A Theoretical Based Approach to Educational Improvement: Establishing Links between Educational Effectiveness Research and School Improvement

This chapter attempts to make a contribution to knowledge and theory building in the field of school improvement in relation to educational effectiveness research. It refers to a dynamic perspective of educational effectiveness and improvement stressing the importance of using an evidence-based and theory-driven approach. Specifically, an approach to school improvement based on the work done in relation to the dynamic model of educational effectiveness is offered. For this reason, an outline of the model is provided and possibilities of using the model for improvement purposes in educational practice are discussed. The recommended approach to school improvement gives also emphasis to quality of teaching and to conditions created at different levels for improving the quality of teaching. Moreover, it is demonstrated that, for improvement purposes, the dynamic model points at the importance of a whole school approach and the use of data collected through school self-evaluation mechanisms for decision making about improvement of policies and actions. Furthermore, the improvement approach related to this model emphasises the use of the available knowledge-base in relation to the main aims of the efforts schools are making to deal with different challenges/problems are facing. Finally, we provide suggestions on conducting experimental and case studies investigating how and under what conditions schools can make use of the dynamic model and develop a theory-driven and evidence-based approach to improvement of the quality of education. INTRODUCTION Educational Effectiveness Research (EER) can be seen as a conglomerate of research in different areas: research on teacher behaviour, curriculum, grouping procedures, school organisation, and educational policy. The main research question of EER is which factors in teaching, curriculum, and learning environment at different levels such as the classroom, the school, and the above-school levels can directly or indirectly explain the differences in the outcomes of students, taking into account background characteristics, such as ability, Socio Economic Status (SES), and prior attainment. In the last 25 years, EER has improved considerably by the criticism on research design, the sampling and statistical techniques. Methodological advances, particularly the availability of particular software for the analysis of multilevel data, have enabled more efficient estimates of teacher and school differences in student achievement to be obtained (Goldstein, 2003). There is also substantial agreement as to appropriate