Why Not the Best Schools?

the

best

?

schools

Expectations have been raised in Australia and comparable countries for an ‘education revolution’ that will secure success for all students in all settings. Such a revolution must ensure the alignment of educational outcomes, the skills required for a strong economy, and the needs of a harmonious society. Why not the Best Schools? offers a ten-point, ten-year strategy that will ensure that, when all is said and done, people will look back and say a revolution has occurred and all schools can be fairly described as ‘best schools’. This book draws on a five-year study culminating in The International Project to Frame the Transformation of Schools conducted in Australia, China, England, Finland, the United States and Wales. The findings are consistent with the McKinsey & Company report on the world’s best performing school systems and those arising from OECD’s Program for International Student Assessment (PISA). It goes beyond system characteristics to provide an in-depth account of how transformation occurs in schools. Fifty indicators are provided to help shape strategies for policymakers and practitioners in schools and school systems. Guidelines for leadership and governance ensure a future-focus for those who are determined to ensure that all students will succeed in the 21st century.

Jessica Harris is director of research at Educational Transformations and research fellow in the Graduate School of Education at the University of Melbourne. She conducted a comparative study of schools in Australia and Finland before serving as manager of the International Project to Frame the Transformation of Schools.

© Cover photography by ULTRA.F| Digital Vision | Getty Images

ISBN 978-0-86431-955-5

9 780864 319555

Caldwell and Harris

Brian J. Caldwell is managing director of Educational Transformations and professorial fellow at the University of Melbourne where he served as dean of education from 1998 to 2004. He has undertaken more than 450 professional assignments of one kind or another in or for 38 countries. His previous book for ACER Press was Re-imagining Educational Leadership (2006).

Why not the best schools?

Whynot

What we have learned from outstanding schools around the world

Whynot

best schools?

the

Brian J. Caldwell and Jessica Harris

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17/9/08 4:04:33 PM

Whynot

best schools?

the

This book draws on the findings of the International Project to Frame the Transformation of Schools conducted in Australia, China, England, Finland, United States and Wales. Detailed case study reports are available directly from ACER Press for each country in a series edited by Jessica Harris and Brian J. Caldwell. Please view http://shop.acer.edu.au/acer-shop/group/WNTB for further details. Why Not the Best Schools? The Australia Report Evelyn Douglas and Jessica Harris Why Not the Best Schools? The Wales Report David Egan Why Not the Best Schools? The England Report Michael Goodfellow and Michael Walton Why Not the Best Schools? The Finland Report Toni Saarivirta Why Not the Best Schools? The China Report Yong Zhao, Ruhui Ni, Wei Qiu, Wenzhong Yang, and Qi Chen Why Not the Best Schools? The US Report Yong Zhao, Ruhui Ni, Wenzhong Yang, Qi Chen, and Gaoming Zhang

Whynot

the

best

?

schools

Brian J. Caldwell and Jessica Harris

ACER Press

First published 2008 by ACER Press, an imprint of Australian Council for Educational Research Ltd 19 Prospect Hill Road, Camberwell Victoria, 3124, Australia Reprinted 2008 www.acerpress.com.au [email protected] Text © Brian J. Caldwell and Jessica Harris 2008 Design and typography © ACER Press 2008 This book is copyright. All rights reserved. Except under the conditions described in the Copyright Act 1968 of Australia and subsequent amendments, and any exceptions permitted under the current statutory licence scheme administered by Copyright Agency Limited (www.copyright.com.au), no part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, transmitted, broadcast or communicated in any form or by any means, optical, digital, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the written permission of the publisher. Edited by Renée Otmar, Otmar Miller Consultancy Pty Ltd Cover design by Mason Design Text design by Kerry Cooke, eggplant communications Typesetting by Mason Design Printed in Australia by McPherson’s Printing Group National Library of Australia Cataloguing-in-Publication entry Author: Caldwell, Brian J. (Brian John), 1941Title: Why not the best schools? / Brian Caldwell, Jessica Harris. ISBN: 9780864319555 (pbk.) Notes: Includes index. Bibliography. Subjects: School improvement programs. Academic achievement. Educational evaluation. Educational change. School–Ratings and rankings. Other Authors/Contributors: Harris, Jessica Louise, 1979Dewey Number: 371.207

Contents

Preface

1

2

3

4

vii

Abbreviations and acronyms

x

Why settle for less than the best?

1

What do we mean by ‘the best’? International Project to Frame the Transformation of Schools Organisation of the book

3 9 14

Learning from the best

19

International benchmarking Autonomy, accountability and choice Future directions in large-scale change Discussion

20 24 27 33

The quality of schools will never exceed the quality of their staff

37

Intellectual capital Findings from the International Project to Frame the Transformation of Schools Setting priorities among indicators of intellectual capital Discussion

37 41 55 56

The support of the entire community

59

Indicators of social capital Trends in policy and practice Findings from the International Project to Frame the Transformation of Schools Relationships between social capital and other forms of capital Developing the social capital of schools Discussion

59 60 66 75 76 79

v

vi   Contents

5

6

7

8

9

Affairs of the spirit

83

Indicators of spiritual capital The study of spiritual capital Findings from the International Project to Frame the Transformation of Schools Discussion

83 84 87 98

More money is not enough

100

Issues in the funding of schools Indicators of financial capital Findings from the International Project to Frame the Transformation of Schools Discussion

100 104

Breakthrough in governance

119

Beyond structures, roles, responsibilities and accountabilities The breakthrough Findings from the International Project to Frame the Transformation of Schools Common features of governance Assessing capacity for good governance Discussion

120 120

Breakthrough in transformation

138

Common practices in successful schools Breakthrough in improvement and effectiveness Breakthrough in leadership Public and private Discussion

139 142 144 148 156

Strategies for an education revolution

159

‘Big ideas’ Teaching for uncertain futures Futures-oriented curriculum History of an idea Strategies for a successful revolution Synthesis The way forward

159 161 162 164 164 170 171

References Appendix 1 Appendix 2 Index

173 183 189 192

105 115

121 131 136 137

Preface

Information about outstanding performance is moving around the world more freely and much faster than at any time in the history of education. This book is intended to make a contribution by shifting the focus from countries and systems of education to schools and classrooms, and to the sharing of dependable knowledge that crosses national and sectoral boundaries. As each year draws to a close, newspapers around the world report findings from the Program for International Student Assessment (PISA). Governments invariably claim their countries are doing well, even though careful analysis tells a different story, or their critics weigh in with calls for reform regardless of progress that has been made. The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) has been the driving force behind PISA, and deserves great credit for its efforts. Government ministers and senior officers from around the world have travelled to countries that have performed well, to find out how good outcomes were achieved. For the most part, however, there has been little attention paid to what actually occurs in schools in nations that perform well. Finland, for example, usually heads the lists but little is known in other countries about the practices of its schools. Findings from OECD studies that look closely at the relationship between the characteristics of schools and outcomes for students rarely hit the headlines. McKinsey & Company drew on the findings of PISA and other studies to come much closer to schools and classrooms as it sought to deter­mine how the world’s best-performing systems came out on top. Its chief finding is that the quality of a system cannot exceed the quality of its teachers. Governments around the world are heeding the call, and policies that call for attracting and rewarding the best teachers are now top priority. The McKinsey report has arguably been more widely read within a year of its publication than any previous study in the field. Except in the most general terms, however, it contains no detailed account of how the factors that underpin success are joined up at the school level. International comparative studies have been under way for decades but, again, they are mostly of developments at national and systemic vii

viii   Preface

levels. There are few comparative studies of schools, and the findings are usually qualified with statements of differences in contexts that preclude adoption or adaptation in other places. The purpose of this book is to close the gap and report the findings of studies in successful secondary schools in six countries (by contrast, PISA tests samples of students in secondary schools). We report the findings of the International Project to Frame the Transformation of Schools conducted in Australia, China, England, Finland, United States and Wales addressing, at the same time, the conclusions from PISA and the McKinsey report. While different contexts are acknowledged, we are able to report common characteristics on a number of dimensions and apply tests of transferability to draw implications for schools in different national contexts. The project was conducted in 2007 but was framed by a model for the transformation of schools that was constructed from research in an even wider range of countries in the preceding three years. Transformation was consistently defined as significant, systematic and sustained change that secures success for all students in all settings. Governments around the world are seeking to achieve change along these lines. Our particular interest over these four years was how schools that have a relatively high degree of autonomy in systems of public education have been able to achieve such an outcome. We show in this book how schools with a relatively high degree of auto­nomy are able to achieve success by building strength in four kinds of capital – intellectual capital, social capital, spiritual capital and finan­ cial capital – and aligning them to their mission through outstand­ing governance. We developed 10 indicators for each form of capital and for governance, validating each in the international study and demonstrat­ ing their utility in workshops and consultancies in several countries. Examples from each of the 30 participating secondary schools are presented. The findings confirm that no single strategy or collection of strategies can be successful unless there is an alignment of effort and the focus is on the student. While money is important, assuming that more money will by itself secure success is a false expectation. Success is achieved through the alignment of many strategies. Such strategies are suggested in the 50 indicators that were validated in the study. We acknowledge the support of the Australian Government and the Welsh Assembly Government for providing the core funding for the International Project to Frame the Transformation of Schools, for which Brian Caldwell served as director and Jessica Harris served as manager. We are indebted to Brian’s long-standing co-author, Jim Spinks, who served as associate director of the project, for his valuable advice in the

Preface   ix

design of the study. The findings from each country and participating schools are drawn from the reports of our research teams led by Professor David Egan at the Wales Institute of Applied Education Research at the University of Wales Institute, Cardiff (UWIC); Dr Toni Saarivirta at SENTE – the Research Unit for Urban and Regional Development Studies at the University of Tampere in Finland; Mike Goodfellow at the Specialist Schools and Academies Trust (SSAT) in England; and Professor Yong Zhao at the US–China Center for Research on Excellence in Education, based at Michigan State University (US) and Beijing Normal University (China). We also acknowledge ACER Press, the publishing arm of the Australian Council for Educational Research, for its decision to publish not only this book, but also the six country reports, which are significant publications in their own right. They contain far more detailed expla­ nations and illustrations than are possible to include in a book that highlights the commonalities. The findings demonstrate that transformation is within the reach of every school that develops the four forms of capital and is governed well. Even though the majority of the schools in the study have a relatively high degree of autonomy, it is apparent that those in the public sector, in particular, have been able to achieve success because the policy settings determined by government are the right settings and they have been supported along the way by services sought from and provided by a range of sources at the system level and in the wider community. We completed the book as the education revolution promised by the Rudd Government in Australia was starting to take shape, and short­ly after the Australia 2020 Summit sought ideas for the future of the nation. We believe the findings from the international studies are sufficiently robust to provide the foundation for a 10-point, 10-year strategy to enable all schools to become as good as those currently considered to be the best, here in Australia and in other nations. Some of these 10 points are in place or have been proposed, while others present a challenge to go further. A degree of artistry is required to ensure an optimal balance of autonomy, accountability and choice, and to get the alignments right. The question ‘Why not the best schools?’ can now be answered universally and in the affirmative.

Brian J. Caldwell Melbourne Jessica Harris Brisbane September 2008

Abbreviations and acronyms

ABCN ABS ACCI ACE ACEL ACSSO BCA CCHS CEO CPD DELLS DEST DfCSF EU FMSiS GCSE GTCW ICT iNet LEAs LSA NCLB NFER OECD PISA PoLT QEF SEN SENTE SSAT UWIC VCE VIT WAPPA x

Australian Business and Community Network Australian Bureau of Statistics Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry Australian College of Educators Australian Council for Educational Leaders Australian Council of State School Organisations Business Council of Australia César Chávez High School Chief Executive Officer Continuing professional development Department of Education, Lifelong Learning and Skills Department of Education, Science and Training Department for Children, Schools and Families European Union Financial Management Standard in Schools General Certificate of Secondary Education General Teaching Council for Wales Information and communication technologies International Networking for Educational Transformation Local Education Authorities Lead Learning Support Assistant No Child Left Behind Act (2001) (United States) National Foundation for Educational Research Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development Program for International Student Assessment Principles of Learning and Teaching Quality Education Fund special educational needs Research Unit for Urban and Regional Development Studies at the University of Tampere in Finland Specialist Schools and Academies Trust University of Wales Institute, Cardiff Victorian Certificate of Education Victorian Institute of Teaching Western Australian Primary Principals Association

1

Why settle for less than the best?

At an education forum held in early 2008, we posed the question ‘Why not the best schools for Tasmania?’1 The context was critical, for Tasmania was the lowest-performing state in Australia in the PISA, conducted by the OECD in 2006. 2 The question had serious intent, given that there is evidence from around the world, as well as around Australia, that success can be secured for all students, regardless of how disadvantaged the setting. This argument is based on findings presented in the highly regarded report by McKinsey & Company3 on the world’s best-performing school systems. The report referred in particular to the strategies that have been adopted in Finland to take it to the top of the PISA rankings. We wrote an article4 for one of Tasmania’s daily newspapers, referring to evidence from Finland. An alternative opinion5 was published a few days later, in which the author exclaimed that ‘If I hear any more about the wonders of Finland and how we should be emulating it, I think I might throw up’. If Finland is unsuitable as a benchmark, what about high-performing schools in challenging circumstances in Australia? In two recent books,6 we highlighted the achievements of a primary school in Melbourne 7 which had lifted the performance of its Grade 1 students from 34.6 per cent reading with 100 per cent accuracy in 1998 to 100 per cent in 2004, despite its location in one of the most disadvantaged settings in the country. Even with this compelling evidence of a genuine transformation, we receive comments from time to time, written or verbal, that there is something ‘dodgy’ about the numbers, or that the fundamental purposes of schooling have been compromised, or that the strategies that secured the transformation cannot be implemented in other settings, or all three.8 What is it about the profession that demands evidence-based policy yet rejects that evidence even though there are few barriers to trans­ ferability or adaptability? What does this say about our capacity for professional learning at a time when there is more evidence about how 1

2   Why not the best schools?

to ‘raise the bar and narrow the gap’9 than ever before and this evidence moves around the world faster than at any time in history? We would not countenance such a blinkered view in medical practice. What was proposed for Tasmania or, more generally, for Australia, based on practice in Finland and other countries? Here was how we described it in the newspaper account:10 Finland performs best on international tests of student achievement. The gap between high and low-performing students is small, even in remote and rural communities. That is why policymakers from other countries are travelling to Finland to find out how they do it. In less than a decade these same policymakers might make a trip to Tasmania instead of Finland. How is that possible when student achievement in Tasmania presently falls below mainland counterparts? The answer lies in what we now know about how to transform a school and having the will to change in dramatic ways. The chief driving force for transformation is the quality of teachers. The recent McKinsey & Company report on how the world’s best-performing school systems come out on top makes it clear: ‘The quality of an education system [or school] cannot exceed the quality of its teachers.’ McKinsey found the quality of teachers, rather than class size, is the critical factor. Finland’s recognition of that is one reason it is the bestperforming nation. All new teachers must have a master’s degree. Rather than limit supply, that policy has elevated the appeal of the profession so that only 10% of applicants are selected for entry. Some commentators reject the notion that we can learn from Finland. Yes, there are cultural differences, but there is no reason we cannot adapt strategies that ensure the gap between high and low-performing students is narrow. Every student in Finland who falls behind is given one-to-one or small-group support. Thirty per cent of all students at primary and secondary levels receive such support each year. That is what Finland calls ‘special education’.

Special education teachers in Finland have an additional year of training and receive higher salaries. This is one strategy that can be replicated in other countries, as noted in further analysis of the PISA 2006 results by Jarkko Hautamäki and his colleagues at the University of Helsinki.11 Finland is not the only country we can learn from. As we noted in the newspaper article: In England, 90 per cent of 3,100 secondary schools have a partnership with business in a way that makes sense as far as the school’s curriculum is concerned. Such partnerships deliver expertise and money. This trans­ formation was largely achieved in the decade of New Labour under Tony

Why settle for less than the best?    3

Blair. His successor Gordon Brown wants the same kinds of partnerships for primary schools. Most of England’s successful businesses participate in the scheme, which has had its greatest effect in disadvantaged settings. They set a high bar for counterparts in Tasmania and elsewhere in Australia.

Engaging business in this manner is another strategy that can be taken up in other countries, but developments in England warrant closer scrutiny for other reasons. As we note in Chapter 2, England has slid down the ranks of nations in successive tests in the PISA program. One commen­ tator suggests a factor has been the ‘permanent revolution that reigns in English schools’,12 compared to the stability now evident in Finland. ‘Finland’s education reforms may have taken ten years from conception to full implementation, but they have proved durable: little has needed changing in the 30 years since’.13 A formulaic transfer of practice from one country to another is neither desirable nor feasible. As Bolam has explained in relation to school leadership:14 Models of preparatory training, certification, selection, assessment, induc­ tion and ongoing development for school leaders are necessarily rooted in specific national conditions and contexts. They are the product of unique, and dynamically changing, sets of circumstances – political, economic, social, cultural, historical, professional and technical – in that country.

There is also the issue of time for implementation and institution­ alisation. As noted above, Finland took more than a decade to reach the pinnacle, and we cannot expect a state like Tasmania, or any other juris­ diction for that matter, to achieve the same outcomes in three years or less. Five to ten years is a more realistic timeframe for transformation.

What do we mean by ‘the best’? We need to explain what we mean by ‘best schools’, given that ‘best’ is a superlative in the sequence of ‘good, better, best’. How can all schools be ‘best schools’? We believe, on the basis of evidence summarised in succeeding chapters, that all schools can be ‘best schools’ in the sense that all schools, regardless of circumstance, can be as good as those exceptional few that are currently considered to be the best. Expressed another way, we now know how to achieve the transformation of schools, defined in this book and associated publications as significant, systematic and sustained change that secures success for all students in all settings. What do we mean by ‘success’: success in what and is it the same kind of success for all students? These questions raise further questions about the purpose of schools, acknowledging that purpose may change from

4   Why not the best schools?

setting to setting and from time to time. Properly, people are passionate about purpose. It is remarkable how many leaders or aspiring leaders declare a passion for education. British Prime Minister Gordon Brown is a case in point. In November 2007, Mr Brown set out his vision for education in a speech to the University of Greenwich. He declared that ‘education is my passion’ and offered the following explanation: I make no apology for saying that education is the best economic policy. And I make no apology for wanting every child to be able to read, write and add up. But education has always been about more than exams, more than the basics, vital as they are. To educate is to form character, to shape values, and to liberate the imagination. It is to pass human wisdom, knowledge and ingenuity from one generation to the next. It is a duty and a calling. As Plutarch said, the mind is not a vessel to be filled but a fire to be kindled. And that is why we have such high ambitions. Not just because education is a matter of national prosperity, although it is certainly that. It is because education is the greatest liberator mankind has ever known, the greatest force for social progress. And that is why it is my passion.15

This is an extraordinarily powerful statement by a leader, and we happily embrace it. Eminent scholars often refer to the need for ‘moral purpose’ in education.16 Brown’s statement comes closest to any we have read in recent times regarding what constitutes ‘moral purpose’. Brown recalled his good fortune in attending a school ‘that aimed high [and] that had an ethos of striving, hard work and achievement. And that is what I want for every child in this country. [Hence] Education is my passion’. Brown’s vision was that ‘I want to see a Britain where every child can go to a world class school, supported by high aspirations, surrounded by excellent opportunities … A Britain where effort is rewarded, ambition fulfilled, potential realised’.17

Passion, trust and strategy Passion by itself may amount to nothing more than a demonstration of self-indulgence, even if it is momentarily moving. The leader must be trusted and there must be a credible strategy driven by a compelling vision that has high moral purpose. The relationship between passion, trust and strategy is illustrated in Figure 1. Loss of trust has been a key theme in discourse on leadership in recent times, especially in respect to political leaders, although some writers contend that the loss is endemic. Fukuyama put this position in distinguishing between low-trust and high-trust societies, contending that ‘Widespread distrust in a society … imposes a kind of tax on all

Why settle for less than the best?    5

forms of economic activity; a tax that high-trust societies do not have to pay’.18 Covey suggests that ‘this low-trust tax is not only on economic activity, but on all activity – in every relationship, in every interaction, in every communication, in every decision, in every dimension of life’.19

strategy

Compelling vision with high moral purpose passion

trust

Figure 1 Passion, trust and strategy

Determining the extent to which there is a relationship between passion and trust is an interesting way to analyse the impact of policy and practice in education. In the United States, for example, the disparities in achievement between groups of students in different socio-economic or other demographic circumstances have aroused deep concern for several decades, and various courses of action have been passionately proposed on both sides of politics. The ‘No Child Left Behind’ (NCLB) legislation is a case in point.20 There is a high level of scepticism and suspicion in the profession on its efficacy, and it is fair to say that levels of trust between policymakers and professionals are modest, at best. Credibility is an important aspect of trust when it comes to pro­posals for reform. Similar concerns to those underpinning NCLB have been raised in Australia. In 2000, a task force chaired by former Minister for Science, Barry Jones, and including current Prime Minister Kevin Rudd, prepared a report that explained why and how Australia could become a ‘Knowledge Nation’. Jones described it as ‘a comprehensive policy framework linking those elements in Australia’s society, economy and environment, especially human and physical resources, dependent

6   Why not the best schools?

on the generation, use and exchange of knowledge’. 21 The report was lampooned for its illustration in a ‘mind map’, an approach that is encouraged if not already commonplace in the nation’s classrooms. It was given short shrift by Jones’s then-leader, Kim Beazley, who wanted to be remembered if he won the election of 2001 as ‘the education Prime Minister’. The strategies and networks proposed in Knowledge Nation amounted to an ‘education revolution’, which is the term now used by Kevin Rudd to describe what is needed. The lesson here is that there must be alignment of the emotions of passionate leaders and the symbols of trust if there is to be impact on policy and practice. In terms of Figure 1, there was passion and strategy, but the level of trust (credibility) was not strong enough to sustain Knowledge Nation. No amount of passion or trust will suffice if well thought-out strategies are not designed and delivered. Returning to the passion of Gordon Brown, his vision for education was replete with strategies for its realisation, building on those of his predecessor, Tony Blair, and emphasising parental engagement, ‘real-time’ feedback on pupil pro­ gress, strengthening early childhood education, personalising learn­ing, expanding programs for the gifted and talented and raising the standards of teaching. Finland is a ‘high-trust’ country as far as schools are concerned: there is a high level of trust to the extent that there are no national tests of student achievement, and teachers and those who support them are free to use their professional judgement in approaches to learning and teaching. High levels of achievement for students from Finland are an outcome of strategies that have been in place for several decades. Figure 1 is presented as a Venn diagram to show the relationships between the three elements. Passionate leadership is ineffective if it does not engender trust. Those charged with implementation should be committed to the vision and the strategy. Passion, trust and strategy must be aligned with the vision.

Education, economy and society Figure 2 illustrates another set of relationships that are implied in Brown’s vision for education. These call for us to see the ‘bigger picture’ beyond the immediate work setting, which connects education, economy and society. Evidence of the need for these relationships may be seen in the lack of responsiveness in some quarters to legislation – such as NCLB – and the unrelenting regime of reform in some countries that focuses on literacy, numeracy and a requirement that schools deliver the skills base for an economy that must be sustained in an era of globalisation. Gordon Brown

Why settle for less than the best?    7

illustrated the point in his vision for education: ‘I make no apology for saying that education is the best economic policy. And I make no apology for wanting every child to be able to read, write and add up’. The disjunction between the three is illustrated in a statement that is often heard along the lines that ‘I want to live in a society not an econ­omy’. It may take some time for the disjunction to become a convergence of the kind illustrated in Figure 2, in which education is accepted as important for the well-being of society and the economy. A quality education and a strong economy contribute towards a vibrant society. The convergence has been strong in the past. An example is the alignment of schools and society in an agricultural economy, a situ­ ation that continues to prevail in communities in many countries. A similar alignment was evident in the industrial era, to the point that the curriculum was determined to a large extent by the requirements of factories, and management of education reflected a ‘factory model’. Such an alignment is still important in many countries. New alignments are necessary for education in a knowledge economy in which the technologies of learning have been transformed. Such alignments are not easy to establish and sustain. Notwith­ standing Finland’s top rankings in PISA, its creativity as a nation, its thriving economy and its lower-than-European Union (EU) average unemployment, the country has difficulty attracting talented people to maintain its workforce (similarly for Sweden, Norway and Denmark). 22

society

Compelling vision with high moral purpose education

Figure 2 Education, economy and society

economy

8   Why not the best schools?

‘Big ideas’ at the Australia 2020 Summit The Australia 2020 Summit, held in April 2008, illustrated how the connections can be made. Prime Minister Kevin Rudd called the event by ‘inviting 1,000 Australians to help shape a long term strategy for the nation’s future, to tackle the long-term challenges confronting Australia by thinking in new ways’. 23 More than 8000 people applied or were nominated to participate in the event. 24 Participants joined one of 10 streams, each with about 100 people: the productivity agenda; the future of the Australian economy; population, sustainability, climate change, water and the future of our cities; future directions for rural industries and rural communities; a long-term health strategy; strengthening com­munities; options for the future of Indigenous Australia; towards a creative Australia: the future of the arts, film and design; Australian governance; and Australia’s future security and prosperity in a rapidly changing region and world. Many who work in schools were disappointed that education was not a stream in its own right, but those who planned the program got it right. Education was central to all 10 streams, and ‘big ideas’ can be found in the report of each stream. Education was deeply embedded in the stream addressing the productivity agenda, with discussions centred on education, skills, training, science and innovation. One of four substreams gave particular attention to early learning and schools. One strength of the event, especially in the productivity stream, was that it brought together people from different sectors, reflecting the inter­ ests illustrated in Figure 2. Intensive discussions over two days, involving people from early learning, schools, higher education, business and com­ munity based organisations, are rare. Too often, education conferences involve educators alone. The following are excerpts from the list of priorities and ‘top ideas’ that emerged from discussions in the productivity stream:25 ‘Children’s development being at the heart of the productivity agenda’; ‘invest more in knowledge, skills, imagination and learning capacity’; ‘design new forms of institutions through collaboration’; ‘build infrastructure which integrates services and encourages shared community use’; ‘overcome the public private divide in education by, for example, funding students accord­ ing to need and encouraging more private investment’; ‘improve science and maths education by connecting scientists and others with teachers’; ‘focus on the connections between quality teaching and productivity’; ‘celebrating the vocation and contribution of teaching’; ‘establish a national program to attract talented graduates and career-switchers into teaching, and reward teachers for working in national priority areas, including

Why settle for less than the best?    9

disadvantaged communities, remote areas and in shortage subjects’; ‘com­munities have access to integrated services to support children’s health, development, learning and care’; ‘creating a national curriculum and rationalising curriculum and assessment institutions, with freed up funds going to children in schools’; and ‘creating a coordinated partnership program between Australia’s top 100 companies and schools’.

There is an impressive coherence about these ideas, but it is fair to observe that all have been proposed in one form or another over the past decade. It is time for consensus on these and many other ideas that surfaced at the summit. However, Australia will be in for a shock if it cannot make progress in the next five years; it can’t wait for 2020. We can be sure that other countries that do a better job of integrating education, economy and society will have gone far further, far sooner. Kevin Rudd joined discussions in the sub-stream of early learning and schools at the Australia 2020 Summit. The issue at the time was Finland’s success in ensuring that every child who falls behind is given immediate expert support to catch up quickly. It is a strategy that should be adopted here to ensure that the gap between high and low-performing students is as narrow as it is in Finland. The Prime Minister’s immediate grasp of the issue and his understanding of the magnitude of Finland’s transformation were impressive. As a diplomat in Sweden in the early 1980s, he had visited Finland and observed the former parlous state of its schools. He was well aware of the commitment Finland subsequently made to early learning and building the intellectual capital of the profession. The connections between the passion that Finns have for education, high levels of trust and the successful implementation of strategies for success, as illustrated in Figure 1, are evident in Finland. So, too, is the integration of education, economy and society of a kind illustrated in Figure 2, with the Finnish education system an important factor in explaining economic success and social well-being. In contrast to Finland, the United States is a ‘low trust’ nation 26 but, as we shall see, high levels of trust were demonstrated for schools and their communities in our studies of secondary schools in that country. Our studies in China are fascinating, too, as that country becomes an international powerhouse in the 21st century; the links between education, economy and society are undergoing rapid change.

International Project to Frame the Transformation of Schools In this book we bring to centre stage the findings of the International Project to Frame the Transformation of Schools, the purpose of which

10   Why not the best schools?

was to study at a deep level what goes on in schools that results in transformation. The headlines that announce the results of PISA and benchmarked tests of literacy and numeracy in Australia and other countries are typically concerned with overall performance, comparisons with out­ comes in other jurisdictions, or trends since the last set of tests. We sympathise to some extent with the writer cited at the start of the chapter who declared that ‘If I hear any more about the wonders of Finland and how we should be emulating it, I think I might throw up’. 27 However, an important question is ‘What actually occurs at the school level in Finland to achieve such impressive outcomes?’ and we set out in the international project to provide an answer, not only for Finland, but also for Australia, China, England, United States and Wales.

