Category: Educational Administration and Leadership

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Educational Administration and Leadership Primary School Education

The effects of teacher stress on pupil outcomes

A new article by Herman, Hickmon-Rosa and Reink (2018) explores the relationship between teacher stress and pupil outcomes.

Their study, which was published in the Journal of Positive Behavior Interventions, included 121 teachers and 1,817 pupils between kindergarten and fourth grade (Years 1-5) from nine elementary (primary) schools in an urban Midwestern school district in the U.S. Data included survey responses from teachers on their levels of burnout, stress, efficacy and coping. Pupil outcome measures included teacher reports of pupil behaviour and the Woodcock–Johnson III Test of Achievement.

  • Based on the data, the authors grouped the teachers into four classes: stressed/low coping (3%), stressed/moderate coping (30%), stressed/high coping (60%) and well-adjusted (7%).
  • The authors then linked these results with pupil behavioral and academic outcomes, and found that teachers in the high-stress, high-burnout, and low-coping class were associated with the poorest pupil outcomes.

These findings suggest that investing resources in supporting teacher adaptation, both by equipping them with coping skills and by providing more environmental supports, may improve not only their well-being but also the well-being and functioning of pupils in their class.

 

Source (Open Access): Herman, K. C., Hickmon-Rosa, J., & Reinke, W. M. (2018). Empirically derived profiles of teacher stress, burnout, self-efficacy, and coping and associated student outcomes. Journal of Positive Behavior Interventions, 20(2), 90–100. … Read the rest

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Educational Administration and Leadership Primary School Education Programme Evaluation Secondary School Education

Strategies to promote teacher effectiveness

The Institute of Education Sciences has released a new evaluation brief that synthesizes findings from two impact studies conducted by the National Center for Education Evaluation (NCEE). One study focused on a strategy of providing teachers with feedback on their performance for two years (performance feedback), and the other study focused on a strategy of providing teachers with bonuses for four years based on their performance (pay-for-performance). Both strategies were supported by the Teacher Incentive Fund, which provided competitive grants to help US states and districts implement a multi-strategy approach to enhancing teacher effectiveness.

In each study, elementary and middle schools were randomly assigned to implement the strategy (the treatment group) or not (the control group). The performance feedback study included approximately 29,000 pupils and 1,000 teachers in grades 4–8, while the pay-for-performance study included approximately 38,000 pupils and 3,500 teachers in grades 3–8. Pupil outcomes were measured using end-of-year reading and math scores.

Key findings were as follows:

  • Providing teachers with feedback on their performance for two years improved pupils’ math achievement after the first year with a difference in scores that corresponds to an effect size of +0.05. The cumulative effect after two years of implementation was similar in magnitude but not statistically significant. The effect on reading in both years was positive but not statistically significant.
  • Providing teachers with bonuses based on their performance for four years improved pupils’ reading achievement after one, two and three years of implementation and pupils’ math　achievement after three years. After each of those periods of implementation, the effect size was +0.04 for reading and +0.06 for math. However, as noted in the evaluation report, the impacts of pay-for-performance on classroom observation ratings did not appear to explain the impacts on pupil achievement, and in treatment schools, as many as 40% of teachers were unaware that they could earn a performance bonus.

The brief was prepared for NCEE by Andrew Wayne and Michael Garet of American Institutes for Research and Alison Wellington and Hanley Chiang of Mathematica Policy Research

 

Source (Open Access)：National Center for Education Evaluation (2018). Promoting educator effectiveness- The effects of two key strategies. Retrieved from https://ies.ed.gov/ncee/pubs/20184009/pdf/20184009.pdf… Read the rest

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Educational Administration and Leadership Secondary School Education Social and Motivational Outcomes

Two behaviours linked to dropout rates in high school

A study published in the Journal of School Health examines how two behaviours – aggression and poor study skills – may be a factor in why some pupils do not finish high school.

Pamela Orpinas and colleagues randomly selected 620 sixth-grade (Year 7) pupils from northeast Georgia schools. Teachers completed a behaviour rating scale for these pupils every year from grades six to twelve (Year 7 to Year 13). Based on teacher ratings, the pupils were categorised into low, medium and high aggression trajectories from middle to high school and into five study skills groups (low, average-low, decreasing, increasing and high).  Examples of behaviours considered to be aggressive were threatening to hurt, hitting, bullying and teasing others. Examples of study skills were doing extra credit work, being well organised, completing homework, working hard and reading assigned chapters. Participants in the study were classed as a dropout if they were not enrolled in school and had not obtained a high school diploma by the end of the spring term in grade 12 (Year 13).

It was found that:

  • Pupils who were identified in the high-aggression/low-study-skills group had a 50% dropout rate compared to pupils with low aggression and high study skills who had a dropout rate of less than 2%.
  • Most pupil in the high-aggression group were in the low-study-skills group.
  • All pupil in the high-study-skills group were in the low-aggression group.

The results highlight the importance of early interventions that combine academic enhancement and behavioural management for reducing school dropout rates.

