EDN5901

School effectiveness and improvement: research, policy and practice

Associate Professor A C Townsend

12 points - 3 hours per week - Summer semester - Peninsula

Objectives Upon successful completion of this subject, students should be able to demonstrate knowledge of the international research, policy and practice initiatives in school effectiveness and improvement; should understand the relationships between school effectiveness and school improvement research, policy and practice and have further developed their skills in networking with other researchers and fine tuning their research techniques.

Synopsis This subject enables participants to interact with, and respond to, international research and researchers in the areas of school effectiveness and school improvement by involving them in an ongoing dialogue with those at the cutting edge of the field. This will be done by basing the subject upon the annual International Congress for School Effectiveness and Improvement (ICSEI), held in January of each year, together with visits to schools and other relevant agencies in the country in which the conference is held. This participation in educational debate with researchers and practitioners from many countries will be supplemented by a detailed analysis of the 'cutting edge' research, presented both at these conferences and from other sources.

Assessment (Masters students): Journal of experiences during the tour (3000 words): 40% - Major review of the conference and visits (5000 words): 60%
Assessment (Doctoral students): Journal of experiences during the tour: 25% - Major review of the conference and visits (6000 words): 75%

Recommended texts

Creemers B and Osinga N ICSEI country reports ICSEI, 1995
Reynolds D and Cuttance P School effectiveness: Research, policy and practice Cassell, 1992
Townsend A C Effective schooling for the community: The core-plus school Routledge, 1994

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