Framing the study The project was framed by the model for transformation illustrated in Figure 3 and proposed in a book by Brian Caldwell and Jim Spinks, respectively director and associate director of the study. 28 Schools that have been transformed or have made good progress in transformation are adept at strengthening and aligning four forms of capital: intellectual capital, social capital, spiritual capital and financial capital, achieving this strength and alignment through outstanding governance. Intellectual capital refers to the level of knowledge and skill of those who work in or for the school. Social capital refers to the strength of formal and informal partnerships and networks involving the school and all individuals, agencies, organisations and institutions that have the potential to support and be supported by the school. Spiritual capital refers to the strength of moral purpose and the degree of coherence among values, beliefs and attitudes about life and learning (for some schools, spiritual capital has a foundation in religion; in other schools, spiritual capital may refer to ethics and values shared by members of the school and its community). Financial capital refers to the money available to support the school. Governance is the process through which the school builds its intellectual, social, financial and spiritual capital, and aligns them to achieve its goals. 29

Back story The model took shape over three years from late 2004. The starting point was the conclusion of Brian Caldwell’s appointment as Dean of Education at the University of Melbourne. Earlier work with Jim Spinks had led to the publication of three books and hundreds of presen­tations, work­ shops and consultancies in several countries over a period of 15 years,

Why settle for less than the best?    11

intellectual capital

social capital

student

financial capital

spiritual capital

governance

Figure 3 Alignment of four kinds of capital for the transformation of schools

commencing in 1983.30 These were concerned with higher levels of auton­ omy, or self-management, as we described it. Caldwell was interested in the way that self-managing schools had changed in both theory and practice. An innovative approach was adopted in this work. We combined findings from case studies (49), master classes (four) and workshops (60) involving school and school system leaders in 11 countries where there was an agenda for, or interest in, transformation, and where schools had a relatively high level of autonomy. Forty of the 49 case studies were contributed by school leaders. Several workshops were incorporated in conferences and postgraduate programs in leadership and management. A feature of most of the workshops was the invitation to school and school system leaders to respond to key questions on the design, imple­ men­tation, issues and outcomes of efforts to achieve the trans­for­mation of schools. An interactive, computer-based technology enabled large numbers of individual and group responses to be gathered for subsequent analysis. This technology was employed in 50 of the 60 workshops, with approximately 2500 participants generating more than 10,000 responses.

12   Why not the best schools?

The first round of 14 workshops was conducted in 2005 in Australia, Chile, England and New Zealand for the International Networking for Educational Transformation (iNet) project of the Specialist Schools and Academies Trust. An initial model of emerging practice in self-managing schools was constructed, 31 providing the starting point for further inves­ tigation in 19 workshops in 2006, hosted by the Australian College of Educators (ACE) in every state and territory of Australia. Five more workshops conducted in England for iNet in 2006 were concerned with resources.32 Outcomes included a broader view of resources, redefined as capital, and the model illustrated in Figure 3.

Conducting the study The model in Figure 3 was the starting point for the International Project to Frame the Transformation of Schools. There were two stages. The first called for a review of literature on the four kinds of capital and how they are aligned through effective governance. An out­come of this review was the identification of ten sample indicators for each form of capital and for governance. These indicators were included in a set of ‘self-assessment’ instruments sampled by participants in 22 workshops in the latter half of 2007 (these instruments are described in subsequent chapters and are brought together in Appendix 1). Eighteen workshops were conducted for school and school system leaders from Australia, Croatia, England, Malaysia, Mauritius, Netherlands, Philippines, Singapore and Wales. The final set of four workshops was conducted for the Australian Council for Educational Leaders (ACEL) in three Australian states (Victoria, South Australia and Western Australia) in late 2007. The second stage of the project called for case studies in five secondary schools in each of the six countries, as listed in Appendix 2. Detailed reports are contained in a special series published by ACER Press. The majority of these schools were self-managing; that is, they had authority and responsibility to make decisions within a centrally determined system framework of policies, curriculum, standards and accountabilities. The project was one of two studies in 2007 funded by the Australian Government that delved more deeply into the practice of school auto­ nomy, the other limited to Australia and focusing on the role of the school principal.33 Australia was understandably one of the six countries in the international project because of the funding arrangement. Victoria was chosen as the setting because state (government, public) schools in Victoria have a higher level of autonomy than counterparts in other states and territories. England was included because schools also have a high level of autonomy, gained in a series of developments from 1988

Why settle for less than the best?    13

– dating from the Education Reform Act – that spans the Conservative and Labour years. Similarly for Wales, but devolution of powers from Westminster to the Welsh Assembly Government mean there are some important distinctions between England and Wales. Finland’s ranking in international tests, combined with a relatively high level of school auto­nomy warranted its inclusion. The United States has similar consti­ tutional arrangements to Australia as far as education is concerned; that is, powers lie with the states, but authority and responsibility are brought closer to the school level through school districts. Relatively few districts provide a high level of autonomy for their schools. We were keen to extend the study to China, given interest in decentralisation in that country and the rise of China as a world economic power. As noted above, the Australian study was conducted in Victoria. We were assisted by three senior officers who were also familiar with developments in England and Finland through recent visits: Professor Peter Dawkins, Secretary of the Department of Education and Early Childhood Development; Dr Jim Watterston, Director of the Eastern Metropolitan Region (Melbourne); and Mr Stephen Brown, Director of the Hume Region (regional). The state (government, public) schools were nominated on the basis of their performance in Eastern (2) and Hume (1). The other two schools were in the private (non-government) sector, one a Catholic regional college nominated for its performance and the other an independent school that had sustained high levels of achievement in recent years. Schools in the other five countries were selected according to the same criteria by our international partners, as listed below. The project was funded by the former Department of Education, Science and Training (DEST) of the Australian Government and the Depart­ment of Education, Lifelong Learning and Skills (DELLS) of the Welsh Assembly Government. It commenced in mid-2007 and was carried out by Melbourne-based Educational Transformations Pty Ltd, with different components conducted by international partners including the Wales Institute of Applied Education Research at UWIC led by Professor David Egan; SENTE, led by Dr Toni Saarivirta; SSAT in England, led by Mike Goodfellow; and the United States–China Center for Research on Excellence in Education, based at Michigan State University (United States) and Beijing Normal University (China) and led by Professor Yong Zhao. The final reports of the project were submitted to the funding agencies in 2008.34 While the International Project to Frame the Transformation of Schools is the chief source of information, we also report on issues of impor­tance in the broader context of change in school education, especially as they came into focus as the project progressed.

14   Why not the best schools?

Organisation of the book Here is how the story will unfold. The starting point in Chapter 1 (‘Why settle for less than the best?’) was the challenge to draw inspiration from other settings for strategies to ensure that all students can succeed, regardless of the setting. We cannot afford to ‘re-invent the wheel’ for each and every school and ignore evidence from around Australia and beyond that transformation on this scale can be achieved. We address some important questions that arise from our definition of transformation (‘significant, systematic and sustained change that secures success for all students in all settings’). What do we mean by success; success in what; is it the same kind of success for all students? Our responses are compared with the outcomes of efforts to ‘think big’ at the Australia 2020 Summit conducted in April 2008. We describe the International Project to Frame the Transformation of Schools, being a study of transformation in secondary schools in six countries. Three kinds of alignment are described (1) passion, strategy and trust; (2) education, economy and society; and (3) intellectual, social, spiritual and financial capital. In Chapter 2 (‘Learning from the best’), we draw attention to the evidence about student achievement, focusing in particular on what emerged during the life of the International Project to Frame the Transformation of Schools. We do not intend to rehearse the findings of earlier studies that led to the model in Figure 3. This has been summarised in readily accessible form in other publications. 35 We have selected from the findings in the report of McKinsey & Company36 and the powerful studies that have emerged from PISA 2003 and 2006 on achievement, access, accountability, autonomy and choice.37 Some may find these findings confronting, for they appear to settle the issue as far as school autonomy is concerned, and new insights on the role of private schools are presented. The need for further – sometimes radical – reform is canvassed. Chapter 3 (‘The quality of schools will never exceed the quality of their staff’) presents the evidence and offers guidelines on the importance of the intellectual capital of schools and school systems. Intellectual capital refers to the level of knowledge and skill of those who work in or for the school. Illustrations are provided of how schools in a range of settings in six countries have built their intellectual capital. A key theme is that intellectual capital is the chief driving force for creating the best schools. Chapter 4 (‘The support of the entire community’) presents the evi­ dence and offers guidelines on the importance of the social capital of schools and school systems. Social capital refers to the strength of formal and informal partnerships and networks involving the school, parents,

Why settle for less than the best?    15

community, business and industry; indeed, all individuals, agencies, organisations and institutions that have the potential to support and be supported by the school. Illustrations are provided of how schools in a range of settings in six countries have built their social capital. A key theme is that social capital is a much-neglected source of support for schools and school systems, and efforts by other sectors, including business, are often rejected without good cause. Chapter 5 (‘Affairs of the spirit’) is concerned with the spiritual capi­ tal of schools and school systems. Spiritual capital refers to the strength of moral purpose and the degree of coherence among values, beliefs and attitudes about life and learning. For some schools, spiritual capital has a foundation in religion. In other schools, spiritual capital may refer to ethics and values shared by members of the school and its community. Illustrations are provided of how schools in a range of settings in six countries have built their spiritual capital. A key theme is that spiritual capital is as important in public schools as it is in private schools. Chapter 6 (‘More money is not enough’) acknowledges the impor­ tance of the financial capital of schools and school systems. Financial capital refers to the money available to support the school. Illustrations are provided of how schools in a range of settings in six countries have built their financial capital. A key theme is that money is important and more is needed. Critically important, however, is how money is deployed in schools and school systems. Chapter 7 (‘Breakthrough in governance’) presents the evidence and offers guidelines on the importance of outstanding governance in schools and school systems. Governance is the process through which the school builds its intellectual, social, financial and spiritual capital and aligns them to achieve its goals. There is a counterpart at the level of government and for systems of education. Illustrations and guidelines for outstanding practice are presented. A ‘breakthrough’ is achieved because we move beyond the traditional preoccupation in governance with structures, roles, responsibilities and accountabilities. The starting point for Chapter 8 (‘Breakthrough in transformation’) is a summary of common practices across all schools in the international project. We then demonstrate how the four forms of capital can drive or energise the range of models for school improvement and school leadership. Attention is also given to a range of matters related to public and private schools. Chapter 9 (‘Strategies for an education revolution’) proposes a tenpoint, ten-year plan for an education revolution that will result in the trans­formation of Australia’s schools. We set the context by con­sidering in detail the ‘big ideas’ canvassed at the Australia 2020 Summit. We demon­strate consistency between these ideas and findings in the

16   Why not the best schools?

International Project to Frame the Transformation of Schools. The ‘futures-orientation’ is extended in the context of Teaching Australia’s project to build capacity for strategic leadership that commenced with scenarios for the future of schools as set out in Teaching for Uncertain Futures.38 The design of a ‘futures-oriented’ national curriculum is under­way and this sets the scene for examining the intentions of the Australian Government to start an education revolution. The history of the idea of a revolution is examined before we outline the ten-year plan. A key theme is that quick-fix, silver-bullet approaches have not worked in the past and they will not work in the future. Schools will continue to evolve through­out this period, and a continuing research and development effort is required.

Notes 1

Caldwell, B.J. (2008). ‘Why not the best schools for Tasmania?’ Invited presen­ tation at an education forum hosted by the Tasmanian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (TCCI), Wrest Point Hotel, Hobart, 28 February 2008.

2

OECD (2007). PISA 2006 Science Competencies for Tomorrow’s World. Paris: OECD.

3

Barber, M. and Mourshed, M. (2007). How the World’s Best-Performing School Systems Come Out on Top. London: McKinsey & Company.

4

Caldwell, B.J. (2008). ‘Finns lead the way in literacy’. The Mercury (Hobart). 28 February, page 28.

5

Walker, J. (2008). ‘Seems I’ll have to eat my hat’. The Mercury (Hobart). 5 March, page 32.

6

Caldwell, B.J. (2006). Re-imagining Educational Leadership. Camberwell (Melbourne): ACER Press and London: Sage, and Caldwell, B.J. and Spinks, J.M. (2008). Raising the Stakes: From Improvement to Transformation in the Reform of Schools. London: Routledge.

7

This is Bellfield Primary School in the Melbourne suburb of West Heidelberg. See Caldwell (2006, pages 139–42) and Caldwell and Spinks (2008, pages 17–19), cited in 6 above for accounts of how the transformation was achieved.

8

A detailed account of how the transformation at Bellfield was accomplished is contained in a book co-authored by former principal John Fleming. Fleming is now a campus principal at an independent school (Haileybury College) and early experience under his leadership is also reported; see Fleming, J. and Kleinhenz, E. (2007). Towards a Moving School: Developing a Professional Learning and Performance Culture. Camberwell: ACER Press.

9

The phrase ‘raising the bar and closing the gap’ is often used to describe outcomes that increase the levels of achievement of all students and reduce the disparity between high and low-performing students. David Hopkins, HSBC iNet Chair in International Leadership at the Institute of Education, University of London,

Why settle for less than the best?    17

has popularised the phrase; see Hopkins, D. (2007) Every School a Great School. Maidenhead, Berkshire: Open University Press. Reports of the PISA studies have used the concepts of ‘high quality’ and ‘high equity’ to describe the same intention. 10 This excerpt was contained in Caldwell, B.J. (2008). ‘Finns lead the way in literacy’. The Mercury (Hobart). 28 February, page 28. 11 Cited in ‘Top of the class: How to learn the right lessons from other countries’ schools’. The Economist 28 June 2008, page 62. 12 Alan Smithers, University of Buckingham, cited in The Economist (2008). 13 The Economist (2008), page 63, cited in 11 above. 14 Bolam, R. (2004). ‘Reflections on the NCSL from a historical perspective’. Educational Management, Administration and Leadership. Vol. 32 No. 3: pages 251–67 (page 251) as cited in Bush, T. (2008). Leadership and Management Development in Education. London: Sage, page 73. 15 Brown, G. (2007). ‘Vision for Education’. Speech to the University of Greenwich. 31 October. <www.labour.org.uk/gordon_brown_sets_out_his_vision_for_education> accessed 7 November 2007, also available at <www.number10.gov.uk/Page13675> accessed 13 August 2008. 16 Michael Fullan writes eloquently about the need for ‘public service with a moral purpose’. It is one of his eight elements of sustainability in education; see Fullan, M. (2005). Leadership & Sustainability: System Leaders in Action. Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin Press. 17 Brown, G. (2007), cited in 15 above. 18 Fukuyama, F. (1995). Trust: The Social Virtues and the Creation of Prosperity. New York: The Free Press, pages 28–9. 19 Covey, S. (2006). The Speed of Trust. New York: Simon & Schuster, page 19. 20 For further information on the No Child Left Behind (NCLB) Act, see the NCLB section of the United States Department of Education’s Website at <www.ed.gov/ nclb/landing.jhtml?src=ln> accessed 28 May 2008. 21 Jones, B. (2006). A Thinking Reed. Crows Nest, NSW: Allen & Unwin, page 455. 22 See ‘Enticing skilled foreigners to the Nordics is a tough job’, The Economist, 5 April 2008, page 58. 23 A report of the Australia 2020 Summit, as presented to the Prime Minister on 20 April 2008, may be found in Australian Government (2008). Thinking Big. Preliminary Report of the Australia 2020 Summit held in Canberra 19–20 April.

<www.australia2020.gov.au/initial_report/index.cfm>

accessed

13

August 2008. All quotations in this part of the chapter that refer to the event are drawn from this report. 24 Co-author Brian Caldwell was invited to participate and contributed to discussions on ‘the productivity agenda’. 25 Australian Government (2008), page 26, cited in 23 above. 26 Fukuyama, cited in 18 above, makes this point about the United States, as does Putnam; see Putnam, R. D. (2000). Bowling Alone: The Collapse and Revival of American Community. New York: Touchstone.

18   Why not the best schools?

27 Walker, J. (2008), cited in 5 above. 28 Caldwell, B. J. and Spinks, J. M. (2008). Raising the Stakes: From Improvement to Transformation in the Reform of Schools. London: Routledge. The model was also described and illustrated in Caldwell, B.J. (2007). Alignment. London: Specialist Schools and Academies Trust. 29 The definition of governance was adapted from the sources cited in 28 above. 30 Caldwell, B. J. and Spinks, J. M. (1988). The Self-Managing School. London: Falmer; Caldwell, B.J. and Spinks, J.M. (1992). Leading the Self-Managing School. London: Falmer; and Caldwell, B. J. and Spinks, J. M. (1998). Beyond the Self-Managing School. London: Falmer. 31 The new conceptualisation of self-managing schools with examples and implications for leadership is contained in Caldwell, B.J. (2006). Re-imagining Educational Leadership. Camberwell (Melbourne): ACER Press and London: Sage. 32 These workshops were based on two pamphlets (monographs): Caldwell, B.J. (2006). Resourcing Schools for the 21st Century 1: Principles. London: Specialist Schools and Academies Trust; and Spinks, J. M. (2006). Resourcing Schools for the 21st Century 2: Models. London: Specialist Schools and Academies Trust. 33 The other study was the Principal Autonomy Research Project, also funded by the Australian Government and conducted by Educational Transformations Pty Ltd. 34 Educational Transformations Pty Ltd (2008). ‘International Project to Frame the Transformation of Schools. Part 1: Project Report’. Report to the Department of Education, Science and Technology (Australian Government) and Department of Education, Lifelong Learning and Skills (Welsh Assembly Government); and Educational Transformations Pty Ltd (2008). ‘International Project to Frame the Transformation of Schools. Part 2: Case Studies’. Report to the Department of Education, Science and Technology (Australian Government) and Department of Education, Lifelong Learning and Skills (Welsh Assembly Government). 35 See especially Caldwell, B. J. and Spinks, J. M. (2008). Raising the Stakes: From Improvement to Transformation in the Reform of Schools. London: Routledge; and Caldwell, B.J. (2006). Re-imagining Educational Leadership. Camberwell (Melbourne): ACER Press and London: Sage. 36 Barber, M. and Mourshed, M. (2007), cited at 3 above. 37 Schütz, G., Wössmann, L. and West, M.R. (2007) ‘School Accountability, Autonomy, Choice, and Level of Student Achievement: International Evidence from PISA 2003’. Education Working Paper No. 14, Directorate of Education, OECD, December; and Wössmann, L., Lüdemann, E., Schütz, G. and West, M.R. (2007). ‘School Accountability, Autonomy, Choice, and the Equity of Student Achievement: International Evidence from PISA 2003’. Education Working Paper No. 13, Directorate of Education, OECD, September. 38 Teaching Australia (2007). Teaching for Uncertain Futures. Acton, ACT: Teaching Australia.

2

Learning from the best

The world of education today is richer in data about the performance of schools and school systems than at any other time in history. The landmark PISA studies conducted by OECD provided much more than meets the eye if one is simply scanning the news headlines. Deeper analysis of a range of system and school characteristics has enabled us to learn about the conditions that distinguish high and low performance. Access to the Internet enables anyone with an interest to learn about particular approaches at the local level. It seems that every school has its own website, and some are highly informative. Teachers and school leaders are moving around the world in greater numbers than ever before as the cost of air travel declines and an increasing array of professional associations and networks are organising study tours. The ‘local learning walk’ is complemented by the ‘international learning walk’.1 Some highperforming jurisdictions such as Finland are now hosting large numbers of visitors who seek to learn how they have achieved success. The purpose of this chapter is to highlight findings from international studies that enable us to ‘learn from the best’. The starting point is a short review of trends in student achievement, as revealed in projects like PISA and a synopsis of the report by McKinsey & Company that focused attention on the characteristics of high-performing systems. Particular attention is given then to findings on two issues that relate to the kinds of schools we studied in the International Project to Frame the Transformation of Schools, namely, autonomy and choice. The chapter concludes with an examination of trends in two countries where high expectations were set for transformation and substantial funds were provided to support the effort. Our interest here is England and the United States where, despite these developments, there are calls for further sweeping change.

19

20   Why not the best schools?

International benchmarking In this section we draw on the power of findings in studies conducted by the OECD (PISA) and McKinsey & Company, which has now entered the public sector in its consultancy, with a focus on education.

The OECD studies Andreas Schleicher is one of the world’s foremost authorities on trends in student achievement. He is head of the indicators and analysis division of the directorate of education at OECD, and travels the world to report on findings in PISA. What follows is drawn from one of these reports. 2 Schleicher compared nations on school completion, as indicated by the percentage of people with high school or equivalent qualifications. He drew on four decades of data from the 1960s to the 1990s, inclusive. Particularly striking was the declining performance among 35 countries of the United States, ranked 1st in the 1960s and falling to 13th in the 1990s, while Korea moved from 27th to 1st over the same period. Australia’s ranking was unchanged (21st), from marginally below the OECD average to marginally above. Finland improved from 17th to 9th. Comparisons among the same nations in the percentage of people with tertiary level qualifications also reveal interesting trends. The big improvers were Korea (24th to 4th), Spain (21st to 11th) and Ireland (21st to 14th). Noteworthy declines were Germany (13th to 27th) and the United States (1st to 6th). The top-ranked country was Norway (4th to 1st). Australia improved from 12th to 8th, above the OECD average in both instances, and led all nations in 2005 in respect to the percentage of the age cohort completing a tertiary qualification. Of particular interest in these comparisons is the movement among nations, with traditionally higher performers such as Germany and the United States slipping down the ranks and the relative improvement of nations like Finland, Ireland, Korea, Norway and Spain. Schleicher provided information on the relative performance of major groupings of nations on a critically important indicator, namely, the future supply of people with baseline qualifications; that is, completed secondary school. He compared China, the EU, India and the United States in 2003, 2010 and 2015. Projected increases for China and India far outstripped those for the EU and the United States. He also compared China, the EU and the United States on projections of people with tertiary qualifications. In 2003, China ranked 3rd, with just under one million annually. By 2015 China will rank first with about five million annually, almost double each of the others. Taken together, these are sobering trends.

Learning from the best   21

Relative performances in PISA have been well documented and are not reported here in any detail. 3 In the 2006 program, which focused on science, the top ten nations were Finland, Hong Kong China, Canada, Chinese Taipei, Japan, Estonia, New Zealand, Australia, the Netherlands and Korea. There is considerable interest in mapping nations according to performance and social equity in distribution of outcomes. Except for Estonia, New Zealand and the Netherlands, these were ‘high performance’ and ‘high equity’. Germany and Britain were ‘high performance’ and ‘low equity’ while the United States was ‘low performance’ and ‘low equity’. It is noteworthy that for this particular program Australia has moved from ‘low equity’ to ‘high equity’ compared to previous testing in PISA that focused on reading. In other comparisons that are pertinent to the issue of choice, explored in greater detail later in the chapter, Schleicher compared the relative performance of public (government) and private (nongovernment) schools in 22 nations where there had been prior agreement to allow such comparisons. On actual levels of achievement, private schools outperformed public schools in 15 instances. However, when the scores were adjusted for the socio-economic background of students, public schools outperformed private schools in 14 instances, with no differences in three instances. However, as we shall see in the next section of this chapter, an even deeper analysis yields new insights on the public–private issue. Schleicher provided deeper analysis that enabled the identification of characteristics of schools and school systems that performed well. He concluded that the chief lever for policy change was a knowledgerich profession in which schools and teachers have the authority to act and the necessary knowledge to do so wisely, and which have effective support systems. The landmark report of McKinsey & Company pro­ vides powerful support for this conclusion.

The McKinsey report McKinsey & Company is one of the world’s leading private consultants, and has a distinctive way of doing business.4 Until recently most of its work was in the private sector, but it has now ventured into the public domain, especially in education, under the leadership of Professor Sir Michael Barber, who took up his appointment as Expert Partner, Global Public Sector Practice, after serving as head of the Prime Minister’s Delivery Unit at 10 Downing Street. He has a deep background in education, having served as a teacher, teacher union official, professor and head of the School Effectiveness Unit during the first term of the Blair New Labour Government.

22   Why not the best schools?

The McKinsey report5 on the world’s best-performing school systems, co-authored by Barber, is surely one of the most widely read studies in recent times. Its value was explained in Schleicher’s Foreword: ‘the report provides policy-makers with a unique tool to bring about improvements in schooling and better preparation for young people as they enter an adult life of rapid change and deepening global interdependence’. He added, somewhat provocatively: ‘The world is indifferent to tradition and past reputations, unforgiving of frailty and ignorant of custom or practice. Success will go to those individuals and countries which are swift to adapt, slow to complain and open to change’. McKinsey’s explanation of success is primarily concerned with the quality of teaching, expressed simply: ‘The quality of an education system cannot exceed the quality of its teachers’. Its conclusion provides power­ ful support for the inclusion of intellectual capital in the framework that guided the International Project to Frame the Transformation of Schools, as illustrated in Figure 3 in Chapter 1. Among its striking findings is that ‘the available evidence suggests that the main driver of the variation in student learning at school is the quality of the teachers’. It cites research at the University of Tennessee that found that ‘if two average eight-yearold students were given different teachers – one of them a high performer, the other a low performer – their performance diverged by more than 50 percentile points within three years’. This finding contrasts with evidence on class size: ‘By comparison, the evidence shows that reducing class sizes from 23 to 15 students improves the performance of the average student by eight percentile points at best’.6 Investing in intellectual capital can be a costly business. However, the McKinsey report makes clear that an exclusive focus on securing higher levels of financial capital may have little impact on learning. It cited one study that found that performance had declined or plateaued in several countries between the 1970s and 1990s despite increases in expenditure. For example, real per-student expenditure in Australia had increased by 270 per cent but student achievement had declined by 2 per cent. The corresponding figures for New Zealand were an increase of 223 per cent and a decline of 10 per cent, respectively.7 Top-performing country Finland is not top-spending, adjusting for parity in purchasing power. For example, starting salaries of teachers in Germany and Korea are more than 40 per cent higher than those in Finland and Australia, which are both at the level of the OECD average. McKinsey provides a summary of its findings in the form of key questions and parameters, or policy settings based on best practice. These are reproduced in Table 1. While Finland has attracted the headlines, what counts as best practice is drawn from several countries and jurisdictions, including

Learning from the best   23

those in the top ranks of performance in PISA 2003 (reading): Alberta (Canada), Australia, Belgium, Finland, Hong Kong, Japan, Netherlands, New Zealand, Ontario (Canada), Singapore and South Korea. Juris­ dictions with a strong improvement strategy included the following in the United States: Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, New York and Ohio. Table 1 Key questions and policy settings based on best practice as identified in the McKinsey report8 Question

Best in the world

Getting the right people to become teachers What is the average academic calibre of people who become teachers?

Among the top 10% of each cohort

How is the teaching profession viewed by university students and recent graduates?

One of the top 3 career choices

How rigorous are selection processes in teacher training?

Rigorous checks designed to assess teaching potential; e.g. teaching practice, literacy and numeracy tests

What is the ratio of places in initial teacher education courses to applications?

1:10

How does starting compensation for teachers compare to other graduate salaries?

In line with other graduate salaries

Developing effective instructors What is the total amount of coaching new teachers receive in schools?

More than 20 weeks

What is the proportion of each teacher’s time spent on professional development?

10% of working time is used for professional development

Does each teacher have an exact knowledge of specific weaknesses in their practice?

Yes, as a result of everyday activities occurring in schools

Can teachers observe and understand better teaching practice in a school setting?

Yes, teachers regularly invite each other into others’ classrooms to observe and coach

Do teachers reflect on and discuss practice?

Yes, through both formal and informal processes in schools

What role do school leaders play in developing effective instructors?

The best coaches and instructors are selected as leaders

How much focused, systematic research is conducted into effective instruction and then fed back into policy and classroom practice?

Research budget equivalent to US$50 per student each year focused on improving instruction

24   Why not the best schools?

Ensuring every student performs well What standards exist for what students should know, understand and be able to do?

Clear standards appropriate to system performance

What system-wide checks exist on the quality of school performance?

All schools are aware of their strengths and weaknesses

What action is taken to tackle underperformance?

Effective mechanisms to support all failing students; minimal performance variation between schools

How is funding and support organised?

Funding and support are focused where it can have the most impact

Autonomy, accountability and choice Much of our work in recent years has been concerned with how schools exercise their authority and responsibility within national or system-wide frameworks of curriculum, standards and accountabilities. Higher levels of authority and responsibility have been granted to schools in systems of public (state, government) education; they already exist in private (non-public, independent) schools. It is therefore important to review recent research on these matters, and that is our focus in this section of the chapter. We draw extensively on several studies commissioned by OECD.