 

Source : Orpinas, P., Raczynski, K., Hsieh, H.-L., Nahapetyan, L., & Horne, A. M. (2018). Longitudinal examination of aggression and study skills from middle to high school: implications for dropout prevention. Journal of School Health, 88(3), 246–252. … Read the rest

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Educational Administration and Leadership Kindergarten Primary School Education Secondary School Education

New guidance to support schools to put evidence to work in their classrooms

A new guidance report from the Education Endowment Foundation (EEF) aims to give schools the support they need to put evidence to work in their classrooms and implement new programmes and approaches effectively.

The report highlights how good and thoughtful implementation is crucial to the success of any teaching and learning strategy, yet creating the right conditions for implementation – let alone the structured process of planning, delivering and sustaining change – is hard.

The authors offer six recommendations to help schools give their innovations the very best chance by working carefully through the who, why, where, when and how of managing change. These recommendations can be applied to any school improvement decision: programmes or practices, whole-school or targeted approach, internally or externally generated ideas. The report frames implementation in four stages: explore, prepare, deliver and sustain. The six recommendations are:

  • Treat implementation as a process, not an event; plan and execute it in stages.
  • Create a leadership environment and school climate that is conducive to good implementation.
  • Define the problem you want to solve and identify appropriate programmes or practices to implement.
  • Create a clear implementation plan, judge the readiness of the school to deliver that plan, then prepare staff and resources.
  • Support staff, monitor progress, solve problems, and adapt strategies as the approach is used for the first time.
  • Plan for sustaining and scaling an intervention from the outset and continuously acknowledge and nurture its use.

These suggestions provide guidance on how schools can create the right environment for change, from supporting staff to getting leadership on board.

 

Sharples, J., Albers, B., & Fraser, S. (2018). Putting evidence to work: a school’s guide to implementation. Guidance Report. London, England: The Education Endowment Foundation.… Read the rest

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Achievement Educational Administration and Leadership Primary School Education Secondary School Education

Mind the gap

A new research report published by the Department for Education explores success and good practice in supporting the achievement of disadvantaged pupils, and concludes that schools have meaningful scope to make a difference.

In England, the performance gap between pupils from more- and less-advantaged backgrounds is one of the largest among OECD countries. This research used school-level data, surveys, and interviews to identify schools that have successfully narrowed the gap, common features across these schools, and what lessons can be learned from success stories.

The authors found that between one- and two-thirds of the variance between schools in terms of disadvantaged pupils’ achievement can be explained by school-level characteristics, suggesting that intake and circumstance are influential but do not totally determine outcomes.

Seven building blocks for success were identified:

  • Promote an ethos of achievement for all pupils, rather than stereotyping disadvantaged pupils as a group with less potential to succeed.
  • Have an individualised approach to addressing barriers to learning and emotional support at an early stage, rather than providing access to generic support and focusing on pupils nearing the end of key stages.
  • Focus on high-quality teaching first rather than add-on strategies and activities outside school hours.
  • Focus on outcomes for individual pupils rather than on providing strategies.
  • Deploy the best staff to support disadvantaged pupils; develop skills and roles of teachers and Teaching Assistants rather than using additional staff who do not know the pupils well.
  • Make decisions based on data and respond to evidence using frequent, rather than one-off, assessment and decision points.
  • Have clear, responsive leadership: setting ever-higher aspirations and devolving responsibility for raising achievement to all staff, rather than accepting low aspirations and variable performance.

The report also has an accompanying briefing for school leaders which summarises the findings, identifies school risk factors and how schools can address them, and provides a list of suggested next steps.

 

Macleod, S., Sharp, C., Bernardinelli, D., Skipp, A., & Higgins, S. (2015). Supporting the attainment of disadvantaged pupils: articulating success and good practice: Research report November 2015. London, England: Department for Education.… Read the rest

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Educational Administration and Leadership Maths and Science Learning Primary School Education Secondary School Education

What happens when teachers get more feedback?

A study published by the American Institutes for Research (AIR) and the Institute of Education Sciences (IES) shows that even small amounts of the right kind of feedback to teachers and principals can have an effect on pupil achievement in maths.

A total of 127 schools from eight districts across five US states participated in the study. Schools were assigned to either a treatment or control group. In both the treatment and control group schools, teachers and principals continued to receive the performance feedback they had received in the past. For those in the treatment group schools, additional feedback was also given for classroom practice, pupil achievement and principal leadership. The study focused on principals and teachers of reading/ English and maths in grades 4–8 (Years 5–9).

The findings include:

  • In the first year of the study, the pupils in the treatment schools outperformed pupils in control schools in maths by the equivalent of four weeks of learning.
  • In the second year, while there was a difference of the same size, it was not statistically significant.
  • There was no difference in either year on pupil achievement in reading/ English.

Through exploratory analyses, the study also noted that classroom practice was positively associated with achievement in maths, suggesting that improved classroom practice might be one way of how feedback to teachers influenced student achievement.

 

Garet, M.S., Wayne, A.J., Brown, S., Rickles, J., Song, M., and Manzeske, D. (2017). The impact of providing performance feedback to teachers and principals. Washington, DC: National Center for Education Evaluation and Regional Assistance, Institute of Education Sciences, U.S. Department of Education.… Read the rest