Name- ISHANI PANDIT
Course- PGDSLM
Enrollment No- 2401317718
Session- THIRD
Q1. How will you define school improvement?
A1. Seemingly simple and straightforward, school improvement is a vast topic.
Schools are centres of learning and holistic development for children. School
improvement refers to various initiatives by the school to continuously improve and
enhance its ability to provide better learning and development support to its students.
These initiatives cover different aspects that aid student learning and development
outcomes. School improvement is an ongoing process that has the potential to yield
short-term, mid-term and long-term benefits.
School improvement occurs when schools learn how to improve. More specifically,
improvement occurs when schools identify and implement changes to practice that
result in improved student outcomes.
In Schools as Learning Organisations, I describe a collaborative methodology for
investigating ways to improve current school practices. It’s not rocket science. It’s a
plan for improvement that involves five steps.
Step 1: Know your school’s current situation
A plan to improve depends first on a good understanding of existing school practices
and student outcomes, particularly current levels of student attainment. These are
the starting points for any improvement effort and the baselines against which a
school’s improvement efforts are evaluated.
Information about current student outcomes and prevailing school practices must be
collected systematically and reliably. It is not possible to draw meaningful
conclusions about improvements in outcomes or practices if this initial information is
unreliable. Data need to be collected objectively and dispassionately, and reflect the
realities of the school’s current performance.
Step 2: Specify the desired outcomes
A school improvement plan specifies what improvements in outcomes a school
wishes to see. Desired improvements may include, but are not limited to,
improvements in student achievement, school attendance, post-school destinations,
and student attitudes and engagement. A school improvement plan recognises the
need to prioritise, set realistic expectations, and provide the time required for
meaningful and sustainable improvement.
Step 3: Design and implement an improvement strategy
Once a school has decided the outcomes it wishes to improve, the next step is to
decide how those improvements will be achieved, that is, the strategy or strategies
the school intends to implement. The National School Improvement Tool can be
helpful in designing improvement strategies.
In general, better student outcomes are achieved through more effective,
evidence-based school and classroom practices. A school improvement plan makes
explicit the changes in practice a school intends to make. The plan also identifies
what will be required to implement the strategy, for example, changes in culture, staff
professional development, staff redeployment or the physical resources required for
effective implementation.
Step 4: Measure and monitor the results
The fourth step is to decide how improvements in outcomes will be measured and
confirmed. Conclusions about improvements require measures that can be
compared over time and possibly across different instruments. Changes must also
be large enough to indicate meaningful improvements rather than chance
fluctuations. Conclusions about improvements can be made with more confidence
when there is evidence of a trend in outcome measures over an extended period.
Step 5: Reflect on what you’ve learned
Finally, a school improvement plan should include a plan for reflecting on, and
learning from, the improvement effort. The goal should be to review the
implementation of the improvement strategy and evaluate its impact on the targeted
outcomes.
