. This research builds on a recent paper published in Irish Educational Studies that argues that school autonomy should not be advanced in Ireland by exploring how teachers feel about features of autonomous schools. Irish teachers who have previously worked in academy schools in England, and who now teach in disadvantaged schools in Ireland, were interviewed about their experiences and how they would feel about features of autonomous schools being implemented in Ireland. The experiences the participants had in England indicate how school autonomy can be experienced in different ways – morally proper ways that engage with the broad purposes of schooling such as focusing on students and their learning, and morally improper ways that prioritise looking good on external measures at the expense of students and their learning. Overall, the participants were opposed to schools in Ireland becoming more like English academies but felt that having greater local flexibility over the curriculum in schools and offering a wider range of subjects would be beneficial, provided that it was embraced and enacted in a morally proper manner.","PeriodicalId":45995,"journal":{"name":"Improving Schools","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":1.6,"publicationDate":"2019-05-31","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://sci-hub-pdf.com/10.1177/1365480219853457","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"41645420","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2019-04-11DOI: 10.1177/1365480219840507
Joanna Leek
The understanding of youth participation in the current article relates to ideas of citizenship and active involvement in global concerns. In this understanding of the term, schools are important agents for education for global citizenship, and play a role in the developing engagement of young people. Using data from focus groups with teachers (n = 45) from secondary schools in England, Italy and Lithuania, the current research seeks to extend discussion of youth participation by identifying distinctive features of participation of students at the school level. Although research into youth civic participation is rapidly growing, this topic remains partially unexplored, particularly in relation to school settings, opportunities and benefits of developing students’ civic participation in schools. Findings are important for policy makers and teachers who attempt to promote civic participation in schools among students. The analysis shows that teachers’ concepts of youth participation are grounded in their cultural context, and teachers’ activities are undertaken intuitively. Analysis of teachers’ interviews led to the identification of four common overarching themes that relate to the significance of education policy, school leadership, teacher training, and youth–adult partnerships, all in the context of youth participation.
{"title":"Teachers perceptions about supporting youth participation in schools: Experiences from schools in England, Italy and Lithuania","authors":"Joanna Leek","doi":"10.1177/1365480219840507","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/1365480219840507","url":null,"abstract":"The understanding of youth participation in the current article relates to ideas of citizenship and active involvement in global concerns. In this understanding of the term, schools are important agents for education for global citizenship, and play a role in the developing engagement of young people. Using data from focus groups with teachers (n = 45) from secondary schools in England, Italy and Lithuania, the current research seeks to extend discussion of youth participation by identifying distinctive features of participation of students at the school level. Although research into youth civic participation is rapidly growing, this topic remains partially unexplored, particularly in relation to school settings, opportunities and benefits of developing students’ civic participation in schools. Findings are important for policy makers and teachers who attempt to promote civic participation in schools among students. The analysis shows that teachers’ concepts of youth participation are grounded in their cultural context, and teachers’ activities are undertaken intuitively. Analysis of teachers’ interviews led to the identification of four common overarching themes that relate to the significance of education policy, school leadership, teacher training, and youth–adult partnerships, all in the context of youth participation.","PeriodicalId":45995,"journal":{"name":"Improving Schools","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":1.6,"publicationDate":"2019-04-11","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://sci-hub-pdf.com/10.1177/1365480219840507","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"44455981","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2019-03-21DOI: 10.1177/1365480219832415
Sejal Patel, Natalie Cummins
This qualitative case study investigates student and school staff perceptions of transitions and changing social dynamics due to a temporary closure of an elementary school undergoing redesign in an inner-city neighbourhood in Toronto, Canada. Focus groups and interviews were conducted with 75 students (Kindergarten to Grade 8) and 28 staff who transitioned to two neighbouring schools during the school closure in 2011 and 2012. Students reported changes in their sense of belonging, incidents of bullying and violence, and student–student and student–teacher social dynamics during the transitional period. School staff also reported changing social dynamics among staff and students, the importance of strong leadership and teacher support during transitions and changes to school climate as a result of the transition. Suggestions and recommendations for future transitions associated with school redesign are discussed.
