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We investigated teacher effects (magnitude, predictors, and cumulativeness) on primary students' achievement trajectories in Chile, using multilevel cross-classified (accelerated) growth models (four overlapping cohorts, spanning Grades 3 to 8; n = 19,704 students, and 851 language and 812 mathematics teachers, in 156 schools). It was found that teacher effects on achievement growth are large, exceeding school effects. Also, the contribution of teachers to student achievement growth was found to accumulate over time. The study advances the field by exploring teacher effects in the context of an emerging economy, contributing further evidence on the properties of teacher effects on student achievement growth and demonstrating the combined use of accelerated longitudinal designs, growth curve approaches, and cross-classified and multiple membership models.

This study investigates school effects on primary school students' language and mathematics achievement trajectories in Chile, a context of particular interest given its large between-school variability in educational outcomes. The sample features an accelerated longitudinal design (3 time points, 4 cohorts) together spanning Grades 3 to 8 (n = 19,704 students in 156 schools). The magnitudes of school effects on students' growth trajectories were found to be sizeable (generally larger than school effects in Western industrialised countries) and moderately consistent across school subjects. School composition effects on student achievement status were found for both school subjects. However, there was no evidence of composition effects on student achievement growth. The study provides new evidence on the size and nature of school effects in a developing country context based on state-of-the-art methods (i.e., accelerated longitudinal and growth curve models).

Purpose: This study aims to explore the impact of school leadership, particularly that of the principal (head teacher), on school improvement in England. Design/methodology/approach: The study adopts a mixed-methods (MM), longitudinal design to investigate the leadership of a sample of academically effective and improving schools identified from analyses of national assessment and examination data sets. In addition, questionnaire surveys of principals and key staff and 20 qualitative school case studies were conducted. The paper reports results from the questionnaire analyses and changes in measures of school performance over three school years using data from 378 primary and 362 secondary schools. Confirmatory factor analysis and structural equation models (SEM) test direct and indirect effects of school leadership and school and classroom processes in predicting changes in schools' academic results. Findings: The analyses identified robust underlying dimensions of leadership and school and classroom processes and highlighted strategies and actions that school principals and staff had adopted to raise pupil attainment. The SEM models reveal both direct and indirect effects of leadership on a range of school and classroom processes that in turn predicted changes (improvements) in schools' academic performance. Originality/value: This original empirical study presents new results on the leadership of a large sample of effective and improving primary and secondary schools in England. A dynamic model is presented predicting changes in schools' academic performance over three years and identifying direct effects of leadership on school and classroom processes and indirect effects on improvements in schools' academic results. (Contains 7 tables and 3 figures.)

In this paper the authors provide a synopsis of their results to date by organising them in response to four questions. These are questions about: leadership actions that account for sustained improvement or effectiveness in their school over at least several years; how the influence of these actions is exercised; differences among heads' leadership associated with school sector, phase of work and student intake characteristics; patterns of actions taken by heads toward school improvement. For each of these questions they also point to additional research that would be valuable, and their own next steps as well as the research of others.

This paper extends the introduction to the authors' study of successful school leadership and how it influences pupil outcomes begun in the Editorial introduction. Critical to an appreciation especially of the external validity of their results is an understanding of the policy context in which the English leaders in their study found themselves; this is a policy context dominated by concerns for external accountability and increases in the academic performance of pupils. In addition to describing this context, the paper summarises the conceptual and methodological framework that guided the early stage of their research and outlines their mixed-methods research design.

This article outlines the research design of a large-scale, longitudinal research study in England intended to describe and explore variations in teachers' work, lives and their effects on pupils' educational outcomes. The study, funded by the Department for Education and Skills (DfES) and incorporated into the Teaching and Learning Research Programme (TLRP) as an "Associate Project", used an innovative mixed-methods research design to create case studies of 300 teachers in Years 2, 6 and 9. The research was conducted over three consecutive academic years and collected a wide range of data through interviews, questionnaire surveys of teachers' and pupils' views and assessment data on pupils' attainments in English and mathematics. The text summarises the main findings from the research in relation to four interconnected themes of the study: Professional Life Phases; Professional Identity; Relative Effectiveness; and Resilience and Commitment. The influence of school context, in terms of level of social disadvantage of pupil intake, is also investigated. Key findings and their implications for policy and practice are highlighted. (Contains 1 table and 5 figures.)