The concept of autonomy Taken literally, school autonomy implies a degree of freedom that does not exist in any system of public education, and it is becoming increasingly rare to find it in private schools that receive funds from the public purse. Such schools are constrained to the extent that their autonomy is framed by the requirement of accountability for the use of those funds that, in most countries, are conditional on the delivery of a curriculum that must be followed by all schools. Autonomy is constrained even in those schools that have generally been described as autonomous, including charter schools in Canada and the United States. Despite the foregoing, the concept of autonomy is widely used, although it is qualified in certain ways in both policy and practice. Depending on the setting, the terms ‘local management’, ‘school-based management’ or ‘school self-management’ are often used. Much of our work has been concerned with the self-managing school, defined as ‘a school in a system of education to which there has been decentralised a significant amount of authority and responsibility to make decisions related to the allocation of resources within a centrally

Learning from the best   25

deter­mined framework of goals, policies, standards and accountabilities’.9 Resources are defined broadly to include finance, curriculum, staffing, facilities and maintenance.

Research on autonomy Providing schools with more authority and responsibility to make decisions has been an international trend in recent years, as mapped by the OECD.10 There has been a parallel trend to greater centralisation of decisions for some functions so that the general pattern is best described as higher levels of autonomy for decisions related to the manner in which centrally determined curriculum, standards and accountabilities are delivered at the local level. Early research on the impact of autonomy or its variants of local management, school-based management or self-management were in­ con­clusive, although limited evidence of the links between autonomy and learning outcomes had emerged in the 1990s.11 The most striking findings have come from recent analyses of school and school system char­acter­istics in the PISA conducted by the OECD in 2003 and 2006. Particular attention was given in PISA 2006 to knowledge and skills in science of 15-year olds. More than 400,000 students participated from 57 countries, covering 90 per cent of the world’s economy. School principals reported on the extent of autonomy on a range of matters. The following findings are noteworthy: After accounting for demographic and socio-economic background fac­ tors, school level autonomy indices in staffing, educational content, and budget­ing do not show a statistically significant association with school per­ formance. However, a system-level composition effect appears with regard to school autonomy in educational content as well as budgeting. Students in educational systems giving more autonomy to schools to choose textbooks, to determine course content, and to decide which courses to offer, tend to perform better regardless of whether the schools which individual students attend have higher degrees of autonomy or not (an increase of one unit on the index corresponds to an increase of 20.3 score points in science). Similarly, students in educational systems that give more autonomy to schools to formulate the school budget and to decide on budget allocations within the school tend to perform better regard­less of whether the schools that individual students attend have higher degrees of autonomy or not (an increase of one unit on the index corresponds to an increase of 22.5 score points in science). School auto­nomy variables do not appear to have an impact on the relationship between socio-economic background and science performance, that is, greater school autonomy is not associated with a more inequitable distribution of learning opportunities.12

26   Why not the best schools?

The findings reported above can be interpreted in the context of the range of scores for science. Finland was the top-ranked nation (score of 563) while Mexico was the bottom-ranked (score of 410). The OECD average score is defined as a range from 495 to 504. The report of PISA 2006 goes further to construct a model to explain the joint impact of school and system resources, practices and policies on student performance. Of the 15 factors in the model, the system average on the school autonomy index in budgeting is by far the most powerful, associated with a net increase in score of 25.7.

Adding accountability and choice to the picture Even more striking are two studies on PISA 2003 conducted for OECD by staff in the Ifo Institute for Economic Research at the University of Munich, Department of Human Capital and Innovation. These were concerned with accountability, autonomy and choice, with one focusing on level of student achievement and the other on equity of student achievement. On level of student achievement, the following findings are striking: On average, students perform better if schools have autonomy to decide on staffing and to hire their own teachers, while student achievement is lower when schools have autonomy in areas with large scope for opportunistic behaviour, such as formulating their own budget. But school autonomy in formulating the budget, in establishing teacher salaries, and in determining course content are all significantly more beneficial in systems where external exit exams introduce accountability’.13 Students perform substantially better in systems where private school operation creates choice and competition. At the same time, student achievement increases along with government funding of schools. A level playing field in terms of government funding for public and private schools proves significantly performance enhancing. The evidence is less clear on whether choice among public schools has any significant effect on student achievement across countries, although in urban areas where there are more schools to choose from, student achievement is higher for students who are not restricted to attend the local school and who report that they attend their school because it is better than alternatives.14

The conclusions on equity of student achievement were equally noteworthy: … rather than harming disadvantaged students, accountability, autonomy, and choice are tides that lift all the boats … there is not a single case where a policy designed to introduce accountability, autonomy, or choice into schooling benefits high-SES students to the detriment of low-SES

Learning from the best   27

students, i.e. where the former gain but the latter suffer. This suggests that fears of equity-efficiency tradeoffs and cream-skimming in implementing market-oriented educational reforms are not merely exaggerated, but are largely mistaken.15

These findings are so important that we cited the source material at some length so that readers can see the evidence for themselves. It may be help­ ful to add a few words of commentary that set the findings in the context of issues of policy and practice. In the previous section we summarised other evidence from PISA, as reported by Schleicher, that public schools out-performed private schools in most participating countries when levels of achievement were controlled for the socio-economic background of students. These additional studies do not change the picture; instead, their findings tend to support policies that provide for choice to the extent that all schools seem to benefit from the existence of a market. It is worth bearing in mind that the PISA findings are limited to achievement in areas such as reading (2003) and science (2006). While at first sight private schools perform better in most countries, this superiority is reversed when socio-economic background is taken out of the frame. However, parents in some countries such as Australia are turning to private schools in greater numbers and there are several factors that influence their choice. These may include breadth and depth in the curriculum, climate and culture of the school, and quality of facilities. In other words, parents are sensitive to factors other than levels of achievement in areas tested in PISA. We take up the matter of public and private schools in the next section.

Future directions in large-scale change Most countries have engaged in large-scale change in recent years in an effort to lift levels of achievement, reduce disparity between high and low-performing students and ensure a better match of knowledge and skills and the needs of economy and society in the 21st century. While some outcomes have been noteworthy, there is evidence that momentum is building for further change and some radical departures in policy and practice are being canvassed. We have selected two countries as examples – England and the United States – both of which were included in the International Project to Frame the Transformation of Schools.

Is England in for another education revolution? Some of the most notable reforms in public education have occurred in England since the passing of the Education Reform Act of 1988. The main features of initial reforms of the Conservative Government

28   Why not the best schools?

were a national curriculum, the local management of schools, greater choice and diversity among schools and, in the minds of many, intention to privatise public education. The election of the Blair New Labour Government in 1997 saw the continuation of these policies with a substantial injection of funds and improved outcomes, especially in literacy, and at the secondary level where schools were encouraged to develop one or more specialisations. These developments are now the subject of critical scholarly review.16 The significance of these reforms in England cannot be stressed too highly, especially as they have attracted attention around the world. Success would mean replication or adaptation elsewhere; failure could have the effect of undermining efforts to reform public education. Brian Caldwell took this view in an article that was published on the opinion page of the Times Educational Supplement (London) on 11 June 1999. The headline was ‘The world is watching, Tony’; the sub-title included the statement ‘The Prime Minister is playing for high stakes with school reform … the fate of state education across the globe could turn on their success’. Here are some excerpts. There is extraordinary international interest in Tony Blair’s agenda for schools. Much is at stake. If he succeeds, he will breathe new life into school reform in other nations, where state education is in some cases on its knees. Should he fail, under what many observers see as optimal conditions for success, there will be added impetus for a reconstruction beyond any seen since the advent of mass public schooling in the late 19th century. My 1988 book with Jim Spinks, The Self-Managing School (Falmer), based on initiatives under moderate left-of-centre governments in Australia in the 1980s was used extensively to train heads for local management of schools in the Conservative era. Our 1998 book, Beyond the Self-Managing School (Falmer), sits comfortably with Labour’s agenda. We identify ‘tracks for change’ common to the reform effort in many nations: the creation of self-managing schools (a change virtually complete in Britain); a shift of focus from structures to standards; and the creation of schools for the information age. There is now a body of knowledge that will enable all schools to move down these tracks. But there are three imperatives if this agenda is to succeed. First, the culture of teaching and learning must be transformed to embrace a ‘new professionalism’. This is not to decry teachers, whose achievements under fire in recent times have been truly heroic. But teaching in world-class schools should mimic the best medical practice – with a research-driven approach – using techniques that have been shown to work – together with continuous updating of professional knowledge. Second, community

Learning from the best   29

support is required. Over the last half-century the feeling that ‘government should do it all’ has meant much of this traditional support was allowed to wither. Labour’s drive for greater voluntary effort and a bigger role for the private sector should therefore be applauded. In this regard, Australia and Britain fall well short of the United States where the value of public-sector volunteer work exceeds the gross national product of all but seven nations. The third imperative is for professional education associations to get behind the cause of world-class schools – we need a ‘new unionism’. Undoubtedly Blair has a great opportunity. The Prime Minister is jus­ tified to claim that ‘never before have we possessed, at the same time, a national quest for change; a government committed to state education, ready to invest significantly extra money each year; and a programme of educational reform with huge support’. Failure to seize that opportunity, he asserted, will ‘betray our generation and those that follow’. It is the project of state education that is at risk should he fail. Apart from the social and economic consequences, failure will almost certainly lead to reduced public investment and privatisation on an unprecedented scale across the world. But success will lay the foundation for a reinvigorated profession that will drive a system of world-class schools, energise reform on an international scale, and assure the future of public education. That is why the world is interested.

Gordon Brown is now Prime Minister and has pledged to maintain the policy framework of his predecessor. His engaging vision for educa­ tion was cited in Chapter 1. However, at the time of writing, the Conservative Party has extended its lead in public opinion polls and is moving to a platform of dramatic change. Shadow Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families, Michael Gove,17 drew on two sets of data in building the case. In successive PISA tests, England fell from 4th to 14th in science, 7th to 17th in reading and 8th to 24th in science. In examinations for the General Certificate of Secondary Education (GCSE) in 2007, only 25.3 per cent of students in the 10 per cent mostdeprived communities secured five good passes compared to 68.4 per cent in the 10 per cent least-deprived communities, a gap which appears to be widening. Gove called for schools to be freed from local authority control to have the same high levels of autonomy currently enjoyed by academies: free to hire and reward staff, free of curriculum constraints, free to seek support from any provider in either public or private sectors and free to exclude disruptive students. Interestingly, Gove turned to the rapidly expanding voucher scheme introduced in Sweden in 1992 for an international example of what he had in mind.18 It is not our intention to critically analyse what has transpired in England or to offer a judgement on the merits of what has been proposed.

30   Why not the best schools?

It is clear, however, that levels of achievement and the gap between high and low-performing schools and school systems remain of deep concern and that the next election, due in 2010, is likely to see at least one radical manifesto. Moreover, as we noted in Chapter 1, there is evidence of reform overload. While England has been one of several destinations of those who seek to learn from the best, it is more likely that England will draw on the best that has been achieved in a limited number of schools within its own borders, while also casting a wider net in its search for strategies for success.

Can it get bolder than this in the United States? The same deep concern about schools may be found in the United States, which has also slipped down the international rankings, as reported in the first section of this chapter. This is puzzling to the international observer, given that the United States spends far more per student than most countries, and the nation probably has more researchers in the field than any other. There are pockets of excellence despite the relatively low overall levels of achievement and the high levels of disparity (the United States is ‘low performance’ and ‘low equity’). The McKinsey report des­ cribed promising developments in Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, New York and Ohio, where school districts were on a trajectory of improvement. The New Commission on the Skills of the American Workforce completed its work in 2006.19 The project was undertaken by the National Center on Education and the Economy, a non-profit organisation ‘created to develop proposals for building the world-class education and training system that the United States must have if it is to continue to be a world-class economy’. Some of America’s leading educators and policymakers served on the commission, which cast a wide net in its search for ideas. There was an overlap in methodology with that of the McKinsey report, and many of the strategies it recommended were the same. Visits were made to Australia, Belgium, Canada, China, Czech Republic, England, Finland, France, OECD, Germany, India, Ireland, Italy and New Zealand. Papers were commissioned from around the world. 20 Of particular interest are the new approaches to governance that were proposed, including: • Schools would no longer be owned by school districts. Instead, schools would be operated by independent contractors, many of them limitedliability organisations owned and run by teachers. The primary role of school district central offices would be to write performance contracts with the operators of these schools, monitor their operations, cancel or decide not to renew the contracts of those providers that did not perform well, and find others that could do better.

Learning from the best   31

• The contract schools would be public schools, subject to all the safety, curriculum, testing, and other accountability requirements of public schools. The teachers in these schools would be employees of the state. • The schools would be funded directly by the state, according to a pupil weighted formula. • The schools would have complete discretion over the way their funds are spent, the staffing schedule, their organisation and management, their schedule and their program, as long as they provided the curriculum and met the testing and other accountability requirements imposed by the state. • Districts could provide support services to the schools, but the schools would be free to obtain the services they needed wherever they wished.21

Some of these elements match those already in place in self-managing schools in a minority of school districts in Canada and the United States, and everywhere in England and Victoria (Australia). The striking difference is the proposal for schools to be operated by independent contractors. As in the case of England, our purpose is not to offer a critique of the proposal. Many have been offered. 22 We simply note that, after more than two decades of efforts to raise achievement and reduce disparity, there is a sense that far more radical reforms might lie ahead. As with England, at the heart of the possibilities is the level of autonomy and the relationship between the school and the state.

Fresh thinking about private schools Evidence was provided in the first section that sheds new light on the role of private schools. First, if levels of achievement are adjusted for the socio-economic background of students, students in public schools outperform their counterparts in private schools in most countries where comparisons are possible in domains tested in PISA (mathematics, reading and science). Second, levels of achievement are higher and the extent of disparity lower in countries where there is choice for parents among both public and private schools, with the effect even greater where the latter are subsidised by the public purse. As noted earlier, these findings do not inform us about why parents choose one kind of school over another and it is beyond the purpose of this book to address the issue. However, we included private schools23 in the Australian component of the International Project to Frame the Transformation of Schools. In Australia there has been a steady drift of students from public to private schools in recent decades. For example, the proportion of students attending public schools declined from

32   Why not the best schools?

70.3 per cent in 1997 to 66.4 per cent in 2007. More than 40 per cent of Year 12 students attend private schools, rising to more than 50 per cent in major capital cities. From 1997 to 2007, the number of full-time students attending public schools grew by just 1.7 per cent, compared to an increase of 21.9 per cent of those attending private schools.24 All private schools in Australia receive needs-based grants from national and state governments. In most other countries that were part of the international project, including England and Wales, these schools are generally fully maintained by the public purse. In some countries, what are described as private schools in Australia constitute the majority of schools. In Hong Kong, for example, more than 90 per cent of students attend a school owned and operated by a non-public body; in the Netherlands, the proportion is about 70 per cent. Fresh thinking about private schools is required if evidence from poor communities in developing countries is taken into account. James Tooley, Professor of Education Policy at the University of Newcastle upon Tyne, and President, The Education Fund, Orient Global 25 studied developments in China, Ghana, India and Kenya and concluded that ‘in those areas where we were able to adequately compare public and private provision, a large majority of school children are in private school, a significant number in unrecognised schools and not on the state’s radar at all’. Moreover, he added ‘Of course, no one suspected that private slum schools would be better. Yet our research suggests that children in these schools outperform similar students in government schools in key subject areas’. 26 An example of how a private school can achieve a transformation in highly disadvantaged settings is Katha in Delhi, India. Katha is described on its website27 as a ‘profit-for-all non-profit’ institution. It is located in a poverty stricken community. The visitor28 enters under an arch bearing the message ‘An Uncommon Education for a Common Good’. One is immediately struck by the warmth of its buildings, physically with its thick-walled, red brick structure and the relationships between its teachers and other carers. The website description captures the setting: Imagine a brick and stone building. Warm. Intimate, resounding with the laughter of 1200 children, 100 women who come in to discuss issues of resurgence and learn, nearly 70 teachers, many volunteers. Imagine a community of 150,000 people many of whom keep walking into the school that is at the centre of its resurgence. Started in 1990 with five children, we have stretched out to 54 communities that live around us, each at the edge of many poverties. And now imagine its curriculum and pedagogy. Specially devised for our students, ranging in age from 0–17. Each trimester, the flavour of the

Learning from the best   33

learning changes, and the excitement bubbles within teachers and stu­ dents as they look forward to one more window opening …

According to the Director of Katha, Parvinder Kauer, fewer than 2 per cent of students drop out and many secure employment in the burgeoning knowledge economy of India. Her statement on the low drop-out rate is convincing given the contrast between the poverty in surrounding communities and the homes from which the students come, and the warmth of the setting and the opportunities it creates. Katha’s graduates from the information technology (IT) specialisation include computer operators, web designers, accountants, graphic designers, teachers, data­ base designers, computer assemblers and networkers. There are clearly defined values about life and learning (spiritual capital) at Katha. The 9 Cs of the classroom are curiosity, creativity, competence, confidence, courage, cooperation, citizenship, concentration and critical thinking. The financial and spiritual capital of the school derives from the support of a large number of businesses, including some with a national and international profile such as BT (British Telecommunications PLC) and the Ford Foundation. The foregoing raises questions about the role of state schools, inclu­ ding the possibility of partnerships between state and private schools and school systems. These partnerships don’t occur simply because in some countries private schools are fully publicly funded and, for all intents and purposes, are part of the public system (as is the case in Hong Kong, the Netherlands and Britain). Interestingly, the partnership possibility was canvassed recently by the Minister for Education in Victoria (Australia), Bronwyn Pike, the aim being to achieve improvements in areas such as infrastructure, maintenance, student welfare and possibly funding. 29

Discussion Our purpose in this chapter was to place the International Project to Frame the Transformation of Schools in the wider and rapidly changing contexts of research and development on a global scale. The importance of intellectual capital (the knowledge and skills of those who work in or for the school) was affirmed in the landmark report of McKinsey & Company. Intellectual capital is one element in the framework. The project was conducted in countries in which there is a trend to a higher level of autonomy for schools. While there has been mixed evidence about the impact of autonomy, recent studies for OECD confirm the link to performance and equity providing there is accountability. While there has also been mixed evidence about the relative merits of public and private schools, another study for OECD suggests that the performance of all

34   Why not the best schools?

schools can be raised if there is choice within and between public and private sectors, especially where private schools are subsidised from the public purse. The need for new ways of thinking about private schools is evident in the light of their achievements in highly disadvantaged settings. It is in these contexts that we present the findings of the project.

Notes   1 The concept of ‘learning walk’ has been adopted to describe a more systematic approach to visiting a school for benchmarking purposes. There is agreement among visitors and hosts about the purpose of the visit and there is careful briefing and de-briefing. A search of websites will yield thousands of illustrations. In Victoria, the Eastern Metropolitan Region of the Department of Education and Early Childhood Development arranged for leaders of all of its 248 government schools to visit another school, in what were described as ‘walkthroughs’. Reflections were shared at the 2008 conference of the region, with an engaging DVD illustrating the approach.   2 Schleicher, A. (2008). ‘The increasing global talent pool: Worldwide trends in educational attainment’. Invited presentation at the Asia Pacific Leaders Forum on New Skills for a Global Innovation Society, hosted by The Asia Society, New Delhi, India, 26–28 March.   3 See OECD (2007). PISA 2006 Science Competencies for Tomorrow’s World. Paris: OECD.   4 See Rasiel, E.M. (1999). The McKinsey Way. New York: McGraw-Hill.   5 Barber, M. and Mourshed, M. (2007). How the World’s Best-Performing School Systems Come Out on Top. London: McKinsey & Company.   6 Ibid, page 12.   7 Ibid, page 10.   8 Ibid, page 41.   9 This definition of the self-managing school is based on one contained in Caldwell, B.J. and Spinks, J.M. (1988). The Self-Managing School. London: Falmer; Caldwell, B.J. and Spinks, J.M. (1992). Leading the Self-Managing School. London: Falmer; and Caldwell, B.J. and Spinks, J.M. (1998). Beyond the Self-Managing School. London: Falmer. 10 OECD (2004) Education at a Glance. Paris: OECD. 11 Caldwell, B.J. (2003). ‘A theory of learning in the self-managing school’. In A. Volansky and I.A. Friedman (Eds). School-Based Management: An International Perspective. Israel: Ministry of Education; and Caldwell, B.J. (2005). SchoolBased Management. No. 3 in the Education Policy Series of the International Academy of Education. Paris: International Institute of Educational Planning, UNESCO. 12 OECD (2007) cited above 3, pages 252–3.

Learning from the best   35

13 Wössmann, L., Lüdemann, E., Schütz, G. and West, M.R. (2007). ‘School account­ability, autonomy, choice, and the equity of student achievement: International evidence from PISA 2003’. Education Working Paper No. 13, Directorate of Education, OECD, September, page 59. 14 Ibid, pages 59–60. 15 Schütz, G., Wössmann, L. and West, M.R. (2007). ‘School accountability, autonomy, choice, and level of student achievement: International evidence from PISA 2003’. Education Working Paper No. 14, Directorate of Education, OECD, December, pages 34–5. 16 An entire issue of Educational Management, Administration & Leadership, published by the British Educational Leadership, Management & Administration Society, was devoted to a review of the Education Reform Act of 1988 under the title of ‘Continuity, change and educational reform: Questioning the legacy of the Education Reform Act of 1988’. A review of developments in school autonomy is contained in Caldwell, B.J. (2008). ‘Reconceptualizing the selfmanaging school’. Educational Management, Administration & Leadership, 36(2), pages 235–52. 17 Gove, M. (2008). ‘Making Opportunity More Equal’. Speech to the Centre Forum by the Shadow Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families (England), 25 March. <www.conservatives.com/tile.do?def=news.story.page& obj_id=143223> accessed 10 April 2008. 18 For a description of the ‘free school’ voucher movement in Sweden, see Nelson, F. (2008). ‘Made in Sweden: The new Tory revolution’. The Spectator, 27 February 2008. <www.spectator.co.uk/the-magazine/features/526631/made-in-swedenthe-new-tory-education-revolution.thtml> accessed 10 April 2008. 19 The report of the New Commission on the Skills of the American Workforce is contained in National Center on Education and the Economy (2007). Tough Choices or Tough Times. San Francisco: John Wiley & Sons. The Executive Summary may be found at <www.skillscommission.org/executive.htm> accessed 10 April. 20 One such paper was Caldwell, B.J. and Harris, J. (2006). ‘Comparative Gover­ nance, Administration and Finance for Elementary and Secondary Education for Selected Countries’. Paper commissioned by the National Center on Education and the Economy for the New Commission on the Skills of the American Workforce. Available from NCEE, 555 13th Street NW, Suite 500 West, Washington, DC 20004. 21 These excerpts are drawn from the Executive Summary of the report of the New Commission on the Skills of the American Workforce <www.skillscommission. org/executive.htm> accessed 10 April 2008. 22 A critique of Tough Choices Tough Times is contained in Hodge, S.T. (2007). ‘Editor’s Review of Tough Choices or Tough Times: The report of the New Commission on the Skills of the American Workforce by the National Center on Education and the Economy’ Harvard Education Review, Winter.

36   Why not the best schools?

23 For Australia, we use the term ‘private schools’ to cover all schools that are not owned or operated by a public authority. The term covers various categories of systemic schools, with systems of Catholic schools enrolling the most students, as well as independent schools that are not part of a system. 24 These data are drawn from Australian Bureau of Statistics (2008). Schools. Report 4221.0, released 29 February. <www.abs.gov.au> accessed 28 April 2008. 25 Tooley is based in Hyderabad, India. Details about Orient Global can be found at <www.orientglobal.com>, accessed 28 April 2008. 26 Tooley, J. (2005). ‘Private schools for the poor’. Education Next, 5(4). <www. hoover.org/publications/ednext/3217591> accessed 28 April 2008. Education Next is a publication of the Hoover Institution at Stanford University. Tooley’s research is supported by the John M. Templeton Foundation. 27 Details about Katha can be found at <www.katha.org> accessed 28 April 2008. 28 Brian Caldwell visited Katha during his participation at the Asia Pacific Leaders Forum on New Skills for a Global Innovation Society, hosted by The Asia Society and held in New Delhi, 26–28 March 2008. 29 Minister for Education (Victoria) Bronwyn Pike as reported in Tomazin, F. (2008). ‘State to seek closer ties with Catholic schools’, The Age, 21 April, page 3.

3

The quality of schools will never exceed the quality of their staff

This chapter presents evidence and offers guidelines on the importance of the intellectual capital of schools and school systems. Intellectual capital refers to the level of knowledge and skill of all of those who work in or for the school. We believe that intellectual capital is the chief driving force for creating the best schools. Everyone who works in or for the best schools needs to be at, and remain at, the forefront of knowledge and skill in their area. This chapter provides illustrations of how the schools involved in the International Project to Frame the Transformation of Schools have built and maintained their intellectual capital.

Intellectual capital There is now a wealth of evidence that indicates that the quality of teachers has a significant and measurable effect on student achievement. Australian and international reviews of research and practice have found that teacher quality is the most important in-school factor in determining learning outcomes for students.1 According to a report prepared for the Business Council of Australia, ‘the evidence is clear that nothing is as fundamental to the quality of learning opportunities that students receive in schools as the quality of their teachers. What students learn in schools depends primarily on the knowledge and skill of their teachers and school leaders’. 2 This report echoes the findings of the international study of high-performing school systems by McKinsey & Company, which expresses its findings in the simple statement that ‘the quality of an education system cannot exceed the quality of its teachers’. 3 Over the past four decades, there has been considerable debate regarding the influence of teacher quality on student performance. Prior to the 1960s, many educators and educational researchers held the belief

37

38   Why not the best schools?

that student achievement was principally influenced by characteristics of the student, including their socio-economic and family backgrounds. Schools and teachers were believed to have little influence over student performance.4 Research studies from the past three decades, however, have clearly shown that student performance is not simply determined by the social, economic or genetic backgrounds of students. An extensive review of literature by Hattie and his colleagues at the University of Auckland identified six major sources for variance in student achievement. 5 Hattie’s study indicated that a large proportion of the variance in student achievement, around 50 per cent, could be attributed to the personal characteristics of students, particularly their level of ability. Three different factors – the level of expectation and encouragement in the home – the school environment and the influence of their peers, were each reported to account for between 5 and 10 per cent of the variance of student achievement. It is interesting to note that the influence of school leaders on student performance is included in the ‘school’ variance. School leaders are reported to have an indirect influence on student achievement through their creation of the learning environment and culture, rather than a direct influence on learning. The final source of variance is teachers, who were found to have the greatest influence on student performance outside of students’ ability levels, and this influence accounts for about 30 per cent of the variance in students’ learning outcomes. The finding that teachers provide the greatest in-school influence on student performance has been confirmed in many Australian and international studies. As noted in Chapter 2, the McKinsey report cites research from the University of Tennessee, which concluded that ‘if two average eight-year-old students were given different teachers – one of them a high performer, the other a low performer – their performance diverged by more than 50 percentile points within three years’.6 Similar research into the effect of teacher quality on student performance was undertaken in Australia by Leigh.7 Leigh examined a data set that included over 10,000 primary school teachers and over 90,000 students from Queensland to determine the effects that teacher quality may have on student outcomes in the biennial national literacy and numeracy testing for students in Grades 3 and 7. Leigh’s findings echoed findings from similar studies in the United States, showing that teacher quality can have an effect of 0.1 standard deviations on student test scores. Expressed another way, this study showed that a high-performing teacher in Queensland (at the 90th percentile) ‘can achieve in half a year what a 10th percentile [low-performing teacher] can achieve in a full year’.8 The quality of teachers, Leigh concludes, has an impact on the learning outcomes of students in their classroom.

The quality of schools will never exceed the quality of their staff   39

The report by McKinsey & Company has shown that teacher quality also has an influence on the performance of school systems.9 The study examined 25 school systems from around the world, including 10 top-performing school systems, to determine the tools that they use to improve student performance. Each of these school systems operates within a unique political, social and cultural context and faces different challenges in striving to meet the learning needs of their students. Despite these contextual differences, the study found some striking simi­larities in the approaches that high-performing school systems have adopted to improving student performance. All have sustained a focus on improving the quality of teaching in their schools. The study identified three key drivers that are effectively and consistently used by high-performing school systems to improve student outcomes and increase the performance of the school system: 1. They get the right people to become teachers (the quality of an

education system cannot exceed the quality of its teachers). 2. They develop these people into effective instructors (the only way to

improve outcomes is to improve instruction). 3. They put in place systems and targeted support to ensure that every child is able to benefit from excellent instruction (the only way for the system to reach the highest performance is to raise the standard of every student).10 Each of these approaches to improving intellectual capital has been adopted by the schools in the International Project to Frame the Transformation of Schools. All have implemented strategies to recruit high-quality staff who are capable and committed to addressing the needs of their students. They provide their teachers with effective, targeted professional learning programs that assist them in staying at the forefront of knowledge and skills. Finally, each uses consistent monitoring and self-evaluation to ensure that the needs of all students are met. These approaches are illustrated in the findings of the International Project to Frame the Transformation of Schools.

Indicators of intellectual capital The first stage of the International Project to Frame the Transformation of Schools, as described in Chapter 1, was to review the literature on each form of capital and on school governance. An outcome of this review of research and accounts of effective practice in schools, as reported by Caldwell and Spinks,11 was the development of 10 indicators for each form of capital and for governance. These are contained in Appendix 1 and Chapters 3 to 7, inclusive.

