The purpose of this study was to identify the major school improvement needs and related strategies for two Bangladeshi secondary public schools based upon the perceptions of in-school professionals, parents, and students. To implement the study, I employed the constructivist/interpretive paradigm with a case study as my research design. The data collection techniques of document analysis, Nominal Group Technique (NGT) meetings, and individual interviews were utilized. For the purpose of NGT meetings, from each school, one teacher group, one parent group, and one student group were interviewed. After the completion of NGT meetings, individual interviews were held with one participant selected from each NGT group. I also interviewed the headmasters of the two schools. This study revealed that in a Bangladeshi educational context, major catalysts for improvement were market mechanisms and educational policies. The most significant finding of this study was that considering contextual applicability before implementing new initiatives was a critical strategy toward achieving sustainable school improvement in Bangladesh. The data indicated that in these schools, desired improvement efforts mainly consisted of two clusters: identifying the key school improvement needs and developing the strategies to meet those needs. The data revealed that the identified school improvement needs can be grouped into providing the resources and improving the school culture. To enhance school effectiveness, these Bangladeshi schools need to recruit more specialized teachers, implement effective instructional methodologies, elevate the image of teaching profession, and provide teacher-led professional development. Participants identified other suggested school improvement needs to be: low student-teacher ratio, good textbooks, more extracurricular activities, and more instructional materials (such as, computers, projectors, televisions, sound system, and so on). This study also revealed a strong perception that the role of collaboration in improving school culture is crucial. Participants explained that in order to successfully implement improvement initiatives, major challenges to the process need to be addressed. Participants identified three important barriers to implementation. These included lack of attention to the voices of all stakeholders during policymaking, the misuses of private tutoring or coaching, and lack of commitment among some of the teachers in their teaching. Findings affirmed that these barriers could be addressed by including all stakeholders voices in educational policy-making, addressing the misuses of private tutoring or coaching, and making teachers more accountable. A number of implications for theory, practice, policy, and further research arose from this study. Participants noted that teachers, parents, students, teacher-training authority, Bangladeshi Government, Non Government Organizations, school administrators, and district administrators were co-responsible within their own capacities to provide the necessary support and resources for school improvement in Bangladeshi context.

The focus of this study was the challenge of implementing school improvement interventions from inception through the system to the school, within a framework of the multiple layers of South Africa's complex education system. These are the macro level, (the provincial and national political and bureaucratic decision makers), the meso-level (the role and function of district offices and external agents), and the micro level (local contexts at the site of the school). This study does not intend to evaluate school improvement interventions but rather to research and interrogate the mediation of the interventions at various levels and within the contextual realities of an education system in transition. The problem is three-pronged and is premised on understanding the link between the study of implementation and of school improvement within education in transition. The hypothesis put forward is that, on the one hand, contextual realties, contestation and contradictions at various levels of a complex organization shape the outcomes of a school improvement intervention. On the other hand, school improvement strategies must be further located within the framework of implementation in order to explore the complexities of getting things done in an emerging democracy. The challenge posed is whether a coherent link between implementation and school improvement can be achieved while taking into cognizance the three levels and the contextual realities informed by the legacy of the past. I identified two case studies of school improvement initiatives undertaken in the Gauteng province. The first was initiated during the first phase of the new democratic government, an EQUIP intervention programme initiated by the first Member of the Executive Council (MEC) for education in Gauteng. I chose EQUIP because the design and initiation of this intervention symbolized the political ideology of this first period of government. The second school improvement initiative, the Education Action Zone (EAZ) intervention, was chosen because it reflects a significant shift in political ideals in the second period of government. This study argues that school improvement in the emerging South African context must respond to the contested nature of transforming societies and the serious lack of cohesion and capacity at all levels of the system. In order to respond to this difficult terrain, implementation within a cyclic model must be an integral part of the design of a school improvement intervention. There must be a clear understanding of the political, cultural and technical nuances in each of the three environments. Implementation is dependent on actors in them, and the contextual realties shape the level of agency played by the people in each. The linkage also determines the fidelity, compliance, and communication of the message of the intervention as actors within each have different levels of power and authority to influence the change process.

