Session Information
26 SES 08 B, Leading Low Preforming Schools
Symposium
Contribution
Equity is recognized as one of the distinguishing features of the Scandinavian education model (Telhaug et al. 2006). Although differences in curriculum work, evaluation, educational administration, and financing have increased during the last 20 years across Sweden and Norway, existing educational policies still reflect many similarities (Møller, 2009). Less attention has, however, been paid to understanding how high- and low-performing schools differ with respect to leadership and patterns of cooperation. This paper aims to shed light on forces that are generative of an organizational culture of high expectations in schools characterized as low performing according to national tests. Research questions are: a) how do principals and teachers translate multiple policy demands in order to raise standards and the quality of practice in underperforming schools, given the resources available to them? b) What is the relationship between the principals’ and teachers’ contribution and the student achievement? Conforming to ISSPP protocols, a multiple perspective case study in each country was conducted and included: three individual interviews with the principal, two focus group interviews with teachers, two focus group interviews with students; one focus group interview with deputy principals, individual interviews with superintendents. In addition, we conducted observation of staff meetings and classroom instruction. The observations were summarized based on three key concepts: Structure, culture and leadership. The two schools have both gone through a transition after a new principal arrived and student achievements are improving. The principals focused on creating structures and opportunities for teachers to collaborate, and the teachers were very much concerned with the well-being of students. The study showed that both principals and teachers gave priority to fostering good learning environments before focusing on test-results. A main argument was that results increase if the staff concentrates on developing healthy learning environment and relational trust within the school community.
References
Møller, J. (2009). Approaches to school leadership in Scandinavia. Journal of Educational Administration and History. Vol. 41, no. 2, pp. 165-177. Telhaug, A.O., Mediås, O.A. & Aasen, P. (2006): The Nordic Model in Education: Education as part of the political system in the last 50 years. Scandinavian Journal of Educational Research, 50 (3), 245-283.
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