What Makes a Good School Good? ... contd
Extract from Choosing a School by Deirdre Rafferty & Catherine Kilbride
Reproduced with permission of Mercier PressGrouping Options
Streaming is the grouping of pupils by academic ability. They are assessed, either before or just after their arrival in the school and their performance in that assessment test decides the class they will be in. However, most schools do not stream that rigidly in first year and many postpone any such decision until the following year. Mixed ability teaching is often used in first year with incoming pupils being assigned to a class randomly, in alphabetical order of surnames for instance. Many schools use the assessment test results, not to segregate pupils into different levels of academic ability, but in order to ensure an appropriate mix in every class group. Banding is the system most used in the larger schools. This system is essentially a mix of the previous two, without being as extreme as either. It uses test results to divide pupils into broad ability bands. So, in a typical year group of one hundred and fifty pupils, there would be three bands divided on the basis of academic ability. Then, within those bands, pupils would be subdivided into class groups on the basis of mixed ability. Setting means grouping pupils by ability in certain subjects. Most usually the ‘set’ subjects in schools are mathematics, English and Irish. The pupils are then in mixed ability groupings for their other subjects.
Most schools use a mixture of these systems. Mixed-ability grouping is the most popular practice at school entry, even where streaming or banding is introduced in preparation for the Junior Certificate examination. As Drudy and Lynch have noted, ‘It is usually asserted that schools stream because they believe strongly that it is in the interests of the students to do so'. For example, those who support the use of streaming tend to argue that it leads to better outcomes for most pupils. They believe that, in a mixed-ability class, highly able pupils may be ‘held back by being grouped with slow learners’ while less able pupils may suffer because of ‘constant comparisons with higher-performing pupils’ Schools make parents aware of their class allocation system and their reasons for adopting that system.
Discipline
The Board of Management is required to prepare a code of behaviour specifying
- the standards of behaviour that shall be observed by each student attending the school;
- the measures that may be taken when a student fails or refuses to observe those standards;
- the procedures to be followed before a student may be suspended or expelled from the school concerned;
- the grounds for removing a suspension imposed in relation to a student; and
- the procedures to be followed relating to notification of a child’s absence from school.
The stated value, common to many of the school discipline codes which we reviewed, is respect. Pupils are expected to show respect for the property of others, including school property; for the views of others, including those of different cultures and belief systems; for the personal integrity of others; and respect for themselves, highlighting the need to have an environment in which students can learn without interference. This disciplinary climate requires quite detailed systems, which are drawn up by the principal in consultation with staff, parents and, in some cases, pupils. They include monitoring pupils’ punctuality and homework, as well as their behaviour involving staff and other pupils. The success of these systems will depend, not so much on their design and publication, but on their implementation in a clear, consistent and fair manner. Unsurprisingly, research indicates that the more academically effective schools are characterised by ‘a consistent application of school rules and procedures along with relatively early involvement of parents in disciplinary procedures'.
Teacher expectation
Our research for this book indicated that parents did not put ‘good teachers’ very high on their list of priorities when choosing a school. This might seem surprising, given the pivotal role of the teacher in the level of interest a child is likely to take in a subject. However, in our interviews with parents, a more nuanced response to that question became apparent. First of all, it is clear that we have in this country a very well-qualified teaching profession. In that sense, parents simply took for granted that the teaching staff would be good. They felt that there is, broadly, no inherent difference between teachers in the different schools they were considering for their children. In addition, their common sense told them that there is a variety of teaching styles and that pupils respond differently to different teachers. What they were hoping for, however, was that their child would be encouraged, given positive feedback, given a sense of achievement and self-worth. The research would suggest that they are on the right track here. Pupils who feel that their teacher expects them to do well, generally do well: ‘The level of teacher expectations within a school (as perceived by pupils) has a positive and significant impact on pupil performance.’
In our interviews with them, teachers expressed their belief that the brighter pupils will do well in any school. They saw their role as being far more important for their less academic pupils, to encourage them and build their self-confidence in order to ensure that they did as well as they possibly could in the examinations which would have such an impact on their choices in the future. What is important is that the potential of the child is fulfilled. In this regard, it is interesting to note that, according to Emer Smyth’s research, schools vary more in the academic performance of lower ability pupils; in other words, schools make more of a difference for this group.
We indicated at the start of this section that ‘success’, in terms of the ‘best’ school, is based on a number of different factors and so, a school where this high level of teacher expectation exists will ‘also tend to be characterised by a more flexible approach to subject choice, a stricter disciplinary code and more positive interaction between teachers and pupils.'
Management
There is quite wide variation between schools in the way in which they are managed. Theoretically, the management structure is the same in all schools: all have a principal, one or more deputy principals and additional members of staff in posts of responsibility. And yet, how they interact, the frequency of formal meetings, the quality of informal contact, the style of communication of decisions to staff and students, the extent to which they form a real management ‘team’ and perform the management role, is far from uniform across schools:
Less academically effective schools appear to be characterised by less staff involvement in decision-making in the school, less emphasis on formal staff meetings, less positive relations between management and staff and less supportive relations among colleagues. There are certain statutory obligations that apply to all principals. However, the way in which the principal works with the management team, the teachers, the parents, the students and the ancillary staff, differs between schools. An important factor here is school size. The principal in a school of a few hundred pupils and twenty to thirty staff will clearly have a different daily experience of the management role from a principal in a school of over a thousand pupils and seventy to eighty staff.
School size
In our research, we asked principals whether they felt there was an optimum school size. One indicated that once the systems were in place the school either worked or it did not and this was not related to its size. On the other hand, several principals suggested that the optimum size was around six hundred pupils. The reason for this response is related to resource allocation by the Department of Education and Science. They reckoned that, with six hundred pupils, a school can make good curricular provision, have sufficient teachers eligible for management roles and still be sufficiently small that the school community is experienced as a cohesive one by all those involved and that there is a feeling among its members that they know one another. It might be of interest to parents to know that, in terms of pupil performance in the Junior Certificate Examination, school size was found to have no significant impact. However, in terms of their child’s happiness and sense of self, school size could be important. There is no doubt that certain personality types, who might feel stifled in the small school atmosphere, would thrive in the less intimate but perhaps more varied surroundings of a large school. Other children might feel lost or even alienated in a large school and these might be happier in a smaller school.
Summary
The lesson to be learned here is that examination results cannot be taken in isolation. Even if academic achievement is your number one requirement of the school, you should look for a school with the characteristics that are most likely to provide the best environment for the development of your child. If the school can provide an ordered, safe environment, where your child is encouraged and supported, where his talents are nurtured and his achievement is praised, then the examination results issue will take care of itself. You need to be aware of the commitment of the school to the various aspects of your child’s education.
Schools vary in the way in which subjects and subject levels are made available to pupils and research has indicated that academically effective schools tend to be flexible in relation to choice. Aside from the issue of subject choice, parents may want to become familiar with how pupils are grouped in classes (class allocation). Parents should also become familiar with what is expected of their child in terms of behaviour so that they can support the disciplinary environment of the school. Good disciplinary procedures are linked to effective schooling, as is teacher expectation. But it is important to note that:
Schools are rarely exceptionally ‘effective’ or ‘ineffective’ across the whole range of pupil outcomes, a pattern that makes the identification of broadly effective schools more difficult. In addition, the imprecision involved in ranking schools even in relation to one particular outcome, such as academic performance, means that a ‘league table’ approach is inappropriate.
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