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 ProcessSDP Process

Review

Mission Evaluate Vision Design

Aims

Implement

School School ImprovementImprovement

SDP Process: Key QuestionsSDP 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?

ReviewReview 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 ReviewPurpose of Review

Description

Analysis

Judgement

Decision

School Self-Review (1)School Self-Review (1)

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

School Self-Review (2)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 AreasReview Areas

SDPI Review Areas1. Mission, vision, aims2. Context factors3. Curriculum (including

teaching & learning)4. Care & management of

pupils5. Staff organisation and

development6. School-home-

community links7. School management &

administration

SDPI Strategic Themes1. Vision, mission, aims and

values2. School planning

processes 3. Staff organisation,

teamwork & development4. Teaching and learning5. Curriculum6. Care and management of

students7. School-home-community

links8. School management &

administration

Review AreasReview Areas

SDPI Review Areas1. 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 theLEARNER

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 DataReview 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 InstrumentsReview 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 PracticeRetrospective: 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 PracticeRetrospective: 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 PracticeRetrospective: 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

DesignDesign

Action Plan TemplateAction Plan Template:

Priority area

Target

Tasks

Timeframes

Remits

Resources

Success criteria

Monitoring procedures

Evaluation procedures

Policy TemplatePolicy Template:

Rationale

Objectives

Content (provisions)

Roles & responsibilities

Success criteria

Monitoring procedures

Review procedures

Timeframe

Implementation plan

EvaluationEvaluation

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

EvaluationEvaluation

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 ToolsEvaluation Tools

QuantitativeDesk Research Closed Questionnaires Checklists Standard FormsLogs, etc.Evaluation Grids

QualitativeSCOT AnalysisOpen Questionnaires InterviewsForce Field Analysis Spot CheckCritical Incident Analysis Self-evaluation Profile

Summative Evaluation Tool – Links quantitative & qualitative information together

For a worked example of evaluation of an action plan, seeSDP: Draft Guidelines Unit 5: Approaches to Evaluation

Teacher & MeteorologistTeacher & 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-Post-LAOSLAOS: : SSE of Teaching & LearningSSE of Teaching & Learning

Quality of Teaching and LearningQuality of Teaching and Learning(Area 4, (Area 4, Looking at Our SchoolLooking 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 LearningQuality of Teaching and Learning(Area 4, (Area 4, Looking at Our SchoolLooking 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 stepsProcess 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 evaluateHow 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 PlanningSSE in DEIS Planning

See www.sdpi.ie

PerspectivesPerspectives

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.”

PerspectivesPerspectives

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”