This paper discusses the contribution of international studies on educational effectiveness in the light of 4 papers presented at the new ICSEI Methodology of Research and Effectiveness (MORE) Network in Barcelona in January 2005 and published in this issue of the journal. A brief historical overview is used to provide a context for these papers and a number of themes are identified in relation to the secondary analysis of international datasets such as TIMSS and PISA. The value of creating a new international teacher observation and feedback instrument to facilitate collaborative international research is discussed. In addition, the paper discusses the value of comparative studies of education policy in different national systems using the example of a high profile study of successful countries (in terms of PISA 2000 results) initiated by the Deutsches Institut fur Internationale Padagogische Forschung to inform a review of the German system.

A Scottish national study examined relationships between pupil background characteristics and performance in reading and mathematics at 80 primary and secondary schools. Age within the grade level, gender, and socioeconomic disadvantage had varying effects on achievement in different grades. School-level variations were more marked for primary than secondary students. Implications for school accountability policies are discussed. (Contains 50 references.) (TD)

In a large-scale study of 94 (British) secondary schools' ability to promote academic achievement, researchers conducted case studies of six outlier schools and questioned headteachers and deputies about effectiveness processes. Results reveal considerable support for previously cited effective schooling characteristics. Pupil behavior and attendance were problematic in less effective schools. (23 references) (MLH)

Presents results from a district-commissioned, value-added project conducted with 107 primary schools in Surrey, England. Explores use of baseline assessment to measure pupil progress across Key Stage 1 in various core curriculum areas. Multilevel analysis revealed that children's scores on the nine reception screening subscales were linked with their later KS1 achievement. (21 references) (MLH)

Describes the nature of school effects on academic achievement for different groups of students based on performance in selected subjects. Uses a "value added" approach, controlling for students' backgrounds. Indicates that schools that are more or less effective for one group of students are likely to be similarly effective for all students. (DSK)

