Advances In School Effectiveness Research And Practice

Advances in School Effectiveness Research and Practice presents a worldwide state-of-the-art summary of the rapidly growing field of school effectiveness research by an internationally renowned group of authors. Current knowledge in the field is reviewed to present an integrated and coherent, internationally valid perspective on school effectiveness and instructional effectiveness. The book creatively outlines some new directions in which the field should move if it is to fulfil its promise. These include the development of international studies and the generating and testing of school effectiveness theory.

Methodological Advances in Educational Effectiveness Research is an important new work by some of the leading researchers in the field of Educational Effectiveness Research (EER). The book provides a state of the art snapshot of the methodology of EER now and clearly demonstrates the way it is applied in both research and evaluation. It shows how developments in the research methodology area such as the use of multilevel modelling approaches to analyse nested data have promoted the knowledge-base of educational effectiveness. But at the same time, as the authors show, the knowledge-base of educational effectiveness and the attempt to establish theoretical models do paradoxically challenge the development of methodologically appropriate studies including ways of analysing data. Guiding readers though the effective and appropriate use in educational effectiveness of: Longitudinal Studies Experimental Studies Mixed Research Methods Meta-analyses of effectiveness studies Using IRT to measure outcomes and factors Using Generalisability Theory to test the quality of data Multilevel modelling , and Structural Equation Modelling Techniques The authors draw in the expertise of scholars from around the world to show the mathematical background of each technique, the current and future applications, and Specific examples of applying this orientation to help the readers design their own effectiveness studies using specific methodological tools.

This book explores the key characteristics that make a school effective.

The disciplines of school effectiveness research and school improvement practice and research have been apart for too long. This book is the first major attempt, by leading writers and practitioners in these fields, to bring the areas together in a coherent way. Existing knowledge about the characteristics of `good' schools is outlined, together with the knowledge base about how to `make schools good schools'. The book also makes an entirely original contribution to re-thinking practice in school improvement that can revolutionise our thinking in the late 1990s, and which can be of use to academics, to policymakers and to the practitioners which much existing work has neglected.

This volume explores the influence of students' background on educational outcomes, ways of contextualising school performance, and current issues and developments in school effectiveness research. Also investigated is how the research contributes to understanding of school and classroom processes.

What constitutes quality schooling? What are the implications for educational practice and administration? The text looks at these questions and examines international research evidence and reform initiatives with particular emphasis on North America, UK, Australasia and the Third World. It offers a synopsis of the Third World School Effects Research (SER). The authors claim that the challenges now facing educational leaders is to find a balance between SER and the other school movements and to ask more demanding questions of our educational systems.

Provides a contemporary, state-of-the-art overview of the school effectiveness and improvement field and challenges some assumptions that have become ingrained into the theoretical and methodological traditions of the field.

This book reviews of the development, implementation and practice of the disciplines of school effectiveness and school improvement. Seven main topics are addressed: History of the school effectiveness movement over the last 25 years; Changes in accountability and standards; Leadership in school effectiveness; Changes in teacher education; Impact of Diverse Populations; Education Funding and its Impact; and Best Practice Case Studies. The contributors are active in school effectiveness research worldwide.