Why some schools succeed ? Learnings from Bhutan

Bhutan study Asked by the REC to develop a quality criteria and this would inform ( Student learning indicators • Teaching methods • Curriculum and assessment processes • Teachers • Leadership and management • Physical infrastructure • Parent and community involvement) Designed research tools to audit schools (survey instruments with over 300 questions) and audited schools which comprised of : Classroom observations Interviews with principals, teachers and students Focus groups with community and employers Collect academic plans and materials Conducted quantitative analysis of survey data and qualitative analysis of materials and identified key trends Created a set of benchmarks on key quality criteria by looking at best practices in high-performing school systems Identified the capacity gaps and suggested actionable insights

Instructional leadership – (HPS VS LPS) Principals demonstrating strong instructional leadership are the single biggest differentiator of why some schools perform better Attitude matters - Managing work load better (20% of the principals from HP schools reported of heavy workloads as compared to 50% from low performing schools) Positive aspirations – Leaders from HPS had high aspirations and high expectations from teachers and students. Talking to the community quite often and ensuring that first generations learn and imbibing a belief that they can do well too Greater experience and more involvement in instructional improvement – we found that principals in HPS were engaged more in teaching and learning. Not only did the principals have a higher experience of managing the schools but they developed academic plans in consultation with teachers.

Passionate Teachers Teachers demonstrated positive beliefs and individualized instructional strategies in the classroom – and were confident that they were capable of reaching out to each child each child in the course of instructional process. Teachers are passionate about their job - close to 4/5th of the teachers from HPS reported that they were quite excited about the job they did “Everyday I learn new things from the children; it’s absolutely amazing to see the kind of responses that children come up with. I am in the school because I like to teach” The quality of classroom transaction was different in a HPS – [ a larger fraction of teachers cultivated critical thinking and encouraged students to ask questions thereby promoting higher student participation] – Engagement was the key

Engagement is evident in good schools

Greater autonomy Higher performing schools experience higher degree of autonomy and demonstrate greater accountability towards outcomes. higher degree of autonomy - ( in financial and academic matters). E.g. of financial autonomy - Greater power to divert resources based on identified needs. Academic matters – Liberty to design learning outcomes from the curriculum, to choose pedagogical strategies and creative assessment techniques

Gap identified in weak schooling systems Strategic initiative for schools Expected impact to schools Lack of clear and shared goals and objectives for the system Low levels of learning outcomes Lack of quality criteria for teaching and learning processes Clarifying goals and raising performance standards of schools – through shared national education goals, learning standards and quality teaching processes Unifying framework for education Clear guidance to align processes in schools Accountability for schools Under-prepared teachers lacking in belief, content knowledge and pedagogical skill Limited or no professional development Attracting the best talent into teaching – recruiting the most capable candidates into teaching and preparing them for effective classroom practice Increased supply of qualified candidates for teaching Raise preparedness of teachers at entry Raise the image of teaching as a profession Weak implementation of the curriculum Lack of coherence between teaching, assessment, and content Giving teachers the skills and tools to raise the quality of classroom instruction - through continuous professional development Better managed classroom environment Continuous review and improvement Teaching and assessment aligned

Gap identified in weak schooling systems Strategic initiative for schools Expected impact to schools Lack of instructional improvement Developing principals and school heads for instructional leadership – through leadership training, professional support and instructional improvement processes Strengthen the bond between the principals, teachers and students creating a healthy eco system Bridge the gap between intent and implementation in the classroom Command, control and compliance mindsets Enabling the capacity of schools to focus on learning and teaching – through policies that instil autonomy, accountability, and incentives Reduced administrative bottlenecks and leaders focus on productive tasks Freedom to channel resources towards instructional programs Poor implementation capacity Resistance to reforms Relentless focus on implementation – demonstrate real changes in school, and build institutional capacity to execute reforms Other schools would be compelled to demonstrate results and overall lead to a demand for better schooling Raise accountability and ownership levels

Conclusion from our study - ‘what might work’ high-performing schools GREATER AUTONOMY - School autonomy is an essential element of reform program – impact is felt through greater ownership, effective allocation of resources, freedom to innovate Encouraging private school set up is going to pay dividends – (globally wherever state education is focused upon) Semi-autonomous public school models can be explored ABLE LEADERSHIP - School leaders are the fulcrum for change - has multiplier effect given similar external constraints Finding willing and able Principals within the system and training them Creating a separate professional track for school administration EFFECTIVE INSTRUCTION – Better teachers and effective teaching inside classrooms PEOPLE – Teachers who teach out of choice SKILLS - Engaging and effective instructional process RESOURCES – Adequate and appropriate learning resources