40   Why not the best schools?

The 50 indicators were incorporated in a self-assessment instrument that served as the basis for discussion in 22 workshops held in 2007 involving school and school system leaders from Australia, Croatia, England, Malaysia, Mauritius, Netherlands, Philippines, Singapore and Wales. Participants had no difficulty seeing the application of indicators to their own settings. An example of their use in a series of seven workshops in Mauritius is described later in this chapter. The indicators for each form of capital and governance served as a guide to researchers in each of the six countries involved in the international project to help build a common understanding of how each concept had been defined. The indicators were also used to select schools and report findings. While there was no expectation that information on each indicator was to be systematically gathered at every site, evidence for all of the 50 indicators was found in one or more of the case study schools, with 23 demonstrated in all 30 secondary schools in the six countries and a further 18 indicators in the majority of schools. The ten indicators of intellectual capital are listed below. Six marked with an asterisk (*) were evident in all 30 schools; four with a hash (#) were demonstrated in the majority of schools.   1. * The staff allocated to or selected by the school are at the forefront

of knowledge and skill in required disciplines and pedagogies.   2. * The school identifies and implements outstanding practice observed

in or reported by other schools.   3. * The school has built a substantial, systematic and sustained capa­

city for acquiring and sharing professional knowledge.   4. # Outstanding professional practice is recognised and rewarded.   5. * The school supports a comprehensive and coherent plan for the

professional development of all staff that reflects its needs and priorities.   6. # When necessary, the school outsources to augment the professional talents of its staff.   7. * The school participates in networks with other schools and indi­ viduals, organisations, institutions and agencies, in education and other fields, to share knowledge, solve problems or pool resources.   8. * The school ensures that adequate funds are set aside in the budget to support the acquisition and dissemination of professional knowledge.   9. # The school provides opportunities for staff to innovate in their professional practice. 10. # The school supports a ‘no-blame’ culture, which accepts that innovations often fail.

The quality of schools will never exceed the quality of their staff   41

Findings from the International Project to Frame the Transformation of Schools An important focus for each school is strengthening intellectual capital. Continuing professional development and focus on improving the know­ ledge and skills of those who work in the school takes place at all levels of the schools. In addition to addressing the learning needs of their students, the schools are dedicated to creating a commitment to lifelong learning. The case studies describe the practices that they use to strengthen the intellectual capital in all areas of the schools, from classroom practice and pedagogy to effectively leading and managing a school.

The schools appoint staff members according to local needs The level of school involvement in the selection of staff in Australia and the United States varies according to the policies within the individual systems. In both countries, responsibility for schooling lies with state governments. The policies and practices of schools, therefore, can differ greatly between state systems. All of the schools from Australia that participated in the International Project to Frame the Transformation of Schools are located in Victoria. The Victorian state (public) school system provides schools with a relatively high level of autonomy in a range of areas, including the selection and appointment of staff. The five United States schools, however, were located in five different state jurisdictions, meaning that there were five different approaches to policy and practice in relation to the selection of staff. The case studies highlighted the shared focus of each school on strength­ening their intellectual capital through the appointment and retention of high-quality teaching and support staff. While the level of school involvement in the recruitment process varied between systems, each school was given some freedom to participate in the selection of staff, taking account of school and community needs. In Victoria, staff are employed by the school system, but responsibility and authority for managing the recruitment of staff has been delegated to school princi­ pals. School leaders, therefore, are responsible for the advertising of all vacant positions other than principal positions, managing the interview process and the selection and appointment of suitable candidates. Human resource policy guidelines are provided by the school system to assist principals with the recruitment, transfer and promotion of their school staff. The Victorian Department of Education and Early Childhood Development reported that this system of local selection provides

42   Why not the best schools?

‘the most effective way of matching the talents and career aspirations of staff with the specific needs of individual schools’.12 Like Victoria, schools in China, England and Wales have high levels of involvement in the selection of staff. Under the Principal Responsibility System (Xiaozhang Fuzezhi), which was introduced in China in the late 1980s, principals have been given more responsibility for making decisions in a range of areas in the school. The principals of the five schools from China have: the power to hire and dismiss school administrators, including his own vice-principals; to hire and fire teachers and staff; to make decisions on school administrative affairs; to supervise teaching activities; to reward or punish teachers and staff; and finally, to make decisions on the use of school funds.13

These schools in China place significant emphasis on attracting highquality teaching staff. Schools in China are evaluated and ranked every year after Zhong Kao, the high-school entry examination, and Gao Kao, the national university entrance examination. Schools that receive a high ranking, based on the number of students who passed these entrance examinations, can receive additional funding from government and other funding bodies. These high-ranking schools, therefore, are often able to attract high-quality graduates and teachers from other schools. New teachers attracted from other schools are called ‘imported expertise’ (Yinjin Rencai) and their salaries, which are determined by the principal, are often set at a higher level than other teachers. The Chinese case studies also found that teachers are often attracted to working in a challenging and motivating school environment. Chongqing 37th Secondary School, for example, has established a nonthreatening, warm environment that meets the needs of all teachers and supports them in achieving their potential. The school leadership team demonstrates its respect for staff by giving them a high degree of support through a strong system of professional development and autonomy in their role. The study of Chongqing 37th Secondary School found that these principles of respect, support and autonomy have motivated teachers to become more effective, and have transformed the school into a more attractive place to work. While the studies of schools in England described the importance of their ability to select teaching staff, they also highlighted the importance of recruiting and selecting high-quality non-teaching staff to suit the needs of the school. In 2003, the Department for Education and Skills, now the Department for Children, Schools and Families, implemented the National Workforce Agreement, a seven-point plan to create time for teachers and school principals.14 This plan involved the reduction

The quality of schools will never exceed the quality of their staff   43

of teachers’ hours; the reduction of administrative and clerical tasks undertaken by teachers; the recruitment of new managers to support the leadership team; and the reform of support staff roles. Under these workforce reforms, schools have been encouraged to develop structures that involve adults other than teachers in supporting student learning. Schools are required to lighten the administrative burden on teachers and school leaders, and to provide them with time for preparation and assessment. The implementation of the reforms in the schools studied in England has significantly heightened the profile of Learning Support/ Teaching Assistants, has lightened the load for teachers and has brought into the frame adults who have much to offer young people and who can therefore contribute expertise and skills from other spheres. All schools studied in England have embraced these reforms and employed high numbers of non-teaching staff. At Beauchamp College, for example, teaching staff account for just over 50 per cent of the 310 staff members. The school has chosen to use the term ‘associate staff’ to describe the non-teaching staff, in order to demonstrate that all members of the school staff are valued equally. Beauchamp College has also adopted an innovative approach to the selection of staff, which gives all school governors, including student governors, input into the selection process. In one case, the student governors were given responsibility to make the final decision on the appointment of a staff member in the student manager role. The studies of schools in Finland found that principals have been pro­ gres­sively given greater levels of freedom and independence in their work over the past two decades. Whereas once the municipal boards of educa­ tion interviewed and appointed teachers, principals are now responsible for interviewing candidates and presenting the best candidate to the local board. The local board of education in Tampere, where the Finnish schools were located, is responsible for appointing the candidates. Although schools in Finland do not have the same level of autonomy as most of the schools in the project, all reported that they had strong intel­ lectual capital. Teaching has always been a very popular career choice in Finland and is highly valued in Finnish society. Gaining entry to their highquality teacher education programs at university is highly compet­itive, with only 10–12 per cent of applicants being admitted, and so students who want to become teachers are highly motivated. Teachers in Finland are required to complete a master’s degree before they are qualified to teach in primary or secondary schools. Hatanpää School indicated that, for every teaching vacancy in a school in Tampere, there may be more than 100 applicants. These schools, therefore, can often select an applicant that suits their local needs from a large pool of highly motivated candidates who are all at the forefront of knowledge and skills.

44   Why not the best schools?

The schools have mentoring and induction programs for new staff members Schools from each of the six countries reported that they had established mentoring programs for new staff members, particularly newly qualified teachers. The schools from Victoria indicated that their long-serving staff are highly valued for their knowledge and experience within the school. They have implemented coaching and mentoring programs for new staff that draw on their expertise. Koonung Secondary College, a government school in Mont Albert North, a suburb of Melbourne, Victoria, has implemented an induction program for all new staff. Experienced staff act as mentors and coaches in the program, which combines formal and informal approaches to professional development and familiarisation of new staff with the school culture. The school has employed a human resources manager, who works in close collaboration with the curriculum coordinator to ensure the induction program and the school’s program of continuing professional development (CPD) meet the needs of both the staff and the school. All teachers in Victoria are required to complete the teacher accreditation process and be registered with the Victorian Institute of Teaching (VIT).15 In addition to completing the VIT requirements and the school’s induction program, Koonung Secondary College gives newly qualified teachers the opportunity to attend a three-day program offered by the school’s region. The program gives new teachers practical advice on managing their classrooms and provides an opportunity to establish links with other new teachers in the region. A similar approach to staff mentoring has been adopted in schools in China, where teaching is considered to be a collective task, rather than the task of an individual. In other words, it is a common belief in Chinese schools that while an individual teacher’s qualifications are important, his or her ability can be either promoted or inhibited due to the behaviour and performance of other teachers in the group. It is, therefore, deemed to be extremely important for schools to make arrangements to assist teachers to be mutually supportive and enhance the work of their colleagues. This is particularly important for new teachers, who as individuals may not be as effective in their teaching roles as more experienced senior teachers. Teachers in China are ranked according to their teaching experience and performance. This system allows experienced, high-performing teachers to be recognised as master teachers and senior teachers. In addition to teaching their own classes, master and senior teachers in the Chinese schools are given the time, resources and responsibility to mentor new teachers. The Chongqing 37th Secondary School in Chongqing has established a strong focus on the professional development of all staff, with a

The quality of schools will never exceed the quality of their staff   45

particular focus on the development of newly qualified teachers. Its three-step goal statement clearly articulates the school’s expectations for the growth of new teachers. These goals include for teachers to become an accepted teacher by their second year, to gain the status of a qualified teacher by their fourth year, and to be recognised as an excellent teacher by their sixth year. The school’s focus on teacher training and profes­ sional development has apparently been very appealing to prospective teachers. In order to support new teachers in reaching these goals, the school provides an induction program for teachers in their first three years of teaching. The program has been designed to improve teachers’ knowledge about pedagogy, their understanding of fundamental theories in educational psychology and their ability to carry out and learn from action research. It draws on senior teachers to model, support and mentor new staff. Regular meetings are arranged for senior teachers to share their experiences and knowledge about the school and local com­ mu­nity with younger teachers. A number of senior teachers at Chongqing 37th Secondary School have shifted their focus from teaching to teacher training and conducting these types of professional development activ­ ities for less experienced teachers. Although teachers in China are paid for their classroom time, in addition to their basic salary and any financial bonuses, this school ensures that senior teachers who choose to reduce their teaching load and take on more responsibility for teacher training are not financially penalised. Many of the schools in the study have incorporated these types of induction programs and the mentoring of new teachers into their staff development plans. The studies from schools in England found that the mentoring of new teachers provides both new teachers and experienced staff members with the opportunity to learn new skills. The English schools indicated that new teachers prepare personalised development programs with their mentors, tailored to both personal and school needs. Experienced teachers are able to increase their skills, particularly in the areas of evaluation and leadership, through their participation in mentoring programs. These studies indicated that there are a number of gains for schools in the successful recruitment and induction of new staff members. Two schools in particular reported that significant changes in their teaching staff had contributed to developing a new culture in the school. Staff numbers doubled in the period 1999–2001 at Glyncoed Comprehensive School in Ebbw Vale, South-East Wales, as a result of the school’s expansion. The school used this expansion as an opportunity to appoint a large number of new, young teachers, invest in their professional dev­ elop­ment and encourage them to innovate and share successful practice. The school regards this investment and the development of a culture of sharing good practice as significant factors in their growing success.

46   Why not the best schools?

At James Madison High School in San Diego, California, over 90 per cent of the staff are new to the school. Many of the former teachers had been employed at the school for decades and had witnessed a decline in the school’s performance and its once impressive reputation. The reputation of the school had declined to such an extent that many members of the community, including students and teachers at the school, held low expectations for the students and did not believe that they were capable of attending college. In 2003–2004, the school district offered a retirement incentive, which assisted a high level of staff turnover. The principal reported that, as a result of this turnover, she was able to employ about 60 enthusiastic young staff members over a period of two years. These new teachers were recently trained to be at the forefront of knowledge and skill and were keen to address student needs. Furthermore, these new teachers believed in the abilities of their students and helped to build a culture of high expectations within the school. This study found that the improvements in student performance that have been achieved by the school would have been impossible without this culture of raised expectations.

The schools share a strong focus on CPD for teaching staff, particularly the in-house sharing of research and skills All of the schools involved in the International Project to Frame the Transformation of Schools provide their staff with extensive oppor­ tunities to increase their knowledge and skills through CPD. Staff in these schools strive to continuously update and improve their knowledge and skills to keep up with the rapid rate of change in teaching and learning, particularly in terms of the use of information and communications technologies (ICT). The studies found that the rates of pedagogical, social and technological change in schools can be invigorating, motivating and challenging for teaching staff. The studies in Finland, for example, found that a number of teachers, particularly older teachers, have been challenged by an increasing focus on student well-being and special needs education as they had not received significant pre-service training in these areas. Schools, therefore, need to provide their staff with relevant opportunities for professional learning to help them address the changing needs of the school and its students. Furthermore, staff reported that they feel valued when their schools provide interesting and targeted opportunities for CPD. While each school system involved in this project sets minimum standards for teachers’ participation in CPD activities, schools encour­ aged their teachers to exceed these standards. The city of Tampere, in

The quality of schools will never exceed the quality of their staff   47

Finland, for example, requires in-service training for all of the teachers who work in its schools but also provides additional voluntary inservice training. In order to achieve its aim for at least 80 per cent of its teachers to partici­pate in the non-compulsory training days, the city of Tampere provides teachers with a number of options for participation. The principal of Sampola School encourages all staff members to be involved in voluntary training sessions to ensure that they maintain and continuously update their skills. James Campbell High School in Hawaii radically reformed its school timetable in order to improve professional development. In 2000, the school increased the number of professional development days for staff from two to eight per year. Additionally, significant changes to the school’s timetable have enabled teachers to undertake CPD activities every school day. The school increased the duration of each class to 82 minutes and has timetabled four classes for students and three classes for each teacher per day. All teachers, therefore, have one class period each day when they are expected to engage in CPD. The school reported that providing time for teachers to participate in daily professional learning has been the key element in its successful training programs. When making the change, the school hired consultants to train teachers to manage effectively the longer class periods, to establish professional learning communities and to collaborate on their professional learning and planning. Teachers at this school now practise lessons with their colleagues and spend time collaborating in small groups that function as professional learning communities. Staff may observe lessons as they are being taught and provide feedback for their colleagues. It is interesting to note that, like James Campbell High School, many schools in the study have undertaken to provide professional learning for their staff. The movement towards in-house provision of CPD is particularly illustrated in the studies of schools in Australia, England, United States and Wales. CPD activities provided by these schools may include informal training within small groups, training for all staff in the school by one staff member and involvement in staff research programs, which is discussed later in this chapter. Each of the five schools in Wales, for example, has developed its own professional learning communities, with a distinct group in each school taking the lead for CPD. Some of these Welsh schools have drawn on links with consultants, Local Education Authorities (LEAs) and local higher education institutions, but in none of these instances are they the dominant influences on the schools’ approaches to CPD. A number of schools have established strong links with external organisations, and have enhanced their social capital while developing and providing CPD programs for their staff. Bialik College in Victoria,

48   Why not the best schools?

a private (non-government, independent) Jewish school in Melbourne that regularly performs near the top in the VCE, for example, has developed enduring relationships with Reggio Emilia in Italy and the Harvard Graduate School of Education in order to provide effective, targeted CPD for its staff. These relationships have assisted the school to implement the Reggio Emilia approach to early childhood learning in its early learning centre and to become involved in the Cultures of Thinking project (Project Zero) at Harvard University. By becoming actively involved in the professional learning of their staff members, these schools are also able to demonstrate their commit­ ment to being strong learning organisations at every level. One way in which specialist schools in England are able to demonstrate this commitment is by becoming designated training schools. Two of the five case study schools in England, Pershore High School and Birchwood Community High School, have chosen to become a training school. As part of its work as a training school, Pershore High School in Worcestershire has developed strong links with universities in Worcester and Gloucester. At any given time, there are likely to be about ten student teachers on the premises, including students in graduate teacher programs. Pershore employs a Training School Co-ordinator who is responsible for ensuring that individual students are not taught by trainees for too much of their time. Student teachers are encouraged to contribute to the school’s development. All student teachers are required to attend and actively participate in departmental meetings, where they are given a specific item on the agenda and provided with an opportunity to raise concerns and suggest ideas that they may be bringing from their training institutions. They are also encouraged to offer their ideas for the development of the whole school and individual subject areas in their meetings with the school principal, who will in turn provide them with advice on their progress in training. By providing these opportunities for student teachers, Pershore High School is rewarded with a regular stream of new perspectives and ideas for the school. Schools reported that the in-house provision of CPD can bring a range of benefits for the school and staff, including economic benefits. The studies in Wales found that the financial resources that are available for schools to spend on staff professional development are restricted. Cardiff High School, for example, reported that, even with additional funding that the school receives from the General Teaching Council for Wales, it routinely over-spends the budget for staff development. The Welsh schools, therefore, have chosen to allocate these limited funds to CPD that will be the most beneficial for their staff members. The studies in Australia, England, United States and Wales suggested

The quality of schools will never exceed the quality of their staff   49

that CPD programs that are planned, organised and, in some cases, delivered within a school can offer more focused assistance for staff members than programs that are provided by system authorities. In this way, schools are able to concentrate on the needs of their student popu­ lation and work on educational initiatives that tie in with their schools’ priorities. At James Madison High School in California, for example, teachers’ professional development has had direct links with improving student achievement. Teachers have been provided with train­ing to enable them to modify their teaching strategies in order to effectively address the needs of their students and the priorities of the school. Using grant funds from the State of California to support professional development, the principal mandated that every academic department in the school would undertake CPD for one day per month. Teachers were also given the opportunity to attend an intensive in-school academic support program over the summer break. All of these CPD activities focused on priority areas for the school and school district, including the school district’s literacy initiative. Teachers in the school are now able to implement content-specific literacy strategies in their teaching. The school has also modified its timetable to provide students with extra time to focus on literacy and mathematics, these being specific areas of student need. As a result, the school has made double-digit gains in student achievement in all areas over the past four years. The lowest-performing group of students at Madison High School has made the greatest gains. The school is, therefore, starting to close the achievement gap. Another potential benefit of the in-house provision of CPD, illus­trated in these studies, is that the professional learning of staff members in these schools is continuous and persistent. CPD is not restricted to one-time sessions or seminars. The schools have worked to ensure that professional learning activities are infused in the daily work of the school. The schools also encourage teachers to share knowledge, skills and ideas informally with their colleagues. Staff, therefore, are continuously engaged in acti­ vities and discussions that help them improve and innovate. Many schools deliver in-service training from within their own ranks. Some offer staff the opportunity to participate in external CPD programs and then share their newly acquired knowledge and skills with their colleagues, from both within the school and from other schools. School-based content specialists from James Madison High School, for example, received training from the district and then provided on-campus teacher training in literacy strategies. A number of schools reported that by training their colleagues, staff members can be actively involved in increasing the intellectual capital of their school while increasing their skills in the area of training.

50   Why not the best schools?

Beauchamp College, a senior secondary school in Leicestershire, has opened a training centre on its site and asks staff to volunteer to deliver training in areas in which they feel confident and competent to do so. In addition to this staff-led training, the school indicated that a cohort of students would contribute to the delivery of staff training from January 2008, with 100 students being trained in Ofsted (Office for Standards in Education) procedures and techniques for classroom observation. A number of students at Beauchamp College has also been trained by staff from Leicester, Warwick and Northampton universities on research enquiry techniques. These students are then employed by the college to carry out a wide variety of research tasks, which they present to senior staff. The involvement of students in these ventures is a clear demonstration of the trust and confidence that the college has in the abilities of all members of the school community. The students that participate in the research, evaluation and training activities are given the opportunity to gain knowledge, skills and experiences that they may not have acquired in a traditional classroom setting. Furthermore, these students play a valuable role in strengthening the school’s intellectual capital.

The schools use data and research to support evidence-based practice and inform a continual process of self-evaluation and monitoring The schools that participated in this international project have adopted an evidence-based approach to school practice, including classroom prac­ tices. Educational research and data are regularly used for monitoring, self-evaluation and the improvement of teachers’ performance. A number of schools have encouraged teachers to familiarise themselves with cur­ rent educational research and to carry out their own research projects as part of their CPD. Wangaratta High School in Victoria has included teacher-led research projects in its performance and development pro­ cess. All teachers at the school are required to design an action research project that is related to their classroom practice and the needs of their students. Teachers may draw on data such as provided by the Principles of Learning and Teaching (PoLT) in-school data collection or a breakdown of the Victorian Certificate of Education (VCE) data to work out their areas of strength and weakness. In identifying a project for action research, these teachers are also asked to consider how they can improve the performance of each of their students. Pairs of teachers work together in performance and development teams to observe each other’s lessons and provide feedback on the areas for potential improvement that have been identified through their action research. In this way, action research is used to contribute to a collegial sharing of

The quality of schools will never exceed the quality of their staff   51

knowledge and the personalised professional development of teachers at Wangaratta High School. As a Chongqing Demonstration School of Education and Scientific Research, Qinghua High School in Chongqing, China, is well known for its integration of research and practical teaching and learning. The school uses an evidence-based approach to all decisions, from the development and implementation of school policies to classroom acti­ vities. The teachers at Qinghua High School are well informed and work consistently to stay at the forefront of knowledge and skill in the relevant disciplines and pedagogies. The school also encourages and provides a dynamic atmosphere for scientific research of teaching and learning. Teachers at this school have completed a wide variety of research projects, either individually or as a group, to explore issues raised in their teaching and address the needs of their school community. Their findings have been published in academic journals and presented at local, national and international workshops and conferences. In addition to the use of research in teachers’ professional learning, all of the schools involved in the International Project to Frame the Transformation of Schools regularly use data to monitor and improve their own performance. A common feature of all schools is their extensive and intensive use of data in rigorous self-evaluation processes. It was reported that schools use data to illuminate their practice and identify directions for improvement. Each school has implemented a continuous cycle of evaluation and improvement. The data may include students’ results in external examinations, rates of students’ admission to post-secondary education and school inspection reports, such as those provided by Ofsted in England or Estyn in Wales. The studies from Wales found that schools regularly use robust data to set targets for teachers and learners, and to drive self-evaluation at every level. In addition to the monitoring and evaluation of whole-school performance, teachers at Treorchy Comprehensive School in South Wales make good use of data for the evaluation and monitoring of their own practices. The studies in England found that each school has a tendency to innovate. All stakeholders, including school leadership teams and govern­ ors, show a willingness to take calculated risks in order to better support the learning needs of their students. The innovations at Plumstead Manor School in London, for example, are targeted at the improvement of provision for students. These innovations are controlled with caution and consistently monitored to ensure that student performance will not be put at risk by any major changes. As with the other schools in England, Plumstead Manor can use data from constant monitoring and self-evaluation to systematically set targets for staff, students and the future direction of the school.

52   Why not the best schools?

Unlike England and Wales, where school inspection reports are made publicly available, schools in Finland are not externally inspected or evaluated. Schools are required to provide statistics to the municipal authorities, which are responsible for providing compulsory education for all residents. In addition, all schools in Finland are surveyed by the Finnish National Board of Education. The results of these surveys, which are provided to schools, examine national patterns of practice in school education and do not identify individual schools. The development of schools in Finland, therefore, is based predominantly on school selfevaluation. Ristinarkku School reported that schools in Finland are able to obtain a survey tool from the Finnish National Board of Education to evaluate their own practices and compare their results to the results of the national survey. Using this survey tool, the school is able to internally measure its own performance against school performance at a national level.

The schools encourage networking and share skills with members of the wider community Enabling teachers to work collaboratively and learn from each other were identified in the report by McKinsey & Company as one of the approaches used by high-performing school systems to support teachers in improving their instruction. This study found that a number of the top-performing school systems, like Finland, encourage teachers to work together on their professional development and lesson planning. ‘These systems create a culture in their schools in which collaborative planning, reflection on instruction, and peer coaching are the norm and constant features of school life. This enables teachers to develop continuously’.16 While this finding in the McKinsey report referred specifically to school systems in Japan and Finland, the International Project to Frame the Transformation of Schools found that a similar approach to encouraging the collaborative learning of teachers is evident in China. As noted earlier in this chapter, teaching in China is considered to be a collective task, where teachers’ abilities can be either enhanced or inhibited by the performance of their colleagues. Schools within the Chinese system, therefore, promote collaboration and mutual support between staff members. Like many schools in China, each of the schools in our study has developed formal arrangements to promote effective collaboration between groups of teachers. The teachers in these schools work in small groups, which are determined according to the grades and subjects that they teach. Schools ensure that membership in each group is diverse. The groups often involve a small number of master teachers who can serve as mentors to the less experienced members. Each group has a

The quality of schools will never exceed the quality of their staff   53

formally appointed leader, generally a senior teacher, who is responsible for the quality of teaching of each member of the group. These groups regularly undertake the collaborative planning of lessons, observing and monitoring each other’s classroom practices, and developing innovative approaches to teaching and learning. They work collaboratively to promote the improvement of the teaching ability of all members of the group and the delivery of high-quality teaching for all students. While the McKinsey report indicated that top-performing school systems often encouraged teachers to learn from each other and work collaboratively, all of the schools in our international project adopt this approach to teacher improvement, regardless of the system in which they work. Each school encouraged the sharing of new ideas, good practice and research findings, both among the school staff and with external networks and partnerships. These schools promote information sharing and collaboration between staff so that all members of the school community are exposed to good practice and are able to contribute to the improvement of their schools. As indicated in the previous sections, teachers from these schools often work together in carrying out research, CPD activities, monitoring their classroom practices and lesson planning. In the case study schools from Wales, this has often taken the form of schools developing their own professional learning communities. These schools have also developed a culture in which teachers are encouraged to work collaboratively in their CPD and planning lessons. Koonung Secondary College, for example, has drawn on its informal culture of sharing between staff members to encourage the formal sharing of ideas between faculties through an action learning approach to professional develop­ment. All staff have worked in small groups of two to three people, with a focus on improving a specific area of their teaching. The members of these groups then observed each other in the classroom, collaboratively planned a unit of work and then reflected on their practices. The groups then presented their work to the whole school staff at professional learning forums. This collaborative approach to professional development was reported as helping individual staff members to feel valued and supported, while also building a collective vision for the school. Staff are reported as having recognised the advantages of collaborative work and feeling more comfortable learning from each other and sharing their ideas. While schools from each of the six countries have developed their own professional learning communities, they do not wish to become insular and are generally keen to share their innovations, successes and professional learning with other schools. These schools use the links that they have developed with other schools to gather, develop and disseminate new ideas about educational practice. Networks and relationships

54   Why not the best schools?

between schools may be developed in a variety of ways, including locally, with schools in a district or region working together, or through specific interests, such as networks of schools in England that share the same specialisation. Many schools that participated in this international project are also involved in national and international professional networks, such as the Council for International Schools, and iNet, the international arm of the Specialist Schools and Academies Trust. One example of the development and sharing of skills within a network is the Frankston Assistant Principals’ Network in Victoria, Australia. The Frankston network involves 33 schools from the Southern Metropolitan Region, including 24 primary schools, six secondary schools and three special schools which cater for students with physical and / or intellectual disabilities. The relationship between these schools is based on a common commitment to supporting achievement for all students in the region by building the effectiveness of schools and teachers. This network of schools meets regularly to share good practice and innovative ideas that they have implemented in their schools. Collaborative approaches to professional learning within the network complement the CPD programs run by individual schools. In 2007, for example, members of the network initiated and actively participated in the development of a series of workshops over a period of five months, facilitated by the authors, on the alignment of four forms of capital. Within these workshops, staff members from many of the schools worked collaboratively to identify good practice in managing specific issues faced by schools in their region. Another example of networking for the development and dissemi­ nation of best practice is Plumstead Manor School in England. This school works closely with three other schools in the area, assisted by a Leadership Incentive Grant. The heads of departments from each school are able to share knowledge and develop strategies for dealing with local challenges. The Lead Learning Support Assistant (LSA) at Plumstead Manor School is actively involved in a network for LSAs and collaborates with a local educational institution to provide further training for support staff in the school and the local area. Participation in these types of networks is referred to as ‘two-way traffic’, since it brings new ideas into the school and enables the school to share its practices with others. Through the development of approaches that encourage collab­or­ ative work between staff members within the school and promote the sharing of best practice between schools, schools are able to create an environment that supports the continuous improvement of their staff. These approaches have proved successful in improving the knowledge and skills of all staff. By working collaboratively and sharing knowledge,

The quality of schools will never exceed the quality of their staff   55

however, schools are not only building their intellectual capital; they are building strong relationships with other schools, with other organisations and between individuals. In short, schools are also building their social capital, which will be discussed in greater detail in the next chapter. These collaborative approaches to professional learning and school improvement highlight the interrelationships between the different forms of capital and how, in particular, schools can harness their social capital to strengthen their intellectual capital and vice versa.

