Mechanisms of Change in Dutch Inspected Schools: Comparing Schools in Different Inspection Treatments

In many countries the need for education systems and schools to improve and innovate has become central to the education policy of governments. School inspections are expected to play an important role in promoting such continuous improvement and to help schools and education systems more generally...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inBritish journal of educational studies Vol. 64; no. 2; pp. 185 - 213
Main Authors Ehren, Melanie C. M., Shackleton, Nichola
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published Abingdon Routledge 01.06.2016
Taylor & Francis
Taylor & Francis Ltd
Subjects
Academic achievement
Accountability
Capacity Building
Comparative Analysis
Correlation
Correlation analysis
Education policy
Educational Change
Educational Improvement
Educational Policy
Elementary School Teachers
Elementary Secondary Education
Expectation
Feedback (Response)
Foreign Countries
Inspection
Inspections
Least Squares Statistics
Longitudinal Studies
Netherlands
Path Analysis
Pedagogy
Principals
Questionnaires
School Effectiveness
school improvement
school inspections
School principals
Secondary Education
Secondary School Teachers
Self Evaluation (Groups)
Stakeholders
Surveys
Teachers
Teaching Conditions
Netherlands
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Summary:In many countries the need for education systems and schools to improve and innovate has become central to the education policy of governments. School inspections are expected to play an important role in promoting such continuous improvement and to help schools and education systems more generally to consider the need for change and improvement. This article aims to enhance our understanding of the connections between school inspections and their impact on school improvement, using a longitudinal survey of principals and teachers in primary and secondary education. Random effects models and a longitudinal path model suggest that school inspections in particular have an impact on principals, but less so on teachers. The results indicate that the actual impact on improved school and teaching conditions, and ultimately student achievement, is limited. Schools in different inspection categories report different mechanisms of potential impact; the lack of any correlation between accepting feedback, setting expectations and stakeholder sensitivity and improvement actions in schools suggests that the impact of school inspections is not a linear process, but operates through diffuse and cyclical processes of change.
ISSN:0007-1005
1467-8527
DOI:10.1080/00071005.2015.1019413