Devising a Strategy
A strategic improvement programme is deliberate and
focused.
Your goals will determine the teaching
and learning programme that's required. This in turn
determines staffing and professional development needs.
Together these will dictate the decisions about property
and equipment. All of this decision making needs to
be underpinned by an appropriate budget that guarantees
the programme can be put in place.
During this process you should keep in mind the regulations
about personnel, property, and finance that are set
out in the National Administration Guidelines.
With consideration to each of the goals you've set,
ask:
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Why is the desired outcome not
already the status quo in your school?
What factors are involved?
Which of these factors can you influence
or control? (This analysis will help you
decide what has to be done.)
What does research into good practice
reveal about things you could do to bring
about your target outcomes?
Who have you consulted to discover good
practice research?
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Now,
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What will you
from your current school practice
or capability to achieve your new or improved
outcomes?
How will you allocate resources
(for example: personnel, professional
development, finance, time) to support
these changes?
What strategic partnerships (for
example: with other schools, community
members) might be useful?
What data will you need to measure
progress towards your outcomes?
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In thinking about strategies aimed at improving student
outcomes, boards and school management need to be
conscious of the research evidence that says that
what teachers do in classrooms is the biggest influence
on student outcomes.
"...the most important factor affecting student
achievement is the teacher. ... the results show wide
variation in effectiveness between teachers. The immediate
and clear implication of this finding is that seemingly
more can be done to improve education by improving
the effectiveness of teachers than by any other single
factor."
(Wright, Horn and Sanders (1997) cited in Marzano
R. Pickering D. and Pollock J. (2001) Classroom instruction
that works: Research-based strategies for increasing
student achievement. Virginia: Association for Supervision
and Curriculum Development)
"All the evidence that has been generated in the
school effectiveness research community shows that
classrooms are far more important than schools in
determining how children perform at school."
(Muijs D. & Reynolds D. (2001). Effective Teaching:
Evidence and Practice. London: Paul Chapman Publishing)
In other words, improvement strategies need to be aimed at improving the quality
of teacher-student interactions. Changes made in schools that do not ultimately
have this effect are unlikely to make much difference.
Case Study
Grantlea School faced a falling roll and
a culture of low expectation. They devised systems and a strategy which focussed
on student learning.
Back to
Introduction | Next
Section: Setting Targets
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