We investigated teacher effects (magnitude, predictors, and cumulativeness) on primary students’ achievement trajectories in Chile, using multilevel cross-classified (accelerated) growth models (four overlapping cohorts, spanning Grades 3 to 8; n = 19,704 students, and 851 language and 812 mathematics teachers, in 156 schools). It was found that teacher effects on achievement growth are large, exceeding school effects. Also, the contribution of teachers to student achievement growth was found to accumulate over time. The study advances the field by exploring teacher effects in the context of an emerging economy, contributing further evidence on the properties of teacher effects on student achievement growth and demonstrating the combined use of accelerated longitudinal designs, growth curve approaches, and cross-classified and multiple membership models. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study investigates school effects on primary school students’ language and mathematics achievement trajectories in Chile, a context of particular interest given its large between-school variability in educational outcomes. The sample features an accelerated longitudinal design (3 time points, 4 cohorts) together spanning Grades 3 to 8 (n = 19,704 students in 156 schools). The magnitudes of school effects on students’ growth trajectories were found to be sizeable (generally larger than school effects in Western industrialised countries) and moderately consistent across school subjects. School composition effects on student achievement status were found for both school subjects. However, there was no evidence of composition effects on student achievement growth. The study provides new evidence on the size and nature of school effects in a developing country context based on state-of-the-art methods (i.e., accelerated longitudinal and growth curve models). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to explore the relationships between the characteristics of the home learning environment (HLE) and students’ academic attainments in secondary school in England at age 14 and 16. Design/methodology/approach – This research study uses multilevel statistical models to investigate the strength and significance of relationships between various measures of the HLE at ages three, six, 11 and 14, and students’ academic attainment in secondary school. Findings – Multilevel models show that early years HLE and specific dimensions of later HLE are positive predictors of students’ later academic attainment at age 14 and 16, when the influence of various individual, family and neighbourhood characteristics are controlled. Originality/value – The paper presents unique findings on the role of the HLE in shaping students’ academic success at secondary school, including a range of measures of the HLE obtained at different ages. The results show that the early years HLE measured at age three continues to show effects on later attainment, over and beyond the effects of later HLE and other significant influences such as family socio-economic status and parents’ qualification levels. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose -- This study aims to explore the impact of school leadership, particularly that of the principal (head teacher), on school improvement in England. Design/methodology/approach -- The study adopts a mixed-methods (MM), longitudinal design to investigate the leadership of a sample of academically effective and improving schools identified from analyses of national assessment and examination data sets. In addition, questionnaire surveys of principals and key staff and 20 qualitative school case studies were conducted. The paper reports results from the questionnaire analyses and changes in measures of school performance over three school years using data from 378 primary and 362 secondary schools. Confirmatory factor analysis and structural equation models (SEM) test direct and indirect effects of school leadership and school and classroom processes in predicting changes in schools' academic results. Findings -- The analyses identified robust underlying dimensions of leadership and school and classroom processes and highlighted strategies and actions that school principals and staff had adopted to raise pupil attainment. The SEM models reveal both direct and indirect effects of leadership on a range of school and classroom processes that in turn predicted changes (improvements) in schools' academic performance. Originality/value -- This original empirical study presents new results on the leadership of a large sample of effective and improving primary and secondary schools in England. A dynamic model is presented predicting changes in schools' academic performance over three years and identifying direct effects of leadership on school and classroom processes and indirect effects on improvements in schools' academic results. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This editorial article briefly examines the historical development of school effectiveness research (SER) and the importance of new methodological developments. It seeks to distinguish between school effects and schooling effects and introduces new topics, including regression discontinuity applied to cross-sectional data to identify the absolute effects of an additional year of schooling and the study of “seasonality” of learning through modelling students' term time progress compared with developments in summer recess. The value of growth curve modelling examining progress over multiple time points is explored. Potential problems in the use of SER data for accountability purposes are also examined. The value of studies focusing on non-academic as well as academic outcomes and the potential to explore in more detail differences in school effects for different student subgroups are also discussed and confirm that the field's strong roots in relation to the promotion of educational equity remain evident in more recent methodological approaches. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper analyses national assessment and examination data sets in England to test the claim that networked learning activity contributes to raising standards of attainment. Results for primary and secondary schools involved in the large and innovative network learning community (NLC) programme in England funded by the National College for School Leadership are compared with the national patterns for all schools across 2003 to 2005. The results indicate that there has been considerable variation in the extent of improvement in attainment results over the three years. Improvement patterns for NLC schools are generally in line with the rising national trend. There is no convincing evidence that NLC primary schools as a whole have improved more rapidly or narrowed the attainment gap in relation to national results between 2003 and 2005. For secondary schools there are some indications for Key Stage 3 that the change in English results shows greater improvement than the national pattern for a majority of schools, but this is not the case for maths or science. The paper also examines the results of a survey of NLC participants' perceptions. These show that most have a generally positive view of the professional learning promoted, the improvement of practice in their schools and the impact on pupil engagement and motivation, but that perceptions of the influence on pupil attainment and behaviour are somewhat less favourable, Again there is considerable variation amongst respondents suggesting that both involvement in and the influence of NLC activity varies within and between schools and individual networks. Heads and deputies generally have more favourable views than other respondents. It is concluded that the main benefit of networked learning has been to enhance professional practice but that caution should be exercised in making claims concerning the potential role of networked activity in raising attainment. While some schools and networks have shown marked improvement across a range of outcomes, the findings indicate that there is no overall NLC effect on attainment outcomes; rather, there is considerable variation at the school level within and between networks. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article explores the impact of pre-school experience on young children's cognitive attainments at entry to primary school and analyses data collected as part of a wider longitudinal study, the Effective Provision of Pre-school Education (EPPE) project, which followed a large sample of young children attending 141 pre-school centres drawn from six types of provider in five English regions. The article compares the characteristics and attainments of the pre-school sample with those of an additional 'home' sample (children who had not attended pre-school) recruited at entry to reception. Multilevel analyses of relationships between child, parent and home environment characteristics and children's attainments in pre-reading, early number concepts and language skills are presented. Duration of time in pre-school is found to have a significant and positive impact on attainment over and above important influences such as family socio-economic status, income, mother's qualification level, ethnic and language background. The research also points to the separate and significant influence of the home learning environment. It is concluded that pre-school can play an important part in combating social exclusion by offering disadvantaged children, in particular, a better start to primary school. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Reports on the results of an Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) funded study focusing on the differential secondary academic achievement of different groups of pupils. Size and extent of school effects across three years for the pupil groups; Pupils' overall General Certificate of Secondary Education performance; Performance in selected subjects.

As part of a large-scale study of the ability of 94 secondary schools to promote academic achievement, case studies of six outlier schools were conducted and headteachers (principals) and their deputies were questioned about the processes of effectiveness. The analysis of their responses — grouped by the performance of their school (measured by value added analyses of three years of public examination results) as effective, ineffective or mixed — reveals considerable support for previously cited characteristics of effective schooling. Despite the limitations imposed by a reliance on the use of retrospective accounts, the study takes forward the field of school effectiveness in its search for generalisable findings and coherent theory. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]