National attention remains fixed on educational reform. Since the late 1980s, an increasing number of state and local education agencies have adopted high-stakes testing initiatives and accountability programs focused on increasing student achievement. States, like the State of California, are requiring local districts to implement a variety of reform measures related to improved student achievement. California's 1999 Public Schools Accountability Act (PSAA), which established the Immediate Intervention of Underperforming Schools Program (II/USP) as a way to fix the lowest performing schools, was the state's remedy to address a history of declining student achievement on national and state performance assessments. California's legislators and policymakers continue to support II/USP as a way to reform its lowest performing schools despite sufficient research that clearly delineates the positive or negative effects of II/USP on participating schools. This exploratory study was composed of a primary study and an auxiliary study. The purpose of the primary study was to survey a group of principals from the most successful II/USP elementary schools and describe the reform measures they perceived to improve academic performance. The purpose of the auxiliary study was to survey a group of principals from the least successful II/USP elementary schools in order to compare and contrast the perceptions between the two groups of principals. Data gathered from the primary study and the auxiliary study was used to advance a theory highlighted by the Woods Targeted Reform Achievement Model (Woods T-RAM). The Woods T-RAM was an organizational tool used by the researcher to promote a theory that low performing schools must implement, at the very least, three fundamental strategies when attempting reform. The results of the study indicated that, at the very least, there is a specific set of strategies elementary principals perceived to have helped improve academic achievement at their schools. In particular, principals from the successful II/USP schools perceived that schools must have local board members, district administrators and site leaders who must set a positive tone for change, promote a specific vision for the change, and provide resources and training that promote student learning. Furthermore, these principals perceived that teachers must be provided with well-articulated curricula that optimizes instructional time and provides a standardized set of achievement goals that were sequentially developed from one grade level to the next. And finally, these principals perceived that student performance does improve when teachers and administrators design a system for analyzing individual student performance data and develop customized instructional programs that meet specific performance goals.

The Swedish compulsory education system is not seen as high quality according to the (OECD, 2015). Instead eyes are turning towards Finland and Singapore for best practice. Sweden's results are falling in international assessments such as PISA and TIMMS (Skolverket, 2016a/2016b), despite high expenditure per capita and several education reforms lately, such as a new curriculum and new teacher training education. The Swedish Schools Inspectorate scrutinizes schools with the objective to ensure a good education in a safe environment and to sustain nationwide equity. The authority therefore has a decisive role in judging the quality of schools in Sweden. The objective of this thesis is to study the criticism of Swedish Schools Inspectorate towards schools that have received a penalty for not abiding the law. The data consists of six school inspection reports seen as a case. Qualitative analysis is used building on discourse analysis theory. The findings of the research are that discipline and value-based issues are two of the areas discussed most in the criticism of the Swedish Schools Inspectorate. The inspectors also seem to look for discrepancies between documents and school staff. Different groups have the power to express themselves on various issues, such as special educators in student health. The pupils are also given a strong voice and space to define their school in the reports.

The challenge facing principals currently is to revisit their role to improve external examination results in the Republic of South Africa. Almost all schools in the Free State, in particular those in rural areas such as the Thabo Mofutsanyana Education District; the Xhariep Education District; part of the Motheo Education District (e.g. Botshabelo and Thaba-Nchu) and most urban areas, such as the Lejweleputswa Education District and the Fezile Dabi Education District, have schools which have had poor examination results for the past 20 years. To answer the challenges currently facing principals in the Free State, this research used a qualitative research framework and methodology to articulate research questions and arrive at constructive and instructive models to reveal and close the gaps between performing and underperforming secondary schools in the province. A particular group of principals was chosen, influenced by the performance and underperformance of their schools in the various education districts in the province. Research findings from unstructured interviews with doctoral candidates, and research on China, Finland and Singapore’s education systems with special reference to instructional leadership were conducted. The doctoral candidates’ ideas were confirmed by practical unstructured interviews with Sekgutlong and Beacon high school principals who visited Singapore with the MEC of the Free State Department of Education. In plenary and parallel encounters with principals of secondary schools in the Free State, it emerged that rote learning is prevalent in the Free State secondary schools. Therefore, was resolved by the majority of the principals that critical postmodern instructional leadership should be recommended as an instructional methodology to usher in critical thinking, innovation, creativity and self-reliance in Free State education. In addition, this will close the gap between performing and underperforming secondary schools. Finally, grounded postmodern instructional leadership as a leadership strategy will assist a contemporary secondary school learner’s generation to cope with the academic requirements of tertiary education. / Curriculum and Instructional Studies / D. Ed. (Didactics)

The challenge facing principals currently is to revisit their role to improve external examination results in the Republic of South Africa. Almost all schools in the Free State, in particular those in rural areas such as the Thabo Mofutsanyana Education District; the Xhariep Education District; part of the Motheo Education District (e.g. Botshabelo and Thaba-Nchu) and most urban areas, such as the Lejweleputswa Education District and the Fezile Dabi Education District, have schools which have had poor examination results for the past 20 years. To answer the challenges currently facing principals in the Free State, this research used a qualitative research framework and methodology to articulate research questions and arrive at constructive and instructive models to reveal and close the gaps between performing and underperforming secondary schools in the province. A particular group of principals was chosen, influenced by the performance and underperformance of their schools in the various education districts in the province. Research findings from unstructured interviews with doctoral candidates, and research on China, Finland and Singapore’s education systems with special reference to instructional leadership were conducted. The doctoral candidates’ ideas were confirmed by practical unstructured interviews with Sekgutlong and Beacon high school principals who visited Singapore with the MEC of the Free State Department of Education. In plenary and parallel encounters with principals of secondary schools in the Free State, it emerged that rote learning is prevalent in the Free State secondary schools. Therefore, was resolved by the majority of the principals that critical postmodern instructional leadership should be recommended as an instructional methodology to usher in critical thinking, innovation, creativity and self-reliance in Free State education. In addition, this will close the gap between performing and underperforming secondary schools. Finally, grounded postmodern instructional leadership as a leadership strategy will assist a contemporary secondary school learner’s generation to cope with the academic requirements of tertiary education. / Curriculum and Instructional Studies / D. Ed. (Didactics)