Setting priorities among indicators of intellectual capital The 50 indicators of the four forms of capital and of governance that were identified in the International Project to Frame the Transformation of Schools, as listed in Appendix 1, may be used to set priorities for school development, either within a particular school or across a system of schools. They may be used for this purpose in a workshop setting as they were in Mauritius in May 2008. The findings are reported here, for all indicators and for those that focus on intellectual capital. Mauritius is a small island nation in the Indian Ocean with more than 400 schools. The Government of Mauritius wishes all schools to be world-class schools. In 2008, Brian Caldwell conducted seven workshops for 125 school leaders on the themes in this book. For each indicator, participants were invited to rate (1) importance in the context of your school, (2) how well your school is progressing and (3) the priority you attach to further development. In respect to (3) participants were invited to nominate their top three priorities for as many kinds of capital as they were able to consider in the time available. Participants used the instrument contained in Appendix 1 to guide their responses to these questions. The responses are summarised in Table 2. It is noteworthy that every indicator in the set of 50 was selected by at least one of the participants who had no difficulty seeing application to their own schools. The most frequently mentioned priorities are highlighted in Table 2. Of particular interest in the context of this chapter are priorities for the development of intellectual capital: 1. The staff allocated to or selected by the school are at the forefront of

knowledge and skill in required disciplines and pedagogies (21 per cent). 3. The school has built a substantial, systematic and sustained capacity

for acquiring and sharing professional knowledge (12 per cent). 5. The school supports a comprehensive and coherent plan for the

professional development of all staff that reflects its needs and priorities (16 per cent).

56   Why not the best schools?

9. The school provides opportunities for staff to innovate in their

professional practice (12 per cent). These priorities suggest strategies that might be addressed across all schools in Mauritius. The activity conducted in these workshops can also be conducted within a school, either for the school as a whole, or for a particular part of the school, including a particular area of learning. Table 2 Priorities for development as identified by school leaders in Mauritius (percentage of total responses in each domain) Indicator (strategy)

Intellectual (n=135)

Social (n=134)

Spiritual (n=120)

Finance (n=100)

Governance (n=86)

1

21

21

12

12

17

2

8

13

9

11

3

3

12

10

13

9

14

4

6

12

4

16

12

5

16

3

1

9

7

6

4

7

14

12

13

7

10

10

13

9

6

8

6

4

15

8

1

9

12

6

8

4

5

10

4

13

10

10

22

Discussion A starting point in schools and school systems may be to undertake a comprehensive audit of the strength of their intellectual capital. We illustrated in the case of Mauritius, when participants in seven work­ shops addressed three questions related to the intellectual capital of their schools, with the combined responses as summarised in Table 2 suggesting strategies for action across the system as a whole, including those involved in initial teacher education and continuing professional development. We recommend that individual schools also conduct such an audit using the instrument in Appendix 1. Illustrations of successful strategies are evident in practices reported in the International Project to Frame the Transformation of Schools. If there were one of the four forms of capital that we would select as pre-eminent it would be intellectual capital. There seems to be consensus among researchers and policymakers that the quality of teaching is

The quality of schools will never exceed the quality of their staff   57

critical, as captured in the title of the chapter and the headline finding in the report of McKinsey & Company. While it is good to have agreement on the matter, the critical issue is to get the policy settings right, even though it may take up to a decade for change to take effect. This is how long it took in Finland. There must be action on many fronts, including initial teacher education, salaries and incentives, and professional support. We stress, however, that action must also occur in respect to the other forms of capital. For example, a larger number of able people will be attracted to the profession when social capital is strong, a matter we take up in the next chapter.

Notes   1 Barber, M. & Mourshed, M. (2007). How the World’s Best-Performing School Systems Come out on Top. New York: McKinsey & Company; Dinham, S. (2007). ‘How Schools Get Moving and Keep Improving: Leadership for Teacher Learning, Student Success and School Renewal’, Australian Journal of Education, 51(3), pp. 263–275; Dinham, S., Ingvarson, L. and Kleinhenz, E. (2008). How Can we Raise the Quality of School Education So that Every Student Benefits? Teaching Talent: The Best Teachers for Australia’s Classrooms. Report for the Business Council of Australia; OECD (2005). Teachers Matter: Attracting, Developing and Retaining Effective Teachers. Paris: OECD.   2 Dinham, S., Ingvarson, L. and Kleinhenz, E. (2008), cited in 1 above, page 30.   3 Barber, M. & Mourshed, M. (2007), cited in 1 above, page 13.   4 Dinham, S. (2007); Dinham, S., Ingvarson, L. and Kleinhenz, E. (2008), cited in 1 above.   5 Hattie, J. (2003). ‘Teachers Make a Difference: What is the Research Evidence?’ Paper presented at ‘Building Teacher Quality’, the 2003 Research Conference of the Australian Council for Educational Research, 19–21 October. <www. leadspace.govt.nz/leadership/articles/teachers-make-a-difference.php> accessed 12 June 2008.   6 Barber, M. & Mourshed, M. (2007), cited in 1 above, page 12.   7 Leigh, A. (2007). Estimating Teacher Effectiveness from Two-Year Changes in Students’ Test Scores. accessed 13 June 2008.   8 Ibid, page 18.   9 Barber, M. & Mourshed, M. (2007), cited in 1, above. 10 Ibid, page 13. 11 See especially Caldwell, B. J. and Spinks, J. M. (2008). Raising the Stakes: From Improvement to Transformation in the Reform of Schools. London: Routledge; and Caldwell, B.J. (2006). Re-imagining Educational Leadership. Camberwell (Melbourne): ACER Press and London: Sage.

58   Why not the best schools?

12 Department of Education and Early Childhood Development, Victorian Govern­ ment, <www.eduweb.vic.gov.au/hrweb/careers/vacs/recruitinsch.htm> accessed 10 June 2008. 13 Lin, J. (1993). Education in Post-Mao China. Westport, Conn.: Praeger Publishers, page 79. 14 Information on Workforce Reforms available at <www.rotherham.gov.uk/ graphics/Learning/Education+Services/Learning+Services/School+Improvement/ Workforce+Development/Workforce+Reform.htm> accessed 10 June 2008. 15 For further information on the accreditation process, see <www.vit.vic.edu.au/ content.asp?document_id=252> accessed 13 June 2008. 16 Barber, M. & Mourshed, M. (2007), cited at 1 above, page 28.

4

The support of the entire community

Social capital refers to the strength of formal and informal partnerships and networks involving the school and all individuals, agencies, organi­ sations and institutions that have the potential to support and be supported by the school. There is a growing understanding of the importance of social capital for institutions and organisations, including schools and school systems, and this has been highlighted in the research and policy agenda in several countries. In 2006, the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) released its first report on indicators of social capital, which it defined as ‘a resource available to individuals and communities founded on networks of mutual support, reciprocity and trust’.1 The report noted research into the benefits that strong social capital could provide in a range of areas, including education. The purpose of this chapter is to present evidence and offer guide­ lines on building the social capital of schools and school systems. A key theme is that social capital is often neglected as a source of support for schools and school systems, and that efforts by other sectors, including business, are often rejected without good cause. The studies of schools in six countries included in the International Project to Frame the Transformation of Schools demonstrate how these schools have strengthened their social capital. Strong governance systems have enabled them to harness their social capital and align this resource with their intellectual, spiritual and financial capital to support progress towards transformation.

Indicators of social capital Schools in the International Project to Frame the Transformation of Schools used a number of strategies to strengthen their social capital. Many are implied in the ten indicators for social capital listed below. 59

60   Why not the best schools?

Evidence for all ten was found in one or more of the case study schools. Six marked with an asterisk (*) were illustrated in each school in each of the six countries. Four marked with a hash symbol (#), were illustrated in the majority of schools.   1. # There is a high level of alignment between the expectations of

parents and other key stakeholders and the mission, vision, goals, policies, plans and programs of the school.   2. * There is extensive and active engagement of parents and others in the community in the educational program of the school.   3. # Parents and others in the community serve on the governing body of the school or contribute in other ways to the decision-making process.   4. # Parents and others in the community are advocates of the school and are prepared to take up its cause in challenging circumstances.   5. * The school draws cash or in-kind support from individuals, organisations, agencies and institutions in the public and private sectors, in education and other fields, including business and industry, philanthropists and social entrepreneurs.   6. * The school accepts that support from the community has a reciprocal obligation for the school to contribute towards the building of community.   7. * The school draws from and contributes to networks to share knowledge, address problems and pool resources.   8. * Partnerships have been developed and sustained to the extent that each partner gains from the arrangement.   9. # Resources, both financial and human, have been allocated by the school towards building partnerships that provide mutual support. 10. * The school is co-located with or located near other services in the community and these services are utilised in support of the school.

Trends in policy and practice The concept of social capital dates from 1916 and its first use, according to research by Putnam, was in the context of school education: The term social capital itself turns out to have been independently invented at least six times over the twentieth century, each time to call attention to the ways in which our lives are made more productive by social ties. The first known use of the concept was not by some cloistered theoretician, but by a practical reformer in the Progressive Era – L.J. Hanifan, state supervisor of rural schools in West Virginia. Writing in 1916 to urge the importance of community involvement for successful schools, Hanifan invoked the idea of ‘social capital’ to explain why.2

The support of the entire community    61

Hanifan believed that ‘the community as a whole will benefit by the cooperation of its parts’.3 A 1988 study by Coleman4 used the concept of social capital to examine the relationships between family and community involvement in schools and student achievement. Coleman found that students from schools with high levels of social capital achieved higher outcomes than students from other schools. He found the link between social capital and achievement was particularly strong in church-based schools, which had strong community networks.

Social capital and community engagement In the two decades since the publication of Coleman’s study, the links between social capital, particularly parent and community involvement in schools, and student achievement have been the subject of significant research. There has been growing interest in recent years, both in Australia and internationally, in the idea of family and community– school partnerships, one type of relationship that can enhance a school’s social capital. Australia’s interest in these relationships was clearly dem­onstrated in February 2008 through the Australian Government’s provision of $800,000 over four years to fund the Family School and Community Partnership Bureau. The Australian Council of State School Organisations (ACSSO) and the Australian Parents Council (APC) secured this funding to research, promote and sponsor practices to establish and enhance partner­ships between schools, parents and the wider community. 5 The assumption is that schools and their efforts to secure success for their students can be supported by members of the local community who, in turn, may be supported in their activities by the school. In response to research demonstrating that strong school–community relationships can improve student motivation, retention and behaviour,6 England began the implementation of the Extended Services/ Extended Schools policy in the 2003–04 school year. Implementation has been supported with a reported £840 million between 2004 and 2008.7 Extended schools are a key element of Every Child Matters, the approach to services for children, young people and families launched by the Blair Government in 2004. The aim of Extended Schools is to provide children, young people and families with universal access to a wide range of services through schools by 2010. The purpose is to provide all children and young people, particularly those from disadvantaged backgrounds, with ser­ vices and opportunities that will assist them to achieve their full potential. Extended Schools are described as ‘a key vehicle for delivering the Government’s objective of lifting children out of poverty and

62   Why not the best schools?

improving outcomes for them and their families’.8 The government’s vision is for all schools to offer access to a range of extended services by 2010, including: • the provision of a variety of activities, in combination with childcare in primary schools, for students from 8am to 6pm on school days;

• community access to school facilities outside school hours; • early identification of assistance for children and young people who have

•

particular needs and require specialist services, such as speech therapy, mental health services or disability services; and support, information and access to parenting programs for parents.9

Not every school is required to provide all of the services outlined above. Schools may choose to provide their communities with access through a cluster of local schools or through other agencies or organisations. In order to develop these extended services, schools are required to work closely with local authorities and establish partnerships with a range of providers. One in three schools in England, or over 8000 schools, had established these types of extended services by October 2007.10 Evaluations of the first wave of Extended Schools have identified challenges and benefits of implementing this initiative. A survey by Ofsted (Office for Standards in Education) reported that almost all of the provision of extended services in 20 participating sites between April 2005 and March 2006 was successful in meeting the needs of the children, young people and adults in the local community.11 The survey indicated that there were some challenges in the early implementation of Extended Schools, such as schools facing difficulties with strategic planning and the establishment and management of new relationships. Despite these challenges, the survey revealed that the initiative had significant benefits for the local community in terms of improving relationships, raising aspirations and improving attitudes to learning. A national evaluation commissioned by the Department for Education and Skills (now known as the Department for Children, Schools and Families) echoed Ofsted’s finding that Extended Schools had positive effects on children, young people and adults in the local community.12 The evaluation found that schools that had joined the initiative in the second year were more likely to collaborate effectively and strategically with partners, indicating that some of the early challenges to the implementation of these new services were being overcome. These positive effects of Extended Schools were associated with improvements on key performance measures, including student achievement and exclusion rates. Analysis of school results has indicated that Extended Schools ‘improved at twice the national average rate between 2005 and 2006’.13 The success of Extended Schools underlines the important role

The support of the entire community    63

that schools can play in enhancing student learning, overcoming student disadvantage and supporting the wider community. The formation of partnerships, networks and collaborative relation­ ships are at the heart of this initiative, which looks to schools as the centre of support for children, young people and families in the local com­munity. An Australian plan for involving this type of inter-agency collaboration was proposed by Prime Minister Kevin Rudd for consider­ ation at the Australia 2020 Summit in April 2008. The government would fund early childhood centres to provide all families with children under five years of age with low-cost access to a range of services, inclu­ ding maternal and child healthcare, childcare and preschool services.14 Rudd’s proposal aims to provide universal access to low-cost childcare and early learning services. He believes that access to these services, which are currently available through a range of public and private providers, in one centre would offer ‘great benefits to kids, great benefits to parents, and great benefits to the whole community’.15

Social capital and the engagement of business and philanthropy Our definition of social capital is broader than one that normally restricts the phenomenon to the non-profit or volunteer sector or, as far as schools are concerned, to parents and the immediate community of the school. We refer to ‘all individuals, agencies, organisations and institutions that have the potential to support and be supported by the school’. Included here is the potential for partnership with business and philanthropy. At the political level, the possibility of an expanded role for business in Australia’s schools was raised in 2007 by Julie Bishop, then Minister for Education, Skills and Training in the Howard Government, who hosted a Schools–Business Dialogue at Parliament House. Her successor, Julia Gillard, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Education, Employment and Workplace Relations in the Rudd Government, proposed at the Australian 2020 Summit in 2008 that Australia’s top 100 businesses provide support to secondary schools.16 Business has demonstrated an interest in education and training, as illustrated, for example, in a report of the Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (ACCI).17 The Business Council of Australia (BCA) demon­ strated its support for the teaching profession and the importance of intellectual capital in a major report that included a study commissioned from the Australian Council for Educational Research.18 Australia is a late starter as far as comprehensive and coherent partner­ships between schools and business are concerned, and we have a long way to go before matching what has been accomplished in some

64   Why not the best schools?

nations. There is no point in laying blame for this lethargy. However, it is fair to point out that resistance is strong in large sections of the educational community and at one end of the political spectrum. There is still the view in some quarters that business has no place and, at least in the public sector, that schools should be built, funded, owned, operated and supported on an exclusive basis from the public purse, and that policy and practice should be solely determined by the provider. England was one of the six countries included in the International Project to Frame the Transformation of Schools. Five secondary schools were included in the study and each has a partnership with business. Indeed, England is a contemporary exemplar in this regard. More than 2900 of about 3100 secondary schools have achieved such an arrange­ ment over the past 20 years, first and on a limited scale under the Conservative Government but most comprehensively since 1997 under the Blair New Labour Government, and continuing under Gordon Brown. These schools have changed from a standard comprehensive to a specialist schools model. Each offers at least one of 11 specialisations while still addressing the broad national curriculum. The specialisations (described as ‘specialisms’ in England) are technology, arts, business and enterprise, engineering, humanities, language, mathematics and com­ puting, music, science, sports and special education. Each school has one or more partnerships with business, broadly defined, in its area of specialisation. Except for small schools, business contributes £50,000 in cash or in-kind support, generating from the Department for Children, Schools and Families (DfCSF) (formerly the Department for Education and Skills) an additional £100,000 capital grant and a per-student recurrent grant (for example, the recurrent grant is £129 per student up to 1000 students). In each instance the school must demonstrate in a three-year development plan how the specialisation will enhance the overall performance of the school. A non-profit charitable trust (Specialist Schools and Academies Trust) is funded by the DfCSF to support schools in seeking specialist status and to be the vehicle for directing large amounts of business support. Examples of support include HSBC, Rolls-Royce and RM, the leading supplier of ICT software and services to schools.19 While some will debate the extent of the impact, there is clear and consistent evidence that specialist schools outperform non-specialist schools on actual and value-added measures in examinations for the GCSE, and that the difference tends to be greater in schools in challenging circumstances. While there are differences among the specialisations as far as impact is concerned, the impact becomes stronger the longer a school remains in the program. All secondary schools will be special­ ist within a year or two, each with its partnerships with business.

The support of the entire community    65

It is fair to conclude that this is one of the most significant developments in secondary education in any country. This short account of developments in England does not do justice to the profound changes they represent as far as governance in public (state, gov­ernment) education is concerned. A comprehensive appraisal of the role of the private sector is contained in a major study by Stephen Ball, who is the Karl Mannheim Professor of Sociology at the Institute of Education at the University of London. He raises many questions that concern ‘what kind of future we want for education and what role privatisation and the private sector might have in that future, and crucially how justice and ethical behaviour can be balanced against a necessary pragmatism within a modern and democratic system of education’. 20 What is the significance of these developments for Australia? First, it is sobering to note that Australia and England were comparable less than 20 years ago as far as business partnerships were concerned. Australia has barely moved; England has transformed the sector. Second, we have no counterpart to the strategies that have been adopted in England; for example, a nationally funded trust that can create and support the synergy. Third, while leaders in government and business are broadly supportive, we have not yet seen the powerful advocacy for such arrangements that match that of successive Prime Ministers Tony Blair and Gordon Brown, or leaders in business like Sir John Bond, former Chair and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of HSBC, and Sir John Rose, Chief Executive of Rolls-Royce. There are, however, some promising developments that deserve a higher profile. For example, the Australian Business and Community Network (ABCN) was formed in 2004 ‘to create a new organisation that educates, equips and challenges members to use their business skills and resources collaboratively for greater social impact’. 21 The ABCN Board includes the CEOs or Chairs of some of Australia’s leading companies, including Commonwealth Bank, Ernst & Young, Fairfax, KPMG, Optus, PriceWaterhouseCoopers and Wesfarmers. ABCN decided initially to work in the area of education, specifically to improve opportunities for disadvantaged students and schools, through mentoring, partnering and support programs. Within two years 16 companies were working with 20 schools in Sydney, involving approxi­mately 400 company volunteers, 50 teachers and 5000 students. By 2007 the network had extended to schools in Queensland, Victoria and Western Australia. Programs include mentoring principals and other school leaders, mentoring of at-risk Year 9 students, volunteer support for reading recovery on a weekly basis and financial support for students to visit and participate in the performing arts. The positive impact of this work has been well documented.

66   Why not the best schools?

Initiatives such as the ABCN are also examples of both business partnerships and philanthropy. Other initiatives are more immediately perceived by the public as being philanthropic in nature. In most instances partnerships and support are directed at schools and students in disadvantaged settings. The Smith Family is one of Australia’s largest charities, drawing its funding from business and individuals across the country. It has sharpened its focus in recent years to support intervention in the early years, aiming to ‘unlock opportunities for financially disadvantaged children and their families. We promote education as a means of increasing participation through lifelong learning and do this through the provision of reading, computer and financial literacy support’. 22 The Melbourne-based Education Foundation Australia is doing similar work in support of public (state, government) schools in Victoria, but expanding to other states. 23 On an international scale, philanthropic effort in Australia and England is relatively small compared to what has been accomplished in the United States. Outstanding examples include the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, now supported by the Warren Buffett Foundation, which has capital approaching AUD 100 million. Former President Bill Clinton established the Clinton Foundation; examples of support are contained in Giving, 24 and it is immediately clear that schools serving disadvantaged communities are the primary target. Elsewhere, there are landmark initiatives from government, such as the Quality Education Fund (QEF) established by the first CEO of Hong Kong SAR with a capital of HK$5 billion. Thousands of grants were allocated in the first decade of operation. 25 United Arab Emirates Prime Minister Mohammed bin Rashid al-Maktoum announced in May 2007 the creation of a US$10  billion foundation to support human develop­ ment which aims ‘to invest in knowledge and human development, focusing specifically on research and education and promoting equal oppor­tunities for the personal growth and success of our youth’. 26 It is against this background of literature on the theme that the findings on social capital in the international project are now reported.

Findings from the International Project to Frame the Transformation of Schools Schools in each country indicated the importance of involvement in networks and relationships with a range of different partners, which may include parents and members of the local community, networks with other schools or education providers and businesses, agencies or organisations. These relationships can be described in three broad categories: (1) relationships with parents and other members of the local

The support of the entire community    67

community, (2) networking with other schools and (3) relationships with businesses, agencies and organisations.

Relationships with parents and other members of the local community The support of parents in school life is highly valued by schools in each country. Parents are involved in a number of ways, including through school activities, parent–teacher meetings, decision making, volunteering and information sessions. Schools in Australia, England, Finland, the United States and Wales reported sharing their facilities with members of the local community. Schools in Finland regularly offer their buildings for adult education courses outside school hours. A number of schools in Australia, England and the United States provide grounds and sporting facilities for use by community groups on weekends and school holidays. Schools indicated that they highly value the support and involvement of parents and members of the community in school life. The involvement of parents in schooling in China, however, is different to the view of parental involvement in the other countries. Traditionally, parents and the community in China are not directly involved in schools. This tradition, however, appears to be changing in some schools, such as Chongqing 37th Secondary School, which invites parents to participate in discussions with teachers and students about the needs and expectations of the school community. The school reported that this kind of parent involvement assists them in the development of better plans for the school. Interest in creating partnerships between schools, families and com­mu­nities is founded primarily on research that suggests that by improving social capital, schools may be able to secure high levels of success for all students. There have been inconsistencies in the findings of research into the relationship between family and community–school partnerships and academic achievement. 27 There is little research that such partnerships are a direct cause of improved student achievement. Strong relationships have been found, however, between parent and community involvement in schools and improvements in student reten­ tion, behaviour and attendance. 28 Research commissioned by the Australian Government found that active community support for schools can ‘positively alter the school culture’ and that this support may, in itself ‘contribute to the building of social capital in the community’. 29 Another Australian study has shown that community involvement in school governance and planning can have indirect benefits for both the community members and the school. By participating in school governance, parents and other members of the

68   Why not the best schools?

community expand the resources available to the school and have the opportunity to enhance their own planning and management skills. 30 Communities and individual community members that invest in these types of activities, therefore, have the potential to support and be supported by their schools. Our international study suggested that increased community involve­ment in schools has the potential to assist student learning and increase schools’ intellectual capital through the specific skills, expertise and enthusiasm that members of the community can offer. Pershore High School in Worcestershire, England, is an example of how schools can harness the expertise of their local community to support student learning. This school, which has a specialisation as a Technology and Training School, has made significant progress in its efforts to achieve transformation. Over five years, the percentage of students achieving five good grades in the GCSE rose by around 10 per cent. Community members have been encouraged to visit the school and speak with students to highlight the relevance of particular school subjects to the realities of the world outside schooling. A local businessman, for example, described the importance of mathematics in his day-to-day working life. A recent study on family–school partnerships, commissioned by the Australian Government, reported that increasing the level of this kind of social capital may also have benefits for members of the local com­ munity.31 It found that Australian parents and community members who actively support their local school reported significant benefits in terms of improving their social networks and self-growth. 32 Members of staff from many of the schools in the international project are actively involved in assisting their local communities. The Head­teacher at Pershore High School in England has been actively involved in a number of community projects, including the establishment of the Pershore Community Forum for Young People, and is a trustee of the local youth council. The school provides numerous opportunities for parents to be involved in decision-making, as parent governors, community governors or sponsor governors. By having parents and other key stakeholders involved in school governance, school leaders gain the benefits of receiving feedback on the progress of the school and gain new perspectives and ideas about how the school is viewed by the community. Community members who participate in school governance are reported as feeling a sense of ownership of school decisions and are more likely to support improvements in the school.33 On the other hand, they are also supported by the school in gaining new skills and strengthening their own social capital.

The support of the entire community    69

Research also shows that, through their active support, parents can assist schools in creating a welcoming community environment, which is related to improved relationships with other parents and members of the community.34 The implication of this finding is that building strong community–school relationships may have a cumulative effect, whereby the resource created by these relationships can assist the school to create further social capital. As with many of the schools involved in the International Project to Frame the Transformation of Schools, Koonung Secondary College shares its facilities with members of the local community. Local sporting clubs make extensive use of the school’s facilities outside school hours. The school building is also used on Saturdays by the Xin Jin Shan Chinese Language and Culture School, which is attended by over 300 students. These sporting and cultural activities bring a wide cross-section of the community into the school, including those who would not normally go there. In addition to establishing the school as an active part of the local community, these partnerships may have contributed to the growth of enrolments at the school, which have doubled over the past decade. Furthermore, the studies of schools in six countries have demon­ strated that strong relationships between a school and its local community can have an influence on the school’s financial capital. As Chapter 6 will show, all schools in the International Project to Frame the Transformation of Schools receive funding from government sources. However, all of these schools also sought external funding to supplement income from government sources, including raising funds within their local communities. Several indicated that strong relationships between the school and the local community can strengthen the school’s financial capital, through donations, patronage and in-kind support. The potential link between social and financial capital is evident in Bialik College. The relationship between the school and the local Jewish community is extraordinarily strong. Members of the community provide the school with immeasurable support, including financial support, to help achieve the goal of supporting each student to reach full potential. Parents and grandparents of students have become patrons of the school, providing funds to assist with new buildings or the implementation of educational initiatives. This financial support enables Bialik College to maintain small classes, provide students with high-quality facilities and to provide partial or full subsidies of the school fees for around 20 per cent of students. The outstanding community commitment to Bialik College was exemplified during an earlier period of financial crisis, when many parents paid school fees up to five years in advance and averted the need for the school to be amalgamated or declared insolvent.

70   Why not the best schools?

Social capital and school networks One observation that has been made in each country is that schools have fostered strong links with other schools. These links include schools in different countries, which may be linked through ‘sister school’ programs or formal education networks. Schools are also involved in local networks with other schools. The clusters and networks promote the sharing of information that can benefit all. For some schools in Australia, England and Finland, the links with other schools include sharing teachers and other resources. The sharing of teaching staff is common in Finnish schools, particularly in specialist subject areas. For some schools, links were made with schools and education pro­ viders in other countries. International links between schools may also be established and supported by networking organisations, such as iNet and Comenius, an educational program of the European Commission, which seeks to develop understandings of European cultures through cooperation between schools in different countries. 35 For some schools, relationships with other education providers are predominantly locally based, sharing knowledge, skills and facilities within their local communities. One interesting feature of the study is that most schools highlighted the importance of establishing a strong relationship with feeder primary schools. In the case of Beauchamp College, a popular upper secondary college in Leicestershire, England for students aged 14–19 years, strong links have been formed with the primary schools that their students have attended. Conversely, one primary school included in the project, Serpell Primary School in Victoria, reported that it has developed strong relationships with local secondary schools. Such relationships between secondary and feeder primary schools facilitate the exchange of knowledge and skills. For some schools, the links with feeder primary schools may include sharing teachers and resources. Secondary schools in Australia, England and Finland reported that they provide practical support for networked primary schools, including training and even the provision of teaching staff in areas such as modern foreign languages and music. Collaborative networks between schools and education providers at all levels have been recognised as a vital aspect of the effective pro­ vision of education that will prepare learners in the 21st century. 36 The Schooling for Tomorrow project of the OECD formulated six scenarios for the future of schooling. 37 Networking and collaborative relationships between schools are central to the two preferred ‘re-schooling’ scenarios, described as ‘schools as core social centres’ and ‘schools as focused learning organisations’.

