Self-Evaluation in Schools: Sharing the Experience NSPI Conference, March 2009 School Development Planning Initiative

School self-evaluation is an integral aspect of school development planning In practice, the evaluative aspect of SDP is under-developed in our schools Neither SSE nor SDP is an end in itself…

SDP Process Review Mission Evaluate Vision Design Aims Implement School Improvement

SDP Process: Key Questions Where are we now? Where do we want to be? How do we get there? How will we check we are getting there? How will we know if we have got there? Who are WE?

Review Where are we now? Provision How well are we doing? In relation to:  our mission, vision, aims and values  previous performance  other schools in similar contexts  good practice  meeting students’ needs  meeting expectations of parents…  national education policy  other… School Development Planning: Draft Guidelines and Resources for Post-Primary Schools Unit 2 Models of School Development Planning Performance

Purpose of Review Description Analysis Judgement Decision

School Self-Review (1) School Development Planning: Draft Guidelines and Resources for Post-Primary Schools Unit 3 Approaches to Review

School Self-Review (2)

The more one tries to observe, the less one actually sees, because there is no focus…. The more one structures one’s observation, the more one loses out on the richness of the context in which the observation takes place…. One tends to focus one’s attention on what one wants to see…. ‘blind spots’ Michael Schratz

Insiders are sometimes accused of not noticing things that are right in front of their noses… We often do not notice very interesting things in our environment, simply because we have become so used to them… Insiders risk having blind spots which prevent them from seeing things which for others may seem important to look at… Trond Alvik

Review Areas SDPI Review Areas 1.Mission, vision, aims 2.Context factors 3.Curriculum (including teaching & learning) 4.Care & management of pupils 5.Staff organisation and development 6.School-home- community links 7.School management & administration SDPI Strategic Themes 1. Vision, mission, aims and values 2. School planning processes 3. Staff organisation, teamwork & development 4. Teaching and learning 5. Curriculum 6. Care and management of students 7. School-home-community links 8. School management & administration

Review Areas SDPI Review Areas 1.Mission, Vision, Aims 2.Context Factors 3.Curriculum 4.Care & Management of Pupils 5.Staff Organisation and Development 6.School-Home- Community Links 7.School Management & Administration LAOS Areas 1. School Management 2. School Planning 3. Curriculum Provision 4. Learning & Teaching 5. Support for Students Context factors to be taken into account

PROGRESS AND ACHIEVEMENT of the LEARNER Resources The Timetable Guidance, pastoral care, behaviour & discipline Decision making processes Staffing & their organisation into groups & teams Staff development Premises & school environment Partnerships with the community Curriculum & assessment/ organisational policies Schemes of work TEACHING LEARNING Adapted from Hopkins & MacGilchrist 1998 By SDPS

Review Data “Decisions without data are daft” Data that are already on record within the school, such as attendance records or test results Data that have to be specially collected for the purpose of the review Desk research and field research

Review Instruments Questionnaires (Open/Closed) Checklists Interviews Standard forms Logs Observation forms SCOT Analysis Pro-formas Diagnostic Window Evaluation Grids Ideal / Actual Tables

Retrospective: Review in Practice Where are we now? How well are we doing? In relation to the ARCs:  national education policy requirements  perceived expectations of the Inspectorate  requirements of legal or quasi-legal procedures Pressure to produce…

Retrospective: Review in Practice SDP process models: different starting points Foundational model  MVA and key policies  Structures and procedures Early Action Planning model  Louis & Miles: What works best in SDP is “plenty of early action to create energy and support learning…”  Michael Fullan: “Ready, fire, aim…”

Retrospective: Review in Practice Human nature and the nature of organisations! Trond Alvik, CIDREE : Often schools find it necessary to choose a non- sensitive focus in order to gain experience of the processes involved… At the beginning stage, the participants therefore tend to choose objects or problems at a safe distance from the classroom… The challenge is to find issues that are “relevant but not too risky” for those involved, to develop the courage to approach the classroom…

Q: Where do we want to be? How do we get there? A: Design plans and policies Implement plans and policies

Design Action Plan Template Action Plan Template: Priority area Target Tasks Timeframes Remits Resources Success criteria Monitoring procedures Evaluation procedures Policy Template Policy Template: Rationale Objectives Content (provisions) Roles & responsibilities Success criteria Monitoring procedures Review procedures Timeframe Implementation plan

Evaluation How do we know we have got there? At the end of the SDP cycle, evaluation is: a systematic examination by the school of the outcomes its own agreed courses of action a comparison of how things are against how things should be if the plans and policies worked as intended judgement with a view to future action

Evaluation Success criteria are statements of how things should be, the desired outcomes. They are derived from targets & tasks (action plan) or objectives & provisions (policy). They focus the gathering of evidence Evidence is information as to how things are, the reality on the ground, the actual outcomes Evaluation tools (or instruments) are means of gathering the information. The choice of tools is guided by the nature of the information needed, which is guided by the success criteria which are being tested

Evaluation Tools Quantitative Desk Research Closed Questionnaires Checklists Standard Forms Logs, etc. Evaluation Grids Qualitative SCOT Analysis Open Questionnaires Interviews Force Field Analysis Spot Check Critical Incident Analysis Self-evaluation Profile Summative Evaluation Tool – Links quantitative & qualitative information together For a worked example of evaluation of an action plan, see SDP: Draft Guidelines Unit 5: Approaches to Evaluation

Teacher & Meteorologist Both try, to the best of their ability, to predict the results of a forthcoming interaction of forces Both may experience growth in their professional intuition as a result of systematic reflection on why things developed as they did under the given circumstances…

“It is much more difficult to judge yourself than to judge others. If you succeed in judging well, you will have found true wisdom” The Little Prince

Post-LAOS: SSE of Teaching & Learning

Quality of Teaching and Learning (Area 4, Looking at Our School) Methodology  Appropriate methodologies  Clarity of purpose  Pace and structure of lesson  Variety of strategies  Use of resources Classroom management  Discipline  Management of learning activities  Challenge & motivation Classroom atmosphere  Respect  Interactions  Environment  Affirmation Learning  Engagement  Understanding  Knowledge and competence  Collaborative/independent learning  Communication

Quality of Teaching and Learning (Area 4, Looking at Our School) Aspect B: Teaching and Learning Component iv: Learning Theme: “How actively and independently students engage in learning, and how the quality of their understanding is reflected in their questioning and in their responses to questions”

Process of Self-Evaluation –key steps Select an area to evaluate: focus Determine what good practice is: indicators Gather reliable data on actual practice Collate, analyse & interpret the data – evidence Compare actual practice with good practice Reach valid conclusions that you can stand over Prioritise for planned improvement

How to select what to evaluate Checklists  Study the checklist developed from Looking at our School, for example WSE or SI reports Suggestions from teachers Feedback from students and parents Influence of inservice or CPD courses Implications of educational research School factors that are causing concern National factors

SSE in DEIS Planning See

Perspectives Five wise men of Hindustan, who were all blind, went to see an elephant. The first approached the elephant and got on its back. “The elephant is like a brush,” he cried. The second felt the trunk and said: “The elephant is like a snake.” The third blind man reached out for the knees and thought, “The elephant is like a tree-trunk.”

Perspectives The fourth seized its swinging tail and shouted, “The elephant is like a rope.” The fifth blind man yelled: “The elephant is soft and mushy”