{"title":"Student and staff social dynamics and transitions during school redesign","authors":"Sejal Patel, Natalie Cummins","doi":"10.1177/1365480219832415","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/1365480219832415","url":null,"abstract":"This qualitative case study investigates student and school staff perceptions of transitions and changing social dynamics due to a temporary closure of an elementary school undergoing redesign in an inner-city neighbourhood in Toronto, Canada. Focus groups and interviews were conducted with 75 students (Kindergarten to Grade 8) and 28 staff who transitioned to two neighbouring schools during the school closure in 2011 and 2012. Students reported changes in their sense of belonging, incidents of bullying and violence, and student–student and student–teacher social dynamics during the transitional period. School staff also reported changing social dynamics among staff and students, the importance of strong leadership and teacher support during transitions and changes to school climate as a result of the transition. Suggestions and recommendations for future transitions associated with school redesign are discussed.","PeriodicalId":45995,"journal":{"name":"Improving Schools","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":1.6,"publicationDate":"2019-03-21","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://sci-hub-pdf.com/10.1177/1365480219832415","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"44390182","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2019-03-18DOI: 10.1177/1365480219835324
Keith Trahan, Stephanie Maietta Romero, Renata de Almeida Ramos, Jeffrey Zollars, Cynthia A. Tananis
Making is a movement present in the United States which fosters creativity and invention through the creation and sharing of products. This case study of one Western Pennsylvania school district’s integration of Making into its lower and upper secondary schools shows how the investment in space and equipment, guided by visionary leadership, can bring about innovation. Our findings after year 1 of this 2-year project indicate that Elizabeth Forward School District has been successful in fostering an atmosphere where students and teachers are given permission to fail, thereby allowing for experimentation, exploration, and the integration of girls into this normally male-dominated field.
{"title":"Making success: What does large-scale integration of making into a middle and high school look like?","authors":"Keith Trahan, Stephanie Maietta Romero, Renata de Almeida Ramos, Jeffrey Zollars, Cynthia A. Tananis","doi":"10.1177/1365480219835324","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/1365480219835324","url":null,"abstract":"Making is a movement present in the United States which fosters creativity and invention through the creation and sharing of products. This case study of one Western Pennsylvania school district’s integration of Making into its lower and upper secondary schools shows how the investment in space and equipment, guided by visionary leadership, can bring about innovation. Our findings after year 1 of this 2-year project indicate that Elizabeth Forward School District has been successful in fostering an atmosphere where students and teachers are given permission to fail, thereby allowing for experimentation, exploration, and the integration of girls into this normally male-dominated field.","PeriodicalId":45995,"journal":{"name":"Improving Schools","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":1.6,"publicationDate":"2019-03-18","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://sci-hub-pdf.com/10.1177/1365480219835324","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"41365224","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2019-03-14DOI: 10.1177/1365480219835323
Joan G. Mowat
The poverty-related attainment gap is an internationally recognised problem. There is growing recognition that it cannot either be understood or addressed without taking cognisance of children’s mental health and wellbeing. The focus of this conceptual article is to examine the impact of social inequality and poverty on the mental health and wellbeing and attainment of children and young people in Scotland through the lens of resilience. While not a ‘state of the art’ literature review, a systematic approach was adopted in the selection of the literature and in the identification of themes to emerge from it. A range of risk and protective factors at the individual, social, societal and political levels emerged as impacting on the mental health and wellbeing and attainment of children living in poverty, and three important mediating variables are the negative impact of social stratification and adverse childhood experiences and the positive impact of a supportive adult. Schools alone cannot solve the problem. The findings revealed that there is a need to build a strong infrastructure around families and schools and to examine how economic, social, health and educational policy interact with each other as a starting point in addressing the problem, supported by inter-disciplinary research.
{"title":"Exploring the impact of social inequality and poverty on the mental health and wellbeing and attainment of children and young people in Scotland","authors":"Joan G. Mowat","doi":"10.1177/1365480219835323","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/1365480219835323","url":null,"abstract":"The poverty-related attainment gap is an internationally recognised problem. There is growing recognition that it cannot either be understood or addressed without taking cognisance of children’s mental health and wellbeing. The focus of this conceptual article is to examine the impact of social inequality and poverty on the mental health and wellbeing and attainment of children and young people in Scotland through the lens of resilience. While not a ‘state of the art’ literature review, a systematic approach was adopted in the selection of the literature and in the identification of themes to emerge from it. A range of risk and protective factors at the individual, social, societal and political levels emerged as impacting on the mental health and wellbeing and attainment of children living in poverty, and three important mediating variables are the negative impact of social stratification and adverse childhood experiences and the positive impact of a supportive adult. Schools alone cannot solve the problem. The findings revealed that there is a need to build a strong infrastructure around families and schools and to examine how economic, social, health and educational policy interact with each other as a starting point in addressing the problem, supported by inter-disciplinary research.","PeriodicalId":45995,"journal":{"name":"Improving Schools","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":1.6,"publicationDate":"2019-03-14","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://sci-hub-pdf.com/10.1177/1365480219835323","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"42796360","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
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