The support of the entire community    71

A review of research undertaken by the National Foundation for Educational Research (NFER) in Britain found that there is a ‘dearth of good empirical evidence relating to inter-school collaborations’. 38 This finding echoes the conclusion of a report by the National College for School Leadership (UK) that the available evidence on school networking was ‘sparse and contradictory’. 39 The NFER study found that research on school networks has generally focused on individual initiatives or programs, rather than examining the practices, processes and outcomes of school networking in its own right.40 The NFER review of research on inter-school collaborations found that school networking and relationships with other education providers yielded a range of benefits for schools, school staff and students. These included economic benefits such as the sharing of resources and economies of scale, gaining a greater awareness and understanding of other schools, organisational improvements and overall school improve­ ment.41 Potential economic benefits of inter-school relationships were highlighted in the case studies of schools in Finland. The majority of the schools shared some of their teaching staff with other schools. In the case of Hatanpää School in Tampere, about one quarter of the teaching staff also provides services to nearby secondary schools. Furthermore, schools in Finland, which are funded by the municipalities, often share their facilities with adult education providers that operate during out-of-school hours. This type of collaboration provides significant economic benefits to municipal authorities by avoiding the duplication of educational facilities. Inter-school collaborations are reported to benefit staff by pro­ viding them with greater opportunities for training and professional development, enabling the exchange of ideas and best practice, and improving staff motivation, confidence and morale.42 A study by the Queensland Board of Teacher Registration concluded that ‘networks appear to provide optimum environments within which understandings of, and insights into, knowledge of learners (including the teachers them­ selves) and knowledge of educational contexts (including the net­works themselves) can be developed, examined and integrated’.43 The benefits of networks between education providers were highlighted in each of the six countries. Schools developed relationships with other education providers that support the professional learning of staff. In Finland, it is common practice for teachers to visit other schools to gain ideas. Local schools face similar challenges, so the exchange of information is valuable for all schools in the network. Our study of secondary schools in Chongqing, China indicated that strong relationships with teacher education programs and education

72   Why not the best schools?

research institutions assists schools. These links provide staff with oppor­tunities to conduct joint research and development programs in order to improve the quality of their teaching. Chongqing Qinghua High School, a prestigious boarding school that was named one of the first ‘key schools’ in the region, has managed to maintain and benefit from historical connections with other institutions, including Qinghua University, which was once located on the current school site. Qinghua University provides regular professional training for teachers, and the school has agreed to send qualified students with special talents to Qinghua University. The two parties have also signed an agreement to share information and resources, and to organise teacher exchanges. An outstanding example of the benefits of school networking for staff members is found in the Frankston Assistant Principals’ Network. The network is a highly organised group of 33 government schools, including 24 primary schools, six secondary schools and three schools that cater for students with physical and / or intellectual disabilities, all located within a region about 40  kilometres south-east of Melbourne. This network is based on a common commitment to support achievement for all students in the region by building the effectiveness of schools and teachers. In 2007, we provided a series of professional learning workshops on the model for aligning four forms of capital (Figure 3 in Chapter 1) that were collaboratively organised and managed by members of the network. While the network organised these events, participation in the workshop series was not limited to assistant principals. Participants included school leaders, aspiring school leaders and experienced teachers from the Frankston region. Participants worked in four cross-school groups and were able to develop highly innovative strategies to address issues faced by schools and students in the region. These workshops, and the Frankston Assistant Principals’ Network itself, thus provide an exemplar of how strong relationships between schools can enhance the professional learning opportunities for staff from all participating schools and encourage collaboration and innovation. The review of research also indicates that effective networks between schools can enhance students’ educational experiences and increase their performance by providing access to a broader curriculum, greater subject choices and a wide range of staff expertise.44 The NFER study particularly noted the potential for improved student transitions when secondary schools work with their feeder primary schools.45 As stated previously, one of the findings of the international study was that each of the secondary schools had developed strong relationships with their feeder primary schools. These primary–secondary school networks were

The support of the entire community    73

reported by all schools to have clear benefits for school staff as they are able to gain a greater understanding of their students and the work that they have been, or will be, expected to perform. Parents and students also benefit from these relationships, which familiarise them with the facilities, staff and expectations of the secondary school before they make this transition. St Joseph’s Roman Catholic High School in Newport, Wales, begins its partnerships with parents when prospective students are in their last two years of primary school. As it has seven designated Roman Catholic feeder primary schools and six others that it also regularly receives students from, this is a considerable commitment. The partnerships appear to pay dividends because parent meetings in the secondary school are well attended, with up to 90 per cent on some occasions. The links that St Joseph’s has established with feeder primary schools also assist staff, who are clearly impressed and influenced by some of the best work that takes place in these schools. Many approaches to pedagogy reflect the influence of work undertaken by these feeder primary schools. As well as providing school staff with new ideas, the consistency in pedagogy has the potential to support students in their transition from primary to secondary schooling.

Relationships with businesses, agencies and organisations In addition to networks with parents and other educational providers, the majority of schools in the study have also formed formal and informal links with other organisations. The schools have chosen to collaborate with a variety of organisations, including multinational organisations, local businesses, not-for-profit organisations, religious groups and social services. Specialist schools in England have links with organisations within their specialist fields that provide them with practical support and knowledge as well as financial support. Traditionally, schools in China do not have strong links with business. Instead, the government plays an important role. Maintaining effective relationships with government agencies is part of the social capital of Chinese schools. Links with external organisations can extend the educational oppor­ tunities and support available to students. Schools in Australia reported that their links with businesses, agencies and organisations, including not-for-profit organisations, are highly valuable. These relationships help to demonstrate and reinforce the moral purpose of the school, by supporting students and enabling the school to support others. In this way, these links may also help to strengthen the schools’ spiritual

74   Why not the best schools?

capital. Schools in the United States indicated that partnerships with other organisations can help through the volunteering of staff expertise and time, financial donations and provision of real-life experiences that support and enhance the school. Students can learn from these organisations by visiting, observing and participating in their activities. The Young Women’s Leadership School in New York is an out­ standing example of how partnerships with other schools, universities and businesses can support the success of all students. This school achieves 100 per cent graduation and college admission rates for its students, many of whom come from single-parent families and low socioeconomic backgrounds. Of the 420 students at the school, 65 per cent are Latina and 35 per cent are African-American. In 2005, the school was selected as a Breakthrough High School by the National Association of Secondary School Principals. As it is located in Manhattan, the school has developed partnerships with numerous museums. Museum staff members come to the school to work with students and teachers on different subject area skills. The museums also encourage students to visit exhibitions to assist with their classroom learning. Sometimes, the partner museums display students’ work, which motivates and arouses student interest. Other community partners including universities offer summer programs for students. For example, Mercedes-Benz supports a two-week summer enrichment program to help students entering the Young Women’s Leadership School better understand the school’s culture and expectations. The New York Academy of Medicine helps students with research methodologies. The academy also teaches students how to make presentations and how to act appropriately in job and college admission interviews. The principal attributes the school’s success to the efforts of the teaching staff and their willingness to collaborate with external organisations to support students in achieving their goals. Schools in Finland also reported that they have developed strong relationships with other local and community organisations, including the municipal social and health services networks. According to the principal of Hatanpää School, the second most important network for the school is the social network for pupil welfare, including, for example, the curator, or school counsellor (who helps pupils with their problems and in finding solutions), the psychologist and the social services of the city of Tampere in general. These networks assist the school in its focus on student welfare. The school also has connections with the church. Church employees have special youth work divisions and they are always willing to help the pupils when needed. Hatanpää School also has links with local industry. Students in Grades 8 and 9 (ages 14 to 15)

The support of the entire community    75

do compulsory work experience with local firms, which is organised by the school’s vocational counsellor. This brief contact with working life motivates pupils to study and gives them experience in a possible career pathway.

Relationships between social capital and other forms of capital This chapter has described the benefits that strong links with parents and the local community, other education providers and external businesses, agencies and organisations can bring to a school. Our research suggests that strong social capital can assist with school improvement and support the learning of all students. Schools and school systems, however, often neglect social capital as a source of support. In many cases, social capital is not regarded as a resource from which they can draw, in the same way that they may view their financial or intellectual capital. These studies of schools from different settings in six countries have demonstrated, on one hand, how schools can establish and draw support from their social capital. On the other hand, these schools have also shown how strong social capital can be harnessed to strengthen other resources, or forms of capital. One of the early findings of our research into the transformation of successful schools is that these four forms of capital do not stand alone as separate aspects of the school. There are strong interactions between the forms of capital. Strategies used to strengthen one form of capital may have a direct or indirect effect on other forms of capital. For example, some strategies to strengthen social capital, such as the establish­ment of relationships with a network of schools, fundraising activities run by parents and members of the local community, or sharing facilities with the community, may have an effect on the school’s financial capital and the financial capital of the school system. The research literature indicates that there are strong links between social capital and improvements in other forms of capital, par­ticularly intellectual capital. One study has reported that the relationship between social capital and intellectual capital is ‘one of the most robust empirical regularities in the social capital literature’.46 An Australian study echoed this perspective by indicating that schools that have formed strong links with members of the wider community can benefit from a wide range of skills and perspectives.47 These ties can support student learning, by bringing new skills into the school and providing opportunities for applied learning. This has been clearly demonstrated through the des­ cription of the Young Women’s Leadership School (United States), where

76   Why not the best schools?

staff from local museums support and enhance student learning, or at Pershore High School (England), where community members visit the school to provide students with insights into how aspects of their school curriculum can be applied and used in everyday life. Schools in Finland reported the benefits for staff of visiting other schools and sharing best practice. In these ways, strong relationships with the community, other education providers and external organisations can be harnessed to strengthen the school’s social capital. Research has also shown that there are strong links between the social capital and the spiritual capital of the school. The Australian schools reported that their work with not-for profit organisations demonstrates and supports the moral purpose of these schools. Chapter 5 will further describe how the strength of this moral purpose and coherence among values, beliefs and attitudes about life and learning can be a powerful resource.

Developing the social capital of schools Building the social capital of schools, including more extensive engage­ ment with the wider community, may require some schools to build their capacity in a number of ways. An example of how priorities for development may be set was presented at the 2008 conference of the Western Australian Primary Principals Association (WAPPA) on the theme ‘Primary schools: investing for tomorrow’. A noteworthy feature of this three-day event was the invitation to business leaders to attend the second day, at which the featured presenter was author Stephen Covey. More than 200 accepted the invitation. This was an outstanding opportunity to build trust between the school and business sectors in the manner described in Chapter 1 (see illustrations in Figures 1 and 2). We conducted a workshop at the conference on the theme of partnerships between primary schools and business. The workshop was attended by 82 principals, each of whom completed the social capital component of the survey in Appendix 1. As described in Chapter 3, this called for judgements on each of the ten indicators: importance, performance and priority for development. Participants were invited to select which of the ten indicators would be included among the top three priorities, and 82 responded. The responses are summarised in Table 3.

The support of the entire community    77

Table 3 Priorities for building social capital as rated by primary school principals in Western Australia (n=82) Indicator

Respondents selecting as one of top three priorities for development (%)

Rank

  1. There is a high level of alignment between the expectations of parents and other key stakeholders and the mission, vision, goals, policies, plans and programs of the school.   2. There is extensive and active engagement of parents and others in the community in the educational program of the school.   3. Parents and others in the community serve on the governing body of the school or contribute in other ways to the decisionmaking process.   4. Parents and others in the community are advocates of the school and are prepared to take up its cause in challenging circumstances.   5. The school draws cash or in-kind support from individuals, organisations, agencies and institutions in the public and private sectors, in education and other fields, including business and industry, philanthropists and social entrepreneurs.   6. The school accepts that support from the community has a reciprocal obligation for the school to contribute to the building of community.   7. The school draws from and contributes to networks to share knowledge, address problems and pool resources.   8. Partnerships have been developed and sustained to the extent that each partner gains from the arrangement.   9. Resources, both financial and human, have been allocated by the school to building partnerships that provide mutual support. 10. The school is co-located with or located near other services in the community and these services are utilised in support of the school.

17.1

1

14.9

3

7.9

6

15.4

2

11.0

4

5.7

9

7.5

7

5.3

10

8.8

5

6.6

8

The indicators listed as priorities most often were: Indicator 1: There is a high level of alignment between the expec­ tations of parents and other key stakeholders and the mission, vision, goals, policies, plans and programs of the school (17.1 per cent).

78   Why not the best schools?

Indicator 4: Parents and others in the community are advocates of the school and are prepared to take up its cause in challenging circumstances (15.4 per cent). Indicator 2: There is extensive and active engagement of parents and others in the community in the educational program of the school (14.9 per cent). Indicator 5: The school draws cash or in-kind support from indi­ viduals, organisations, agencies and institutions in the public and private sectors, in education and other fields, including business and industry, philanthropists and social entrepreneurs (11.0 per cent). Participants in the workshop were also invited to identify the major constraints that are/will be experienced in their efforts to build the social capital of the school, and 59 of the 82 participants provided a response, as summarised in Table 4. Table 4 Constraints in strengthening the social capital of schools as reported by primary school principals in Western Australia (n=59) Constraint

Examples

Time

Lack of time, lack of tenure, impending retirement, overcrowded curriculum, lack of support

25



42.4

Context

Geographic distance / isolation, mining community, high Indigenous population in community, lack of confidence in community

15



25.4

Mindset

Lack of trust and resistance of some staff, apathy, not core business

10



16.9

Policy

Government / DET policy on sponsorships

4



6.8

Capacity

Lack of knowledge and limited capacity of staff and community to work in this area

3



5.1

Partners

Mindsets of potential partners in business about the value of partnerships

2



3.4

59



100.0

Total

Number of responses

Percentage

Priorities for strengthening social capital lay mainly in the area of parent engagement rather than in forming partnerships with business, with the most significant constraints being time to devote to related activities (42.4 per cent) and context (25.4 per cent), with the latter reflecting the large

The support of the entire community    79

distances and relative isolation of many schools in Western Australia, as well as the nature of the community.

Discussion It is surprising that the concept of social capital has taken so long to take hold in schools and school systems around the world, even though its first use nearly a century ago appears to have been in the context of education. We referred in several places to concerns that it is untoward to consider deep links with the private sector along the lines of the extensive engagement of business in secondary education in England. This is puzzling, given that the overwhelming majority of students will be employed in the private sector in the future, and that strong advocacy for schools and the teaching profession by the private sector can go a long way towards strengthening the resolve of government to provide greater support. Despite these concerns we were able to identify and briefly describe a rich array of practices in the schools we studied in the International Project to Frame the Transformation of Schools. As with the other forms of capital, a good starting point in schools and school systems is to conduct an audit of social capital using the instrument contained in Appendix 1. We illustrated its use by prin­ cipals of public primary schools in Western Australia. They reported a number of constraints to the development of social capital, with the most frequently mentioned being the lack of time and support for their efforts in this regard. Successful private schools employ highly skilled staff to provide such support. Additional funds will need to be allocated to schools and within schools in the public sector if principals are to receive the support they need. For this to occur, the support of the wider community must be valued by all stakeholders, and this is an aspect of spiritual capital we explore in Chapter 5.

Notes 1

Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS). (2006). Aspects of Social Capital Australia. Belconnen, ACT: ABS.

2

Putnam, R.D. (2000). Bowling Alone: The Collapse and Revival of American Community. New York: Touchstone, page 19.

3

Cited by Putnam, R.D. (2000), above 2.

4

Coleman, J. (1988). ‘Social Capital in the Creation of Human Capital.’ American Journal of Sociology, 94, pages 95–120.

5

Information from ACSSO Editorial, <www.acsso.org.au/ed080221.pdf>, accessed 16 April 2008.

80   Why not the best schools?

  6 HM Government (2007). ‘Extended Schools: Building on Experience. England: Department for Children, Schools and Families’, page 3, <www.everychild matters.gov.uk/resources-and-practice/search/IG00046/> accessed 21 April 2008. Research reviews on parental involvement also available in Henderson, A.T. and Mapp, K.L. (2002). ‘A New Wave of Evidence: The Impact of School Family, and Community Connections on Student Achievement’, Annual Synthesis, National Centre for Family and Community Connections with Schools, South­ west Educational Development Laboratory; and Harris, A. and Goodall, J. (2006). ‘Parental Involvement in Education: An Overview of the Literature’, Unpublished report prepared for the Specialist Schools and Academies Trust, United Kingdom.   7 Information from Full Service Extended Schools News Release on the Every Child Matters website, <www.everychildmatters.gov.uk/ete/extendedschools/? asset=News&id=67542> accessed 22 April 2008.   8 HM Government (2007). Extended Schools: Building on Experience. England: Department for Children, Schools and Families, page 2.   9 Ibid. 10 Figure reported on the Every Child Matters website, <www.everychildmatters. gov.uk/ete/extendedschools/> accessed 21 April 2008. 11 Ofsted (2006). Extended Services in Schools and Children’s Centres. Report 2609,

<www.ofsted.gov.uk/assets/Internet_Content/Publications_Team/File_

attachments/extended2609.pdf> accessed 22 April 2008. 12 Cummings, C., Dyson, A., Papps, I., Pearson, D., Raffo, C., Tiplady, L. and Todd, L. (2006). Evaluation of the Full Service Extended Schools Initiative, Second Year: Thematic Papers. England: Department for Education and Skills <www.dfes.gov.uk/research/data/uploadfiles/RB795.pdf> accessed 22 April 2008. 13 HM Government (2007), cited at 8, above. 14 Karvelas, P. ‘PM’s 2020 Pledge for Every Child’, The Australian, 17 April 2008. 15 Ibid. 16 The final report of the Australia 2020 Summit may be obtained at <www. australia2020.gov.au/final_report/index.cfm > accessed 13 August 2008. 17 Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (2007). Skills for a Nation: A Blueprint for Improving Education and Training 2007–2017, <www.acci.asn. au/SkillsBlueprintMain.htm>. 18 Business Council of Australia (2008). Teaching Talent: The Best Teachers for Australia’s Schools, which included an Australian Council for Educational Research report by Professor Stephen Dinham, Dr Lawrence Ingvarson and Dr Elizabeth Kleinhenz entitled ‘Investing in teacher quality: Doing what matters most’, <www.bca.com.au/Content/101446.aspx> accessed 13 August 2008. 19 Details of how these partnerships work are contained in Specialist Schools and Academies Trust (2005). Effective Education Business Links: Practical and Creative Collaboration between a Specialist School and Local Commerce and Industry. London: Specialist Schools and Academies Trust (prepared in

The support of the entire community    81

association with the Economics and Business Education Association). More information about the SSAT can be found at <www.ssatrust.org.uk>. 20 Ball, S.J. (2007). Education plc: Understanding Private Sector Participation in Public Sector Education. London: Routledge, page 191. 21 This statement is taken from the website of the Australian Business and Community Network (ABCN) that contains details of its programs and their impact, <www.abcn.com.au> accessed 5 May 2008. 22 This statement is taken from the website of The Smith Family that contains details of its programs and their impact, <www.thesmithfamily.com.au> accessed 5 May 2008. 23 Information about Education Foundation Australia may be found at <www. educationfoundation.org.au>. 24 Clinton, B. (2007). Giving: How Each of Us Can Change the World. London: Hutchinson. 25 Information about the Quality Education Fund (QEF) in Hong Kong may be found at <www.qef.org.hk>. 26 accessed 13 August 2008. 27 Henderson, A.T. and Mapp, K. L. (2002). ‘A New Wave of Evidence: The Impact of School Family, and Community Connections on Student Achievement’, Annual Synthesis, National Center for Family and Community Connections with Schools, Southwest Educational Development Laboratory. 28 Harris, A. and Goodall, J. (2006). ‘Parental Involvement in Education: An Overview of the Literature’. Unpublished report prepared for the Specialist Schools and Academies Trust, United Kingdom. 29 Saulwick Muller Social Research (2006). Family–School Partnerships Project: A Qualitative and Quantitative Study. Report prepared for the Department of Education, Science and Training, the Australian Council of State School Organisations and the Australian Parents Council. Canberra: Australian Government, page 14. 30 Cuttance, P. and Stokes, S. (2000). Reporting on Student and School Achievement. A research report prepared for the Department of Education, Training and Youth Affairs. Canberra: Australian Government, page 4. 31 Saulwick Muller Social Research (2006), cited at 29 above. 32 Ibid. 33 Sanders, M.G., Epstein, J.L. and Connors-Tadros, L. (1999). Family Partnerships with High Schools: The Parents’ Perspective. Report Number 32. Washington DC: Center for Research on the Education of Students Placed at Risk. 34 Henderson, A.T. and Mapp, K. L. (2002), cited at 27 above. 35 For information on Comenius, see accessed 23 April 2008. 36 See, for example, Beare, H. (2006). How We Envisage Schooling in the 21st Century: The New ‘Imaginary’ in Practice. London: Specialist Schools and

82   Why not the best schools?

Academies Trust; Caldwell, B.J. (2006). Re-imagining Educational Leadership. Camberwell (Melbourne): ACER Press and London: Sage; and Caldwell, B.J. and Spinks, J.M. (2008). Raising the Stakes: From Improvement to Transformation in the Reform of Schools. London: Routledge. 37 OECD (2001). What Schools for the Future? Paris: OECD. 38 Atkinson, M., Springate, I., Johnson, F. and Halsey, K. (2007). Inter-School Collaboration: A literature review. Slough: NFER, page 102. 39 Kerr, D., Aiston, S., White, K., Holland, M., and Grayson, H. (2003). ‘Networked learning communities’, Paper presented at the National Foundation for Educational Research (NFER), Council of Members Meeting, London, 3 October. Cited in Caldwell (2006), cited at 36 above, page 57. 40 Atkinson et al. (2007), cited at 38 above. 41 Ibid, page 58. 42 Ibid, page 63. 43 Board of Teacher Registration (Queensland) (2002). Networks@Work, Toowong: Board of Teacher Registration. Cited in Caldwell (2006), cited at 36 above, page 54). 44 Atkinson et al. (2007), cited at 38 above, page 66. 45 Ibid, page 69. 46 Glaeser, E. L., Laibson, D. and Sacerdote, B. (2002). ‘An Economic Approach to Social Capital’, The Economic Journal. 112, page 455. 47 Cuttance, P. and Stokes, S. (2000). Reporting on Student and School Achievement. A research report prepared for the Department of Education, Training and Youth Affairs. Canberra: Australian Government.

5

Affairs of the spirit

Spiritual capital refers to the strength of moral purpose and the degree of coherence among values, beliefs and attitudes about life and learning. For some schools, spiritual capital has a foundation in religion. In other schools, spiritual capital may refer to ethics and values shared by mem­ bers of the school and its community. This chapter is concerned with the spiritual capital of schools and school systems. Illustrations are provided of how schools in a range of settings in six countries have built their spiritual capital. A key theme is that spiritual capital is as important in public schools as it is in private schools. While the notion is fairly new in educational research, each of the schools examined in the International Project to Frame the Trans­for­ mation of Schools has strong moral purpose. All of the schools, whether they are public or private, religious or secular, have clearly defined values, beliefs and attitudes, which are promoted within the school and the local community. These schools have worked with their local community to forge strong relationships and to align their values about life and learning. Student well-being is a priority, with schools putting in place numerous strategies to support the needs of their students. Our studies have also found that there is a clear focus on educating the ‘whole’ student. Rather than focusing solely on academic achievement, these schools endeavour to provide students with knowledge, skills and experience that can be used in all facets of their lives.

Indicators of spiritual capital Schools in the International Project to Frame the Transformation of Schools used a number of practices to develop and harness their spiritual capital. Many are implied in the ten indicators for spiritual capital listed

83

84   Why not the best schools?

below. Evidence for all ten was found in one or more of the schools. Four marked with an asterisk (*) were illustrated in each school in each of the six countries. Four marked with a hash symbol (#), were illustrated in the majority of schools.   1. # There is a high level of alignment between the values, beliefs and

attitudes about life and learning held by the school and members of its community.   2. * The values and beliefs of the school, including where relevant those that derive from a religious foundation, are embedded in its mission, vision, goals, policies, plans and curriculum.   3. # The values and beliefs of the community are taken into account by the school in the formulation of its mission, vision, goals, policies, plans and curriculum.   4. * The school explicitly articulates its values and beliefs in publications and presentations.   5. * Publications and presentations in the wider community reflect an understanding of the values and beliefs of the school.   6. # There are high levels of trust between the school and members of its community.   7. # Parents and other stakeholders are active in promoting the values and beliefs of the school.   8. * The values and beliefs of the school are evident in the actions of students and staff.   9. Staff and students who are exemplars of the values and beliefs of the school are recognised and rewarded. 10. The values and beliefs of the school have sustained it or are likely to sustain it in times of crisis.

The study of spiritual capital The study of spiritual capital has been a relatively new development in the disciplines of economics, politics and the social sciences. The term ‘spiritual capital’ has been used over the past decade by Nobel Laureates in Economics, including Gary Becker1 and Robert Fogel. 2 Much of the recent research in this area has been promoted and discussed by members of the Metanexus Institute, an international network of researchers formerly known as the Philadelphia Center on Religion and Science. The institute offers grants for social science research projects on spiritual capital, which is defined by the Metanexus Institute as ‘the economic and social consequences of religion and spirituality’. 3 The John Templeton Foundation, the major funding body for the Institute, has also provided

Affairs of the spirit   85

funding to a range of other research projects on spiritual capital, including a major study led by Robert Putnam, The Saguaro Seminar, Harvard University, into the connections between religion and social capital. Much of the emerging research into spiritual capital, including Putnam’s research, appears to build on current understandings of social capital. In his influential work on social capital, Putnam found that shared religious beliefs and practices accounted for more than half of the social capital identified in his study.4 Coleman’s seminal study on social capital in schools also noted that religious belief was one characteristic of the community that had an influence on the level of social capital. 5 Malloch, the Founder and Chairman of the Spiritual Enterprise Institute, indicates that the notions of social and intellectual (or human) capital are themselves based to a large extent on the existence of ‘good faith, trust, stewardship, a sense of purpose and other moral characteristics’.6 Malloch’s descriptions7 suggest that some form of spiritual capital is inherent in our understandings of both social and intellectual capital. When looking at schools, high levels of social capital, including the involve­ ment of the community, networks with other schools and relationships with other organisations, would not function effectively without trust and ‘other moral characteristics’. Similarly, a school’s intellectual capital cannot be effectively implemented to support the success of all students without a strong moral purpose and shared understandings and beliefs about life and learning. The influence of spiritual capital on social and intellectual capital demonstrates the need for alignment of all resources in the school. Outstanding governance, which strengthens and aligns the four forms of capital, can assist efforts to achieve significant, systematic and sustained change that secures success of all students in all settings. While spiritual capital has become an area of interest to economists and social scientists only in the past decade, the concept was implicit in Max Weber’s descriptions of the relationship between Protestantism and capitalism. This relationship was embodied in the idea of the ‘Protestant work ethic’.8 Through his writing, Weber showed how a community’s shared values and ethics, founded in common religious beliefs, can influ­ ence economic, political and social aspects of its society. Berger and Hefner stated that values and attitudes based in religious or spiritual beliefs may also have an influence on education.9 The historical influence of religious beliefs on education may be seen through the advocacy of universal literacy through religious missions. Woodberry indicates that missionaries and their supporters were working for religious purposes and, as such, ‘were investing in spiritual capital; but through the educa­ tional institutions they created, this investment had important economic consequences’.10

86   Why not the best schools?

Some researchers use the term spiritual capital interchangeably with the term ‘religious capital’. Just as Malloch describes spiritual capital as a unifying concept that influences both social and intellectual capital, this concept may also encompass ‘religious capital’. As indicated in our definition of ‘spiritual capital’, however, this term can also be used to describe values, ethics, beliefs and attitudes that are not based on religion. Iannaccone and Klick indicated that the notion of spiritual capital is, and should be, ‘sufficiently elastic and popular that it can be applied to all traditional religions, all new religions and a wide range of non-religious activities’.11 The distinction between religious capital and spiritual capital is impor­tant in pluralistic and multicultural societies. A school may have significant spiritual capital when its community members share a number of values and beliefs about life and learning, regardless of their individual religious beliefs. In addition, although many of the values, beliefs and ethics held by members of society may have their foundation in traditional religions, there has been a decline in the participation of religious activities in Western society. It is important to note that even though every religious group has its own set of values and practises, members of a community who practice different religions, or do not practise religion at all, may share common values and beliefs about life and learning. Woodberry notes that, in many cases, the results of beliefs and values shared within a community ‘go beyond individual religiosity’.12 The International Project to Frame the Transformation of Schools found that both secular and religious schools have been able to develop strong coherence of beliefs with their community to strengthen and harness their spiritual capital. Educational research has also used numerous terms to describe aspects of the concept of spiritual capital, including ‘moral purpose’13 and ‘shared whole school vision and goals’.14 Despite the differences in ter­minology, the research indicates that shared values and moral purpose are required by schools to support their efforts to secure success for all students. Barber and Fullan highlighted the necessity of moral purpose for schools and school systems by ranking it as the first of eight guidelines for system leaders who were committed to ensuring that their school systems were sustainable. They wrote: You cannot move substantially toward sustainability in the absence of widely shared moral purpose. The central moral purpose consists of con­ stantly improving student achievement and ensuring that achievement gaps, wherever they exist are narrowed. In short, it’s about raising the bar and narrowing the gap. It involves treating people with demanding respect, and contributing to the social environment (e.g., other schools).15

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The strength of spiritual capital in a school community can support the school in numerous ways. Research into social capital has found that members of a school community who share school values are more likely to participate in school activities.16 This finding is supported by research that shows that people with strongly held religious or spiritual convictions are more likely than others to volunteer their time and donate money to assist both religious and non-religious organisations.17 When they share the school’s beliefs about life and learning, parents are more likely to feel a connection with the school and, based on this connection, have been found to be more active in advocating for school improvements and promoting school achievements. Furthermore, Van Galen found that, when the school and school community are shaped by shared norms and values, there are fewer discipline problems and higher levels of achieve­ ment for all students.18 The findings of these studies highlight the benefits to schools of sharing their values and beliefs about life and learning with the members of their school community. Both religious and secular schools have the opportunity to increase their spiritual and social capital when their values and beliefs are explicitly articulated. When the school’s beliefs and values are shared by the community, regardless of community members’ religious backgrounds, research shows that members are more likely to support the school.