From 2010 to 2016, public schools in New York City were required to affiliate with one of approximately 60 Children First Networks (CFN). These networks were designed to provide a broad range of support for instruction, leadership, curriculum, and operations in schools, as well as facilitating collaboration between schools, with the ultimate goal of raising student achievement. Using mixed methods, the research presented in this thesis investigates relationships between these networks and student achievement, and explores processes and interactions relevant to collaboration and school improvement within and between schools and their affiliated networks. The overall explanatory sequential mixed methods design began with a quantitative phase, in which secondary data were analyzed using multilevel modeling to determine whether there was an overall effect of networks on student achievement on state assessments in literacy and mathematics. Contextualised value added (CVA) school effects were also investigated at this stage, and the results were used to inform the sampling of schools for the qualitative strand of the project. Qualitative inquiry used a case study approach, with the "case" defined as the network structure as a whole, and embedded cases consisting of 10 schools in several different networks. Interviews were conducted with various stakeholders (principals, teachers, and network staff) to access multiple perspectives and experiences of network roles, participation and collaboration in networks, and how these relate to school improvement. Main findings from the quantitative analysis demonstrate little evidence of an overall effect of networks on student achievement, but show significant variation between schools' CVA effects. Qualitative findings offer insight relevant to these results, as accounts of participants at different levels of the network structure vary regarding the nature, extent and impact of schools' involvement with networks. Focusing on an under-researched network structure and applying rigorous methods from educational effectiveness research within a mixed methods design to study networking and collaboration in education, this study makes an original and substantive contribution to both of these fields. Findings have the potential to inform relevant policy in New York City, and though results from this context must be generalized cautiously, this research may provide useful considerations for policymakers in other settings by adding to the broader evidence base on the effects of school networks and the processes and interactions within them.

The papers in this portfolio are part of the author's efforts to 'make things better' in education, and are the products of over a decade's thinking and research. While most of the papers are written from within the context of the state school system in NSW, their messages apply equally well to school systems elsewhere. The papers reflect an eclectic mix of research perspectives and methodological paradigms. It is suggested that student learning outcomes may be improved if schools specify goals and objectives, make the necessary resources available and establish accountability mechanisms for monitoring and measuring performance. The analysis and synthesis generates critical knowledge, that is, knowledge which is explanatory and interpretive. The desire to assist schools to achieve a position where they are able to (firstly) assemble their own data systems, and secondly to conduct their own analysis of this data and report this to the school community has been the common theme underpinning all the professional work of the author. The works evolved in this portfolio document an evolving process, and one which is far from concluded. There is much further work that could be done. An analysis of the macro and micro-politics of school improvement processes, for example, would be a useful contribution to the literature. For the present purposes, there is a practical need to limit the scope and number of the works presented. The works included all address, in some way, the common theme of improving school and systemic effectiveness through better information management. Hopefully, they have made some small contribution to better understanding the phenomenon, and will in turn positively impact on the performance of schools and school systems / Doctor of Education

Doctor of Education (EdD) / Increasingly the Australian educational environment in which schools find themselves is one where schools are expected to achieve successes for their students and furthermore allow their successes or lack thereof to be compared with ‘transparency’ against the successes of other schools. The overriding principle expected from the politicians and society in general is one of providing parents with the best information possible on which they will be able to base their decision as to which school will be the best for their children. This notion is noble and honourable, one at which little criticism can be levelled. However, as researchers in the ‘Effective Schools’ and ‘Improving Schools’ research fields have discussed for decades, measuring the effectiveness of schools is not an easily achievable goal. It is far too easy to fall into the trap of using simplistic and narrow measures that supposedly allow easy comparisons. This study takes the view, as does most research to date, that univariable measures of school effectiveness are fatally flawed. The current trend in many western nations to simply compare the academic success of schools, however that might be measured, does little to measure the effectiveness of schools. What is most concerning is the growing trend of creating league tables of comparison and in some educational systems to use such tables to determine school funding. Equally disturbing is the amount of research that seeks to examine what students consider important in an effective school. There is a great deal of research on what characteristics parents, teachers, politicians and other key stakeholders consider an effective school to have but extraordinarily there is comparably very little research on what students consider important. This study seeks to somewhat address this inadequacy by measuring what students in their senior years of schooling in a single independent school in New South Wales, Australia perceive to be appropriate and useful measures of effective schooling. In so doing this research also examined if in the students’ minds their current school is effective and most significantly examines why students hold the views they have concerning effective schools. In order to achieve this aim, this study took a qualitative research approach to discover Student Perceptions of Effective Schooling. The theoretical orientation adopted was to both verify current theory of effective schooling as well as suggest possible developments, modifications and improvements to current theory in light of the students’ perceptions. As such both inductive and deductive analysis of the data took place. The data was collected using a range of methods from traditionally quantitative research tools, such as surveys, through to the qualitative research tool of focus groups. The results of this study demonstrated that while the current research has developed a good multivariable approach to measuring school effectiveness there were significant areas the students believed needed greater or lesser emphasis. The importance of technically good teachers, separate from the need for good and caring teachers, as well as the need for schools to be safe places were all important measures of effective schools. The ability of the school to engage students outside the classroom and provide a relevant and diverse academic curriculum was also considered essential for effective schooling.

Graduation date: 1997

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Washington, 2006. / Vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 200-209).

Thesis (Ed. D.)--University of Missouri-Columbia, 2001. / Typescript. Vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 284-293). Also available on the Internet.

Thesis (Ed. D.)--University of Missouri-Columbia, 2001. / Typescript. Vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 284-293). Also available on the Internet.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Texas at Austin, 2003. / Supervisor: Martha N. Ovando. Vita. Includes bibliographical references. Available also from UMI Company.