Findings from the International Project to Frame the Transformation of Schools The schools have clearly defined values One feature shared by all of the schools is that they have a clearly defined ethos and moral purpose. The values of the schools are expressed and publicly acknowledged through their links with other schools, organi­ sations and the wider community. For example, Birchwood Community High School in England regularly communicates its values and beliefs to a wider audience. The school embraces every opportunity to express its ethos and attitudes about life and learning. Birchwood’s prospectus, for example, clearly states the school’s ethos. These messages are reinforced through the school’s website, publicity DVD and through any public statements made by representatives of the school. The study of Wangaratta High School in Australia reported the core school value of respect. The school’s goals and practices are used to emphasise respect as the foundation of the school’s philosophy. The students are placed at the centre of all school decisions. Student management at Wangaratta draws on the restorative practices approach,

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which is based on the philosophy of effectively managing and repairing relationships when difficulties are encountered. In addition to the philo­ sophies of respecting oneself, others and the environment, the school takes pride in its history and traditions. Photos and artefacts of the school’s past are displayed throughout the school. The history of the school and its strong relationship with the local community are seen as a foundation on which new and innovative approaches to schooling can be implemented. As with Wangaratta High School, all schools in the project illustrate their values, attitudes and beliefs in activities both within the school and in their relationships with the wider community. The firm commitment to the enhancement of individual learning and to the achievement of high standards is made evident through a range of practices at Birchwood Community High School in England. The school emphasises the impor­ tance of and pride in achievement. The school reports that this emphasis has had a direct influence on the academic performance of students. The consistent focus on striving for excellence compels learners to improve their personal achievement with the support of the school. The principles of striving for excellence and pride in achievement provide cohesion between Birchwood Community High School and the increasingly diverse community it serves. While the majority of the school community is from white British backgrounds, there is growing diversity with students from different nationalities, social backgrounds, beliefs and value systems. In 2007, the school community included a small but growing group of Polish students and students from the Jehovah’s Witness denomination. The school values the diversity of its community and treats this as an opportunity to respond to individual needs sensitively and constructively. Students are encouraged to join the celebration of the school’s diverse population.

The schools aim to align their values with the wider community Each school in the project has identified the need and made significant efforts to align its values with those held by the local community. The Finnish and Chinese studies reported that the values held by the schools are strongly grounded in their culture. Both Chinese and Finnish cultures have long traditions of placing a high value on learning and teaching. Teaching is considered to be a noble profession and teachers are highly valued members of society. As a nation, China dedicates 10 September each year as national Teachers’ Day, and has developed different ways to publicly celebrate teaching. Another aspect of Chinese culture is that students are taught to respect their teachers as ‘parents’ or ‘seniors’.

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This carries tremendous weight in a culture in which respect for parents and seniors is considered absolute and unconditional. Schools like Tesoma School in Tampere promote the principles of education, hard work and equity that are at the core of Finnish society. Education and equity have always been highly valued in Finland. Part of the Finnish culture is that everybody learns how to read and write. The attainment of literacy skills is considered a normal part of development for all children. The study of Tesoma School indicated that, while spiritual capital in a religious sense does not have an important role in the school, some of the cultural values may be based on traditional religious beliefs. The value placed on working hard, for example, is said now to be based as much in Finnish culture as in religious traditions. At many Finnish schools, like Tesoma School, religion is taught as a subject but is not practised. The notion of equity has been the focus of Finnish educational policy since the establishment of the comprehensive school. Traditionally, all members of Finnish society offer support to community members who need assistance. This cultural value has been transferred into schools, where one-on-one or small group support is offered to all students who have difficulties with their schoolwork, regardless of the reason. The Finnish schools involved in the International Project to Frame the Transformation of Schools have shown that a great deal of spiritual capital is grounded in culture. As such, the studies from Finland have suggested that it is rare that parents would hold different beliefs about life and learning to those held by the school. Some of the schools involved in the project, however, have faced challenges in aligning their values with those of heterogeneous com­ munity groups. Schools in culturally diverse communities, like Birchwood Community High School, have attempted to overcome this challenge by publicly establishing the values of the school and creating strong connections with as many community groups as possible. The schools in Australia, England and the United States have been generally successful in managing an alignment of values in diverse communities through high levels of community consultation and the promotion and understanding of different cultural traditions. Serpell Primary School in Australia, for example, demonstrates the value it places on cultural and religious diversity by offering a range of language and religious education options. Students are able to take classes in Mandarin, Greek or Indonesian, at beginner or native-speaker levels. Religious Studies are also part of the school program, with offerings including Christian, Jewish, Islamic and Bahai’i studies. The diverse needs of individual students are recognised and supported through personalised learning programs.

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Many of the schools involved in the International Project to Frame the Transformation of Schools have put in place programs and procedures to respond to the cultural needs of the local community. Crownpoint High School, for example, is located in a rural area at the state borders of Arizona, Colorado, New Mexico and Utah. Crownpoint is a small town with a population of about 2500 people, most of whom are Navajo. The school indicates that it is strengthened by the teachers’ diversity. Teachers at Crownpoint come from different areas in the United States as well as from different countries and regions in the world, including China, Korea and Australia. By working together, teachers construct a diverse picture of the school. Since the majority of students at Crownpoint are Navajo, a culturally sensitive curriculum has been created to provide students with opportunity to explore their culture and their own identity. For example, students at Crownpoint read books that are culturally responsive to traditional American culture. They also read these books to elementary school children. The school’s collaboration with the Indian Club provides the students with another experience that can develop their pride in and the value that they place on their identity and community.

The schools aim to educate the ‘whole’ person Our studies found that schools in each country adopt a holistic perspective on student education. Nurturing the ‘whole’ student to assist them to achieve their full potential is fundamental to each school. Rather than simply focusing on academic results, these schools have implemented a range of practices to personalise learning for all students, build their selfesteem and provide them with broad experiences that can assist them in their future. At Crownpoint High School in the United States, staff and the prin­ cipal work towards the goal of ensuring that students are ‘whole students’ when they graduate. The principal reported his belief that education should be an opportunity to learn and mature, and that learning and maturation should not be limited to academic skills, let alone scores in standardised testing. He and other staff share the belief that their students should be offered the same lifetime opportunities as students anywhere else in the United States. This belief in ‘whole students’ at Crownpoint is demonstrated in many school practices. Social skills are considered to be significant life skills that students should master for their future education and life experiences. Half of the students are from single-parent families and lack parental involvement in their life. They do not have sufficient oneon-one interaction with parents, teachers or other adults. Nine teachers and counsellors are assigned to ninth-graders in order to have one-on-

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one interaction with students. After-school programs are available, in which students engage in areas in which they are personally interested, such as fly fishing, cooking, chess and knitting cushions. About 30 per cent of the students participate in such programs. Volunteer experiences in local organisations and agencies also offer great opportunities for them to acquire social skills. As described above, staff at Crownpoint High School have also developed a broad and culturally sensitive curriculum to support their students, who are predominantly from Navajo backgrounds. Studies from Australia, England and Wales all noted that schools are offering a broader and more adaptable curriculum to suit the needs of their students. The new approaches to teaching and learning in some of the Welsh schools have included an increased focus on vocational education. Glyncoed Comprehensive School in Wales provides students with a wide range of extra-curricular activities, referred to as ‘enhanced learning opportunities’, reflecting the school’s belief that all students can achieve at a high level when given the opportunity. Students have responded positively to the broad range of opportunities and support that the school provides for them. The school recognises the positive attitudes of the students as being an important aspect of the school’s success. While schools in Finland have little flexibility in adapting the national curriculum, the Finnish studies have indicated that schools are drawing on their social capital to increase the experiences that they can provide to students. Schools are forming partnerships with local businesses to offer students some vocational experience and an insight into working life. Chongqing Eighth Secondary School in China also draws on its social capital, particularly its relationships with local universities and colleges, to expand the range of educational opportunities available to its students. The school has organised weekly lectures covering a range of topics from the academic life of students to issues concerned with social life. Students are also given the opportunity to explore army training. In addition to providing students with a broad range of experience, each school strives to motivate and inculcate a sense of self-esteem in students. In some schools, this motivation is achieved through the provision of awards for academic and sporting achievements. A number of the schools in England involve students in many levels of school decision-making. Students at Ringmer Community College in England are consulted on all school decisions, including the design and planning of new buildings. All of the design features suggested by students, such as rainwater harvesting and increasing the use of natural light, were implemented. The principal of Ringmer Community College reported that this consultation was about ‘proving to young people that their

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actions can produce tangible results and that we can indeed, all make a difference’. The studies of schools in Wales also indicated the value that is placed on ‘student voice’. At Cardiff High School, for example, student voice is a strong element in decisions about teaching and learning. Departments routinely seek the views of students as part of the research and evaluation philosophy that underpins learning and teaching at the school. The findings of pupil surveys on these issues are presented to the Learning Forum and at external events. There is a School Parliament, made up of representatives from the Student Council, for each year group. These student councils are not token gestures but rather provide students with real opportunities to influence school policy. The student councils described in many of the studies enable students to express their views on a range of issues and enhance their leadership skills.

Schools hold high expectations for students In conjunction with this holistic view of school education, each of the schools in the International Project to Frame the Transformation of Schools holds high expectations for students. All schools have worked to instil a belief in the staff, students and community that all students can achieve at high levels in academic and other endeavours. Students are encouraged to share this belief in their own abilities, with schools establishing strategies to increase students’ self-esteem and motivation. The schools offer high levels of support to assist students in their efforts to meet high expectations. Many of the schools, like Barry Comprehensive School in SouthEast Wales, have invested in developing the confidence, self-esteem and learning capacity of their students. The methods used at Barry Comprehensive, which enrols over 1400 male students, have involved the development of a school culture based on strong morals and ethics that supports and values all members of the school community. Students interviewed for the study demonstrated the power of this culture in promoting achievement through their frequent use of terms ‘challenge’ and ‘support’, when they were asked to describe the school. Many of these students reported their belief that they would not have achieved so much if they had gone to school elsewhere. A strong feature of the school is the involvement of teachers in men­tor­ing students. The students interviewed for this study com­ men­ted on the respect that they have for their teachers and reported their understanding that teachers work hard for them. The strong relationships between teachers and students were recognised during a recent school inspection. Staff at Barry Comprehensive hold the belief

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that all students can achieve at high levels, and deny the expectation that boys should achieve at a lower level than girls. Even at a time when there is considerable concern about the relatively low level of performance of boys, the high expectations have been upheld and have assisted the school to reverse the trend. In addition to performing above the Wales average and well above the average for like-schools in national examinations for 16-year-olds, the students at Barry Comprehensive perform better than the local girls’ comprehensive school. While high expectations for student achievement have been a tradi­ tional feature of some of these schools and the communities they serve, significant effort has been required by other schools to foster these beliefs. James Madison High School in San Diego, California, for example, has managed to overcome significant challenges to cultivate confidence in its students’ abilities to succeed. In the 1970s, the school had developed a reputation for having the best athletics program and the highest academic achievement in the area. Over a number of years, however, the local community underwent dramatic demographic change and school performance declined, in both student achievement and safety. During the late 1990s, the school received much negative publicity, including arrests being made during the school day and one incident involving a loaded gun on campus. The school had been recognised by the San Diego Unified School District as an under-achieving school with low student performance, and it was included in the California Department of Education’s Underperforming School Program. By 1999, the school was close to losing its accreditation with the Western Association of Schools and Colleges. The assistant superintendent recommended that the school principal be reassigned to the classroom and the position be advertised. When the new school principal arrived at James Madison High School in 1999, she felt that the biggest issue the school faced was the deterioration of the school’s reputation in the community. Parents did not want to send their children to the school and there was a widely held belief in the community that the school lacked rules and was unsafe for students. A particular challenge was the low expectations that some teachers held for students. The principal reported that when she arrived at the school ‘teachers thought it was the students’ fault that they did not understand what they had been taught. They did not believe in these kids and did not think that they would be able to go to college’. Many of the teachers had taught at the school for decades, during both its peak years and the decline of its reputation. A number of these teachers continued to use the same teaching strategies that had seen student success in the 1970s. The decline in student performance was attributed to changes in the student population and in the district. The low expectations for

94   Why not the best schools?

students were evident in the subjects offered to students, with James Madison offering only four Advanced Placement courses for their students, while other schools in the district offered between 15 and 22. The low expectations held by the school community discouraged students, who believed that they were not ‘college material’. Since 1999, there have been significant changes in the staff of James Madison High School, with over 90 per cent of current staff having been employed in the past eight years. This staff turnover has helped to create high expectations for students. The school offered a retirement incentive and brought in a number of young teachers who were at the forefront of knowledge and skill and were open to supporting student needs. The influx of new teachers, including a number of special education teachers to support students with learning difficulties, has resulted in a new enthusiasm within the school staff and new opportunities for students. The school’s raised expectations for students were demonstrated through increasing the number of Advanced Placement courses from four to 17 and developing close links with local colleges and universities. The principal also worked with parents and the wider community in order to foster support for the school and a belief that students at James Madison can achieve at high levels. Furthermore, the school has put numerous strategies in place to raise students’ expectations of their own abilities and to motivate them to achieve their potential. One powerful strategy has been inviting graduates from the school who had been successful in spite of their teachers or counsellors telling them that they would not succeed, to share their stories with students. The current school motto of ‘Conceive, Believe, Achieve’ reflects the high expectations and motivation of the entire school community.

Student well-being is held as a priority Schools not only hold expectations of their students but also find ways to help them realise their potential. Student well-being is a prominent focus in the culture of these schools, reflecting an understanding of the importance now placed on emotional intelligence for achieving success. A number of principals involved in this study reported that the focus on student well-being has increased as a response to the greater number of challenges faced by students in the 21st century. The studies in each of these six countries found that schools view supporting student well-being as an important aspect of their work. The philosophy of caring for and valuing each student is common to all of the schools in the International Project to Frame the Transformation of Schools. Building students’ self-confidence and self-esteem is recognised as being critical to their success, particularly in the case of disadvantaged

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students. The studies from China have shown that teachers feel that they have a responsibility for the future of their students, a notion that is reflected in the studies in each of the six countries. Teachers in the participating schools try to support students and assist them in developing their skills in a range of areas, not only in their academic learning. Chongqing 18th Middle School has a strong commitment to the moral education of students, which is distinctive in its focus and methods. The focus of moral education is on the students’ well-being, social development and integrity. Staff have developed the Six One Moral Education Program, which includes a course, a consulting office, studentperformed drama, painting, essays and a website about psychological and moral issues. This program encourages students to develop their skills and think independently about moral and psychological issues. The school reports that the program has played a significant role in producing responsible and thoughtful students. The approach has been highly successful, attracting media attention and visits by more than 400 delegations from Chongqing, Beijing, Macau and Britain. Pastoral care programs exist in these schools in order to support student well-being and to ensure that all students feel secure and con­ fident so that they can learn successfully. Pastoral care also provides an avenue for tracking students’ individual needs, leading to more personalised learning programs. Two of the case study schools, Ringmer Community College in East Sussex, England and James Campbell High School in Hawaii, have radically reformed their pastoral care programs. James Campbell High School has established year-level ‘academies’ for students in Grades 9 and 10, and five ‘learning communities’ for students in Grades 11 and 12. These year-level academies and learning communities are supervised by a dedicated counsellor and one of the five vice-principals in the school. Additional counsellors are available for Special Education and Outreach students. In the case of Ringmer Community College, the pastoral organi­ sation of the school has been changed dramatically. The existing organisation, which was based on year-level groups within the school, has been replaced by a house system. The new Heads of House do not have teaching timetables and are not trained teachers. The appointment of non-teaching members of staff to pastoral head positions has released teachers from these roles and given students access to staff members whose roles are wholly devoted to student support. The movement to a house system has resulted in the replacement of traditional ‘form groups’ of students in the same year level with age-vertical mentor groups of students led by both teaching and associate staff. This has allowed smaller mentor groups, involving about 18 students, than would be

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possible under the traditional pastoral organisation. The school reported that these changes have had positive effects in terms of student attitudes and behaviour. It should be noted that this kind of restructuring sends out a clear message about the importance of the system that is being changed. Students will have felt cared about during the change process. Furthermore, their increased self-confidence will assist them in their learning. In addition to pastoral care systems, the school’s concern for student well-being is evident in the provision of a range of other services to support student welfare. A majority of schools in the study reported that they employ at least one school counsellor. Many of these schools, like James Campbell High School, employ more than one counsellor to provide students with pastoral care, assistance with social and emotional issues and support for disadvantaged students. Ristinarkku School in Tampere, Finland, also employs a counsellor, who is a psychologist, to support student well-being and a full-time specialist teacher to assist students with learning difficulties. Further­­ more, like many of the schools in Finland we examined, Ristinarkku School has established strong links with external social welfare organi­ sations, including social services in the city of Tampere. These links enable the school to provide assistance to students who are facing physical, psychological or social difficulties.

Spiritual capital is strong in both secular and religious schools One of the important findings of the International Project to Frame the Transformation of Schools is that spiritual capital is strong in all schools, including secular and religious schools. All examples presented thus far in this chapter have involved secular schools, where the spiritual capital is not founded in religion. Religious beliefs, however, play a major role in the spiritual capital of some of the schools involved in this study. The spiritual capital at Bialik College in Melbourne, Australia, for example, incorporates Judaism and universal human values in the school program. As the school has grown, it has maintained an emphasis on its Jewish identity and encourages students to participate in Jewish culture and traditions. For example, all food served in the school must now be kosher, and dietary laws are followed as well as observance of Sabbath and Holy Days. Hebrew is taught at all levels of the school. Jewish Studies is offered as a subject throughout primary and lower secondary school and students are able to select to study Religion and Society in their final years of schooling.

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Another example of how Jewish values and beliefs infuse the curriculum at Bialik is the Tikun Olam program. Roughly translated, it means ‘to perfect the world and to make it a better place’. As part of this view, students are encouraged to support the underprivileged through fundraising, working in a soup kitchen or assisting people with disabilities. A special Project Masoret encourages the services of young Israeli shlichim (which can be translated as ‘emissaries’) who work in the area of informal Jewish education. Each year three Israelis come to the school to work full-time and they are seen as outstanding youth leaders and excellent role models. The spiritual capital of Aquinas College in Melbourne is founded in Catholicism. Catholic beliefs are integrated into all aspects of school life through the work of the Christian Life Team. This team includes the deputy principal for Christian Life, a Religious Education coordinator and Outreach coordinator. The team is responsible for social justice education and the faith development of students, staff and members of the wider school community. These key people work to ensure that the religious dimension of the school is appropriately integrated into all aspects of school life. Through prayer and liturgy, retreats and reflection-day programs, the vision of Catholic education as Gospelcentred, student-centred, inclusive and holistic is realised. At the same time, the variety of faith stances found among students, staff, parents and the school community are respected. Aquinas College views Catholic values and beliefs as being integral to the development of the whole person and interwoven into all areas of the school program, particularly in areas of social justice. The school has developed a range of partnerships with charitable organisations and has established an ‘outreach’ program to encourage students to assist those in need. Former students often contact the school to talk about the difference this awareness has made in their lives and in their work for the underprivileged in communities elsewhere in the world. Interest in this sort of work has been stimulated by programs such as Building Bridges offered in Year 11 where, once a month, students from Aquinas meet students in schools with other denominations to exchange ideas and views, thus improving students’ understanding and tolerance. Each year the school supports a major fundraising project. Social justice education is a key element of the curriculum. The school’s spiritual capital is expressed in many ways, including its commitment to lifelong learning and the physical, intellectual, emotional and social development of the whole person. The commitment to build and prepare students for a sustainable and rewarding future supports students’ development and builds their capacity to manage change in

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a sustainable way. Further evidence of the school’s values and beliefs can be seen in the garden and grounds of the school, which follow a model of environmental sustainability in that the garden contains indigenous plants native to the area. This concept is also central to the philosophy of inclusiveness held by the school, which also seeks to celebrate connections with the Indigenous people on whose traditional lands the school is built.

Discussion We were surprised but reassured at how comfortable participants were with the concept of spiritual capital in the many workshops associated with the International Project to Frame the Transformation of Schools. It did not matter whether they were from public or private, secular or religious schools, there was immediate recognition and acceptance of its meaning and how it is manifested in the local setting. While the definition is relatively straightforward, the ten indicators of spiritual capital enable people to quickly conduct an audit of its strength and where action might be taken to make it stronger. It is evident from the examples we chose from schools in different countries that there is a role for all to play. We therefore recommend that schools undertake an audit using the survey contained in Appendix 1. The connections between social and spiritual capital are important. When both are strong there may be benefits for other forms of capital, including financial capital. We take up the story in Chapter 6.

Notes 1

Professor Gary Becker, the University of Chicago, was awarded the Sveriges Riksbank (Bank of Sweden) Prize in Economic Sciences in Memory of Alfred Nobel in 1992 for his work, which brought the ‘domain of microeconomic analysis to a wide range of human behaviour and interaction, including non-market behaviour’, from



accessed

2 May 2008. 2

Professor Robert Fogel, University of Chicago, was awarded the Sveriges Riksbank (Bank of Sweden) Prize in Economic Sciences in Memory of Alfred Nobel in 1993 with Professor Douglass North, Washington University ‘for having renewed research in economic history by applying economic theory and quantitative methods in order to explain economic and institutional change’, from accessed 2 May 2008.

3

Taken from the Metanexus website <www.metanexus.net/spiritual_capital/> accessed 2 May 2008.

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  4 Putnam, R.D. (2000). Bowling Alone: The Collapse and Revival of American Community. New York: Touchstone.   5 Coleman, J. (1988). ‘Social Capital in the Creation of Human Capital’, American Journal of Sociology, 94, pages 95–120.   6 Malloch, T.R. (2003). ‘Social, Human and Spiritual Capital in Economic Development’. Paper for the Spiritual Capital Planning Meeting, Cambridge, Massachusetts, 10–11 October, <www.metanexus.net/spiritual_capital/pdf/ malloch.pdf> accessed 5 June 2007.   7 Ibid.   8 Weber, M. (1904/1992). The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism. trans. T. Parsons/intro. A. Giddens. London: Routledge.   9 Berger, P.L. and Hefner, R.W. (2003) ‘Spiritual Capital in Comparative Perspective’. Paper for the Spiritual Capital Planning Meeting, Cambridge, Massachusetts, 10–11 October, <wwww.metanexus.net/spiritual_capital/pdf/Berger.pdf> accessed 5 June 2007. 10 Woodberry, R.D. (2003). ‘Researching Spiritual Capital: Promises and Pitfalls’. Paper for the Spiritual Capital Planning Meeting, Cambridge, Massachusetts, 10–11 October, <www.metanexus.net/spiritual%5Fcapital/pdf/woodberry.pdf> accessed 5 June 2007, page 6. 11 Iannaccone, L.R. and Klick, J. (2003). ‘Spiritual Capital: An Introduction and Literature Review’. Paper for the Spiritual Capital Planning Meeting, Cambridge, Massachusetts, 10–11 October, <www.metanexus.net/spiritual%5Fcapital/pdf/ review.pdf> accessed 5 June 2007, page 2. 12 Woodberry, R.D. (2003), cited at 10 above. 13 Fullan, M. (2001). Leading in a Culture of Change. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass. 14 Cuttance, P., Stokes, S., McGuinness, K., Capponi, N., Corneille, K., Jones, T. and Umoh, C. (2003). The National Quality Schooling Framework: An Interactive Professional Learning Network for Schools. Monograph. Melbourne: The University of Melbourne. <www.edfac.unimelb.edu.au/research/caer/pdf/ nqsf_paper_2802032.pdf> accessed 6 May 2008. 15 Barber, M. and Fullan, M. (2005). Tri Level Development: It’s the system. <www. michaelfullan.ca/Articles_05/Tri-Level%20Dev%27t.pdf> accessed 7 May 2008. 16 Van Galen, J.A. (1997) ‘Community Elders: The Roles of Parents in a School of “Choice”’, Urban Review, 29(1). 17 Woodberry, R.D. (2003), cited at 10 above. 18 Van Galen, J.A. (1997), cited at 16 above.

6

More money is not enough

The starting point of this chapter is a statement of the obvious. High levels of financial capital are necessary if transformation is to be achieved. However, an exclusive focus on the amount of money that is allocated to a school will not lead to transformation. As we have shown thus far, financial capital is only one form of capital, taking its place alongside intellectual, social and spiritual capital. There is, of course, a powerful connection between the four kinds of capital. Whether or not a school can be strong in respect to its intellectual capital depends on whether there are sufficient funds to secure staff who are at the forefront of knowledge and to ensure they are kept at the forefront through continuing professional development. High levels of social capital can help build financial capital through the contributions of parents and partnerships with business. In this chapter we explore issues related to the funding of schools, and summarise findings from the International Project to Frame the Transformation of Schools to show how successful schools build their financial capital.

Issues in the funding of schools Four issues are briefly explored before we turn to related findings in the international project: (1) patterns of expenditure under current policy settings, (2) allocation of funds to schools, (3) deployment of funds at the school level and (4) funding of public and private schools.

Patterns of expenditure under current policy settings The Hoover Institute’s Eric Hanushek found that increases in funding for schools have had, with few exceptions for some programs, little impact on educational outcomes over many decades. Hanushek’s conclusion could not be clearer: ‘The aggregate picture is consistent with a variety of 100

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other studies indicating that [financial] resources alone have not yielded any systematic returns in terms of student performance. The character of reform efforts can largely be described as “same operations with greater intensity”’.1 This conclusion is supported by the McKinsey & Company study of high-performing school systems. 2 The McKinsey report cited evidence that between 1980 and 2005, expenditure per student in the United States increased by 73 per cent, during which time student achievement remained almost the same. The evidence for Australia was even more sobering. Over the period 1970 to 1994, expenditure per student increased by 270 per cent, while student achievement declined by 2 per cent. Expenditure in both instances was adjusted for inflation. Higher levels of expenditure had permitted large increases in the numbers of teachers and reductions in class size. Many initiatives had been undertaken in efforts to improve the quality of education. Similar patterns were evident across the OECD, ‘yet very few of the school systems in the OECD achieved significant improvements in performance’.3

Allocation of funds to schools Our continuing interest and special focus in the International Project to Frame the Transformation of Schools is the allocation of funds to and within schools that have a relatively high degree of autonomy. In this section we are concerned with the allocation of funds to schools; that is, the amounts of money that are given to a school which it may then deploy in addressing local needs and priorities. The issue is of concern to both public and private schools, but we will deal with allocations to private schools in another section. Until the past three decades, only small amounts, if any, were allo­cated by a central authority to public schools. Recent trends to decentralise authority and responsibility in some countries or school systems have meant that the central authority has had to develop a mechanism, usually expressed as a formula, to send money to schools, either as cash in accounts controlled by the school, or as credit, in accounts held centrally but subject to local decision-making within a centrally determined framework. The total of these funds is known by various names; for example, in Victoria, Australia, it is the ‘school global budget’, or ‘student resource package’. For a period of time funds in a school’s global budget covered only selected non-staff categories, but more recently they were extended to cover all or most staff. This is the case for all schools in five of the six countries we studied in the international project, the exception being the United States, although a small minority of the approximately 15,000

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school districts in that country have increased the level of decentral­ isation. Differences in approach in the six countries are described when we report the findings of the international project. These are noteworthy; for example, Victoria is considered to have ‘a clearer and more stable needs-led funding methodology’ than England.4 There are important differences between England and Wales and among the different local authorities in each of these jurisdictions. A key issue is the formula that is used to allocate funds to schools, especially the variables that are included. For example, are funds allo­cated exclusively on the basis of the number of students attending the school, with different per-capita amounts depending on the level of schooling, or are additional variables included to take account of different levels of needs? For example, in Victoria there are two components designated as ‘core’ and ‘equity’. 5 The core allocates different per-student amounts depending on year level, a base amount depending on whether the school is primary or secondary, a base amount for a small primary school and an adjustment factor for rural schools. The equity component is determined on the basis of student family occupation, with different rates for different levels of schooling, as well as student mobility, students with disabilities and students with language backgrounds other than English. Different levels of funding have been established depending on need; for example there are six levels for students with disabilities, with the rate for level 6 more than seven times the rate for level 1. The variables included in the formula and the rates at which they are allocated to schools are subject to more-or-less continuous review. There is a rigorous research methodology that takes account of factors that are known to impact on learning, and the amount of an allocation for a particular school will change from year to year as its student profile changes. A school system must maintain a capacity to do this work. The Edmonton Public School District in Alberta, Canada has three decades of experience with a constantly changing mechanism6 that is similar to the approach adopted more recently in Victoria, Australia. These funding mechanisms are contentious, for several reasons. One reason is the variables that are included in the formula. Another is the impact on a school if its profile changes, especially if this may mean a school loses funds. A third is the amount of work involved in managing the approach at both systemic and school levels. Impact at the school level is explored in the next section.

Deployment of funds at the school level Once schools receive funds in their global budget, decisions must be made about how these will be deployed and what processes are followed

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to make decisions. There is now a rich literature on the topic, as a search on the topics ‘school-based budgeting’, ‘local management of schools’ and ‘school-based management’ will reveal. Caldwell and Spinks have published four books 7 on the topic over 20 years (1988, 1992, 1998 and 2008), describing a range of practices in different countries, especially in Australia (Victoria). They report a steady improvement in the way schools relate financial planning to educa­ tional planning and, more recently, the manner in which approaches to personalising learning can be accommodated in school plans and budgets. Research on the impact on learning is summarised. Particular attention was given in the International Project to Frame the Transformation of Schools to how participating schools deployed their funds and the processes that were used. Given the impact on work­ load, a key issue was impact on the role of school leaders, especially the principal, and whether schools employed business managers to provide support.

Funding of public and private schools The funding of public (government, state) schools and private (nongovernment, independent) schools remains a contentious issue in Australia. There is a long history to the issue, which is recounted in a report of a study we conducted in recent times.8 Details of the current approach in Australia are summarised in the findings of the international project, as set out in the next section, but it is important to note in general terms the major differences when international comparisons are made. In Australia, the percentage of students in private schools ranges from about 30 to more than 50 per cent, depending on level of schooling and the location of schools, with the larger number in the range being the percentage of students in Grades 11 and 12 in many suburbs in the largest capital cities (where public schools now serve a minority of students). Private schools receive public funds on a sliding scale, based on level of community disadvantage, as described below, but may also charge fees. The starkest difference as far as the international project is concerned is that most private schools in Australia would be fully publicly funded and would not be permitted to charge fees if they were located in England or Wales, where they would be described as ‘maintained schools’. Truly private schools serve less than 10 per cent of students in England and Wales; they receive no public funds and may charge whatever fees they wish. In Finland and the United States, also represented in our international project, schools we describe as private receive no public funds. In Finland, fewer than 2 per cent of students attend truly private schools; in the

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United States there is a constitutional bar to church schools receiving public funds. Issues canvassed in ongoing debates about the funding of private schools in Australia concern whether they should receive any funding at all, and be like Finland and the United States; whether they should be fully maintained, as in England and Wales; and, if a mixed model of funding is continued, what form the needs-based funding formula should take.

Indicators of financial capital The schools involved in the international project used a range of innovative and entrepreneurial approaches to strengthening and effectively using their financial capital. Many of these approaches are implied in the ten indicators for financial capital, listed below. Three marked with an asterisk (*) were illustrated in all schools in each of the six countries. Four marked with a hash symbol (#), were illustrated in the majority of schools. Evidence for the remaining three indicators was found in one or more of the case study schools.   1. * Funds are raised from several sources including allocations

by formula from the public purse, fees, contributions from the community and other money raised from the public and private sectors.    2. # Annual planning occurs in the context of a multi-year development plan for the school.   3. # The financial plan has a multi-year outlook as well as an annual budget.   4. * Allocation of funds reflects priorities among educational needs that take account of data on student achievement, evidence-based practice and targets to be achieved.   5. There is appropriate involvement of stakeholders in the planning process.    6. * Appropriate accounting procedures are established to monitor and control expenditure.   7. # Money can be transferred from one category of the budget to another as needs change or emerge.    8. Actual expenditure matches intended expenditure, allowing for flexibility to meet emerging needs.    9. # Educational targets are consistently achieved through the planned allocation of funds. 10. The funds from all sources are sufficient and sustainable to meet educational needs.

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Findings from the International Project to Frame the Transformation of Schools All schools in the project reported that they regard financial capital as an important resource. School leaders, however, also reported that they do not believe that the level of school funds is the most significant factor in the improvement of student outcomes. Every school received public funding and has adopted entrepreneurial approaches to seeking addi­ tional money. Although the levels of financial capital in these schools varied significantly, each has managed to plan the allocation of funds effectively to address priorities among student needs. The studies of these schools provide rich descriptions of innovative approaches to allocating funds in order to meet these needs. An interesting summation was given by the principal of Kaarila School in Tampere, Finland, who stated: ‘when the money ends, the thinking starts’.

The schools receive public funding Schools in each of the six countries are allocated public funds from at least one source. The constitutional responsibility for education in Australia lies with the states and territories. Each of the six Australian states and two territories formulates policy and administers schools through a department of education. The government schools involved in the Inter­ national Project to Frame the Transformation of Schools receive funds from two levels of government, namely the Victorian (state) Government and the Australian (federal) Government. Funds are generally distributed according to the number of students enrolled in each school and suballocations based on various indicators of need. In the government system in Victoria, the total amount of government funds provided to the school are referred to as a ‘student resource package’,9 which is the major source of funding in the school’s global budget. This funding is supplemented by parent levies that are paid directly to the school. However, it is not compulsory for parents to pay these fees, and the level of fees is limited by legislation and regulation. The non-government (private) schools included in the Australian study, Bialik College and Aquinas College, are allocated funding by the Victorian Government and the Australian Government using a socio-economic status (SES) index based on the socio-economic status of the community in which students live. The levels of government funding increase with the different levels of socio-economic need. Nongovernment schools in Australia are also able to charge compulsory fees for teaching and learning. These school fees provide an additional source of funding for non-government schools, which, in the case of an independent school such as Bialik, constitutes the major part of the school’s funding.

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The financial capital of the schools we studied in China is strong. This is not necessarily the case for all schools in China, a developing country that operates the largest education system in the world. Nearly 65 per cent of funds for schools in China are provided by central and local levels of government. It was reported that the level of funding that these schools receive is generally just sufficient to cover teachers’ salaries. These schools, therefore, are active and creative in raising their own funds to construct new facilities, attract better teachers, improve technology infrastructure and provide additional extracurricular activities. Each of schools we studied in England are specialist schools; that is, secondary schools that offer one or more of 11 specialisations in addition to addressing the broad national curriculum (88 per cent of all state or maintained secondary schools are specialist schools).10 They receive a basic allocation of funds from their local authority and an addi­tional sum to meet the costs of delivering their specialisation. They also receive cash or in-kind support from their business partners. More information about specialist schools is provided in Chapter 4. Local authorities are provided with funds from a range of government sources, council taxes and from the Learning and Skills Council, which funds post-16 education. The LEA sets the Schools Budget and the LEA Budget from the local authority’s education budget. The Schools Budget covers all pupil provision, and the majority of these funds are allocated to individual school budgets, which are determined through the LEAs’ local ‘fair funding’ formula. Each LEA must consult its Schools Forum on its Schools Budget plans. Some money is kept by the LEA for centrally provided pupil services, such as Special Educational Needs. The LEA Budget is spent on areas such as administration and the Youth Service. Schools in Finland are administered by more than 400 municipal governments. Similar approaches to the allocation of funds are employed across the country. The city of Tampere allocates funds based on the number of teaching hours offered by each school, which is determined by the number of enrolled students. Principals are responsible for dividing the teaching hours that have been allocated to the school between the subject areas. The city of Tampere provides additional funding, deter­ mined through a needs-based formula, for schools that have a significant need to provide students with remedial teaching or additional classes. Schools in Finland are also required to provide students with hot lunches and necessary materials, including books, pens and paper. While schools receive additional funding for students’ materials, the funding for school lunches is drawn from the school budget. As with Australia, responsibility for schools in the United States lies with the states, but schools are administered by school districts, of which there are about 15,000 across the country. We studied five

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public schools from five different state jurisdictions. Each of the schools receives per-student funding from the district in which it is located, which in turn receives some of its revenue from local property taxes and some from the state. Many schools also receive funding from the Federal Government, mainly to support students with special education needs under the provisions of what is known as ‘Title 1’ legislation. The Federal Government has become more involved in recent years, especially under the NCLB legislation.11 Studies suggest that the original focus of NCLB on students’ performance in Grades K–8 has resulted in inadequate attention being paid to high school students, particularly those from low-income or minority backgrounds. Only 8 per cent of students who benefit from Title 1 funding are high school students.12 Three of the five schools participating in the International Project to Frame the Transformation of Schools receive Title 1 funding. Levels of school funding and the funding distribution system are subjects of continuing debate in Wales.13 Schools in Wales receive funding from their LEA. The current funding system is based on a formula established by the Welsh Assembly Government that allocates to each LEA a proportion of the available education budget based on population numbers, population density and levels of deprivation. This is known as the IBA: the Indicator Based Assessment. This funding is passed to the LEA as part of its general budget settlement. The LEA is able to allocate funds according to local priorities and needs. In allocating available funds to their service areas, local authorities use their own formulae, resulting in a situation in which at least 22 different approaches are taken to school funding across Wales. While the Welsh Assembly Government includes an index of need in its allocation of funds to LEAs, schools are generally funded according to a locally determined formula that reflects student numbers and does not allow for relative levels of need. Thus, in local authorities such as Cardiff, Swansea and Rhondda Cynon Taff, where some of the most affluent and disadvantaged areas of Wales exist within the same local government boundaries, schools get exactly the same proportion of the funds, with no allowance made for the additional needs of school populations where there are high concentrations of disadvantage and relatively low levels of student attainment.14 The levels of financial capital of the Welsh case study schools, therefore, vary according to the LEA service area in which they are located and the level of financial disadvantage faced by their school communities.

The schools seek additional funding sources While each of the schools in the international project receives public funding, they are also actively involved in seeking additional funds.

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Further income was raised in several instances through school fees and support from local communities through fundraising activities and donations. Bialik College, a non-government school in Australia, for example, has been offered additional support from a number of patrons to fund educational initiatives and improve school facilities. As a nongovernment school, Bialik College is also able to charge fees. As indicated in the previous section, government schools in Victoria are able to request voluntary contributions from parents. Canterbury Girls Secondary College in Melbourne receives these non-compulsory fees from a high percentage of families. The school also receives some support from taxdeductible parent donations to the Building and Library funds and from the former students’ association, which contributes annually to a Student Needs Fund. Several of the schools in China are able to raise funds through ‘school choice fees’. As a result of their excellent academic reputations, these schools are able to attract students who do not live in the local area, and charge these fees at a rate that has been approved by the government. Additionally, students who reside in the area but whose performance in the high school entrance exam does not meet the school-entrance criteria can pay a school choice fee to enrol. These fees can provide schools with significant financial support. At Chongqing Eighth Secondary School, for example, the funds raised by tuition fees and parent donations have been double the amount of funding allocated by government in recent years. Schools in Australia, England, the United States and Wales reported that their leadership teams devote time to preparing applications for additional special funding through government grants. The Federal Government grants received by James Campbell High School in Hawaii exceed the level of funding that is provided by the state. Successful bids for a number of Federal grants have enabled the school to improve its science provision, provide greater access to technology for staff and students, implement literacy programs, fund elementary summer enrich­ ment programs and institute specific reforms. Four of the five schools in Wales reported that their staff had received some funding for professional development from the General Teaching Council for Wales (GTCW). The Welsh Assembly Government has given significant financial support to the GTCW, which provides individual teachers with the opportunity to apply for funding for professional development activities, including teacher visits, research scholarships, sabbaticals and network development.15 Schools, including Cardiff High School, have utilised this funding to support the professional develop­ ment of teachers and thereby strengthen their intellectual capital.

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Cardiff High School reported that, without the GTCW funding, the school would not have been able to develop and achieve its performance goals as quickly as it has. One of the problems with the active pursuit of government and external grants, however, is the time involved in preparing funding applications. Many of the school principals in Australia and inter­ nationally reported that, due to the time involved in preparing grant applications, they must be strategic in applying for special grants that would substantially increase support for programs in their school. Some schools in the international project, such as Beauchamp College in England, have devolved the responsibilities for preparing grant appli­cations to a funding or finance manager. Beauchamp College has employed a part-time funding manager, who is responsible for pre­ paring substantial funding bids. The college reported that small grant applications often can be disproportionately time-consuming. These opportunities are therefore passed to individual departments, which may require smaller-scale funding. This also gives departmental leaders some practice in preparing grant applications. These processes have been highly successful for the school, which has raised an astonishing total of £997,500 from a variety of sources over a period of 18 months. Crownpoint High School in New Mexico, United States, has also established an innovative approach to seeking external funds. Even students are encouraged to apply for external grants, with teachers pro­ viding them with guidelines and assistance. The school has experienced some success; for example, it has received a three-year solar grant to support study of solar energy in science. Each year, Crownpoint receives between US$20,000 and US$40,000 in funding from external grants. In addition to seeking additional funding from parents, the local community and external grants, a number of schools have developed partnerships with local and international organisations. A number of these partnerships are described in Chapter 4, including the partnerships that the Young Women’s Leadership School in Manhattan has formed with Mercedes-Benz and the New York Academy of Medicine. Kaarila School in Tampere, Finland, has formed a strong relationship with the prayer house association. Decades ago, the prayer house asso­ ciation bought substantial stock in the Nokia Company and now is financially secure. As a result, this organisation donates stipends for the pupils at Kaarila School each year. Schools in England are exemplars of entrepreneurial leadership and report high levels of success in seeking external funds. As part of their designation as specialist schools, they receive additional government funding and have established partnerships with private-sector sponsors

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to support their chosen specialisation and to help meet school per­ formance targets. Birchwood Community High School in Cheshire, for example, is a specialist Business and Enterprise and Vocational school that has developed a strong relationship with a number of corporations that support the school. With its Business and Enterprise specialism, the school has been able to encourage support for various aspects of its work from a wide range of business sponsors. For example, HSBC sponsored the school’s specialist college status, the local McDonald’s sponsors the school’s merit system and Vodafone sponsors the school’s attendance awards. Staff from Vodafone also provide in-kind support by mentoring students. The Vodafone UK Foundation supported the recent development of the school’s public library, providing a £20,000 Vodafone Community ICT Point with 15 personal computers (PCs) that are freely accessible to the school and members of the local community. The library will also provide a package of life skills training for learners of any age. Birchwood Community High reported that these and other sponsorships have had a positive effect on student performance. Some schools, such as Pershore High School in England, have devised innovative and entrepreneurial methods of supplementing their government funding. Pershore used its sports provision in a successful bid to the Football Foundation and received £670,000 to finance an allweather sports surface. In addition, the leaders of Pershore High School assumed responsibility for the provision of school lunches by hiring a local chef to work on-site. The use of a local chef has assisted the school by increasing students’ awareness of nutrition, providing direct input into food-related lessons and using local produce to support the local community. While implementing this initiative cost the school a substantial amount of money, it has proved so successful that school catering has expanded to provide lunch at five primary schools and a middle school in the area. At this stage, the school has almost managed to repay the costs associated with employing catering staff and building an industrial kitchen. Following the repayment of these costs, Pershore will benefit financially from this initiative, in addition to the benefits for students. Chongqing Yucai Middle School in China has also established an innovative and entrepreneurial approach to acquiring funds. This school is managed on a ‘half public, half self-support’ basis. In 2004, Yucai Middle School opened the Yucai Jingkai campus, a private school managed in partnership with the Chongqing Economic and Development Zone, a for-profit association. The new campus is responsible for its own financial management and survival. The Yucai Jingkai campus is expanding with the assistance of the local government and the school’s

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partners from the Development Zone. It provides valuable assistance and financial capital for the development of Chongqing Yucai Middle School.

Flexibility in budgeting and allocating funds to support local needs Studies in each country reveal that the majority of schools have significant flexibility in their budgets. Many have the power to allocate funds across budget categories to address local needs. As reported in Chapter 2, analysis of results in PISA 2006 found a relationship between systems of schooling that give schools higher levels of freedom to allocate funds across budget categories and student achievement in science.16 In general, students from schools that have autonomy over processes, including the budget allocations within the school, perform significantly better than other, less autonomous schools.17 This association of school autonomy and student performance is conditional on accountability. There were wide variations in the level of financial autonomy in schools in the United States component of the international project. As indicated previously in this chapter, responsibility for schooling lies with the states and is administered in districts. As a result, there can be significant differences in the practices of schools across states and dis­ tricts. In the United States, responsibility for financial decisions normally lie with the school district. Some districts are highly centralised, pro­ viding schools with little autonomy on financial matters, whereas others pro­vide much more. As a charter school, César Chávez High School (CCHS) in Detroit, Michigan, has full control of its budget. The funding for this school is provided primarily by the state and the Title 1 program. Additional state funding is provided for students who have special needs, including students who are eligible for bilingual education and special education. The school is assisted by the Leona Group, an educational management provider, in monitoring budgetary expenses and complying with all accoun­ting requirements. The study of CCHS revealed that the high degree of control over the school budget has been crucial. The principal reported his belief that the effective management of funds to meet the needs of the students is more important than the level of funding that the school receives. This belief is reflected in the critical and evidenced-based approaches that the school has adopted in its financial management practices, such as using community and demographic data to ensure that the allocation of funds meets student needs and is aligned with the priorities of the local community.

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While the principals of the other schools in the United States part of the project may not have significant authority to move funds between budget categories, they are creative and strategic in their decisions about the allocation of funds. These schools raise additional funding that can be allocated to address needs. The principal at James Campbell High School in Hawaii, for example, reported that the school receives more funding from fundraising activities, external grants and government grants for school improvement than it receives from the state. This has provided the school with increased flexibility to allocate funds in areas of need. As part of its school improvement initiatives, the school has developed a system that ties allocations to student achievement and enrolment. Departments are rewarded with increased funds when staff are successful in implementing plans and realising student performance goals; the higher-achieving departments receive more money, which is not used to pay teachers but to support the department. Members of the department are able to decide the most effective uses for these additional funds. This policy was reported to be major incentive for teachers to compete amongst their ‘small learning communities’. The policy has also motivated teachers to involve the community to increase enrolments and student motivation. As in the United States, public schools in Australia vary in the level of flexibility of school autonomy in respect to funding. In Victoria, where all of the Australian schools that participated in the International Project to Frame the Transformation of Schools are located, public schools have high levels of autonomy. Over 90 per cent of the State’s recurrent budget for schools is available for local management. Schools reported that budgetary decisions are linked to strategic and annual implementation plans. Canterbury Girls Secondary College, for example, has the freedom to move funds within the global budget between budget categories. Furthermore, the school has devolved some responsibilities and freedoms for financial decisions to the departmental level. Individual departments are able to move funds within their budgets, so long as all decisions are in accordance with the school’s financial framework. One aspect of this framework is that expenditure cannot exceed income in departmental or school budgets, with monitoring by the finance committee and an external auditor. A second policy is that all funding requests and financial decisions must be linked to strategic and annual implementation plans. This policy has been established to ensure that funds are used effectively to address the school’s priorities and the educational needs of students. The priorities and educational needs of the students from each school have been highlighted in the examination of how they allocate their funding. Cardiff High School in Wales, for example, has invested a signi­ficant portion of its funds to strengthening the school’s intellectual

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capital. Government and GTCW funds have been used to support the professional development of teaching staff. The study of Cardiff High School revealed that the professional development category of the school budget is always over-spent. The governing body, which manages the school budget, however, views this as a vital investment in the develop­ ment of the school. The allocation of the ‘half public, half self-support’ fun­ding at Chongqing Yucai Middle School, on the other hand, has enabled the school to invest heavily in upgrading its facilities. This school currently offers one of the most comprehensive lear­ning environments in the Chongqing municipality. The school has equipped each classroom with water machines, air-conditioners, stereos and televisions, and has established a range of other facilities, including multifunctional labor­ atories, a library, a gymnasium and dormitories. Yucai Middle School is also advanced in terms of its technological infrastructure, and has provided every classroom with Internet access and each teacher with a laptop computer. The school’s investment in upgrading its facilities has improved its already impressive reputation and provided a high-quality environment that meets the needs of students. The Financial Management Standard in Schools (FMSiS) has been intro­duced in England18 to assist schools in the evaluation of their finan­cial management and in training staff to manage school finances effectively. Schools are required to undertake a detailed self-assessment of their financial management processes and produce a portfolio of evi­dence for external assessment. In January 2007, it was announced that all secondary schools in England would be required to meet the FMSiS by March 2007. All schools in England are required to meet this standard by March 2010. All schools in the International Project to Frame the Transformation of Schools satisfied FMSiS requirements ahead of schedule, and this was accepted as evidence of sound financial management. Pershore High School in Worcestershire met the FMSiS require­ments in December 2006, before the standard had been established as a legal requirement for schools. The school follows a three-year planning cycle, which enables the leadership team to plan for the future. It plans the budget for the next financial year at the beginning of the current one. The emphasis that the school places on students with special educa­ tional needs (SEN) in its mission statement is reflected in its allocation of funds. While the school has only 30 students with individual state­ ments of needs, the school supports provision for more than twice this number. The school allocates about £100,000 each year to its SEN program. These funds supported the development of a school centre that caters for autistic students and students with moderate learning difficulties.

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The largest budget category for each of the schools we studied is staff salaries. The principal of Kaarila School in Tampere, Finland, reported that 68 per cent of the school budget was allocated to staff costs. The second greatest share is used for buildings and room rentals (17.5 per cent). It is noteworthy that 5.7 per cent of the budget is allocated to food, as every student in Finland is provided with a hot lunch at school. Costs to the city of Tampere vary between schools and are approximately 6000 to 6400 per student per year. Principals are able to allocate municipal funds for teaching hours across the subject areas and provide additional funds to ‘emphasised’ classes, where particular subject areas are studied in greater depth. Principals in Finland reported that the responsibility for budget allocation in their schools has added to an already demanding workload.

The importance of support staff in managing financial capital A 2004 report by the Victorian Department of Education in Australia found that the heavy workload of school leaders can be a source of significant stress.19 While the majority of school leaders in Victoria reported that they feel they spend adequate time on the management of school finances, they feel that they do not have sufficient time to spend on school planning, leadership and community liaison activities. 20 Furthermore, principals and aspiring principals indicated that financial management was one area where they felt they did not have enough skill to manage the task in less time. 21 These findings suggest that school leaders who are solely responsible for the allocation of funds within their school may feel overwhelmed by the task. Our studies in Australia, England and Wales found that the appoint­ ment of financial and business managers has been critical to the support of school leaders as well as to ensuring effective financial management of their schools. These appointees are often given senior status in the management structure. Working as members of the leadership team can assist financial managers to align school budgets with educational priorities. For example, Treorchy Comprehensive School in Wales expan­ ded its senior management team by including a business and facilities manager and a site manager. The appointment of the business and facilities manager assisted the team with careful and strategic control of the budget, which was described as ‘exemplary’ in a recent school inspection report. By distributing leadership in this way, school leaders have been able to focus more of their efforts on issues related to teaching and learning than the management of finance and facilities. Each of the schools in England and Wales reported that, with the appointment

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of staff in the role of a financial manager, they are able to take for granted that their budgets and expenditure will be closely monitored and evaluated. Furthermore, the appointment of a business and facilities manager provides the school with access to specialised knowledge and skills, thus further strengthening its intellectual capital. Ringmer Community College in England has also increased the school’s intellectual capital by employing other kinds of specialist staff to support the leadership team. These include a retired staff member who has returned to work as a curriculum leader and a former local authority employee who organises work placements for students. A site manager has been employed to negotiate arrangements for new facilities on a dayto-day basis and take responsibility for health and safety. Ringmer has also employed a business and finance manager who has a Certificate in School Business Management and oversees the entire administration area for the college. The business and finance manager is also a member of the senior leadership team, a change that was not greeted with universal approval, but which has proved to be effective in aligning all areas of leadership and management.

Discussion Two matters are explored to conclude the chapter; one is concerned with implications for schools, the other with implications for school systems. For schools, a range of approaches in different countries is described in preceding pages and these can be adapted to different settings. Several are highly entrepreneurial while others deal with more-or-less routine processes to get the best connection between budgets and learning outcomes. As suggested in other chapters, schools may wish to complete an assessment of financial capital using the survey based on the 50 indica­ tors, as set out in Appendix 1. We used the financial capital section of the survey in a day-long seminar for the 12-member senior management team in a large private school in Melbourne, with participants rating importance, performance and priorities for development for each of the ten indicators. The school has a relatively large budget that calls for high levels of expertise in its management. Different perceptions of the processes of planning and budgeting emerged. Several ways in which the process could be enhanced were identified. For school systems, an interesting issue arises from the comparison of approaches to the allocation of resources to public schools. Consider, for example, Australia (Victoria) and Finland. The approach in Australia, as described earlier in the chapter, is one of the most complex to be found, with measures on many variables determining the amount of money schools receive in their global budget (student resource package).

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In contrast, the funding mechanism in Finland is relatively simple and straightforward, largely based on the total number of teaching hours to be delivered in each school. The complexity of the Victorian approach is acknowledgement of the additional resources that are required to address different levels of student need. These additional resources take the form of more staff or smaller classes. Given the strength of intel­ lectual capital in Finnish schools, as indicated by every teacher having a master’s degree and the high level of skill of large numbers of teachers who provide support the moment a student falls behind, there is the possibility that the intensely fine-grained approaches to determining allo­cations to schools as exemplified in Victoria may not be needed in the years ahead if comparable levels of intellectual capital can be achieved. This possibility does not concern the additional staff and smaller groups that are needed to serve students with disabilities. For schools and school systems, the amount of support for principals and other educational leaders in schools is an important issue to be resolved. Concerns have been raised in several studies about high levels of stress and undue emphasis on management matters when the focus should be on educational leadership. Even principals in Finland are concerned about this aspect of their workload. We described some promising approaches to the provision of management support in England, where more illustrations came to light, as reported in Chapter 7 in the context of governance.

Notes 1

Hanushek, E.A. (2004). ‘Some Simple Analytics of School Quality’. Invited paper at the ‘Making Schools Better’ Conference of the Melbourne Institute of Applied Economic and Social Research. University of Melbourne, 26–27 August, Working Paper 10229 of the National Bureau of Economic Research supported by the Packard Humanities Institute and The Teaching Commission.

2

Barber, M. and Mourshed, M. (2007). How the World’s Best-Performing School

3

Ibid, page 10.

4

Levacˇic´, R. and Downes, P. (2004). Formula Funding of Schools, Centralisation

Systems Come Out on Top. London; McKinsey & Company.

and Corruption: A Comparative Analysis. Paris: International Institute of Educational Planning (IIEP) (UNESCO), page 131. 5

Details of the approach to allocating funds in the Student Resource Package in Victoria may be found at <www.education.vic.gov.au/management/financial/ srp.htm> accessed 2 July 2008 and in Caldwell, B.J. and Spinks, J.M. (2008). Raising the Stakes: From Improvement to Transformation in the Reform of Schools. London: Routledge.

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  6 Details of the approach in Edmonton may be found at <www.epsb.ca/budget/ rates.shtml> accessed 2 July 2008.   7 Caldwell, B.J. and Spinks, J.M. (1988). The Self-Managing School. London: Falmer; Caldwell, B.J. and Spinks, J.M. (1992). Leading the Self-Managing School. London: Falmer; Caldwell, B.J. and Spinks, J.M. (1988). Beyond the Self-Managing School. London: Falmer; Caldwell, B.J. and Spinks, J.M. (2008), cited at 5, above.   8 Wilkinson, I.R., Caldwell, B.J., Selleck, R.J.W., Harris, J. and Dettman, P. (2006). A History of State Aid to Non-Government Schools in Australia. Canberra: Department of Education, Science and Training, <www.dest.gov. au/sectors/school_education/publications_resources/profiles/history_state_aid_ nongovt_schools.htm> accessed 2 July 2008.   9 See note 5 above. 10 Department for Children, Schools and Families (2008). ‘Eighty-nine new specialist schools announced’. Press Release, 31 January 2008, <www.dcsf.gov. uk/pns/DisplayPN.cgi?pn_id=2008_0023> accessed 29 May 2008. 11 For further information on NCLB Act, see the NCLB section of the United States Department of Education’s website <www.ed.gov/nclb/landing.jhtml?src=ln> accessed 30 May 2008. 12 Joftus, S. (Ed.) (2003). Left Out and Left Behind: No Child Left Behind and the American High School. Washington DC: Alliance for Excellent Education. 13 For discussion on this debate, see Reynolds, D. (2003). Educational Expenditure in Wales: Eradicating the Funding Fog. Exeter: School of Education and Lifelong Learning, University of Exeter; National Union of Teachers Cymru (2005). A New Clarity in Education Funding. Cardiff: NUT Cymru; and Secondary Heads Association Cymru (2005). The Funding of Secondary Schools in Wales. Leicester: Secondary Heads Association. 14 Egan, D. (2007). Combating Child Poverty in Wales: Are Appropriate Education Policies in Place? York: Joseph Rowntree Foundation. 15 Egan, D. and James, R. (2004). Final Report of the Evaluation of Phase 3 of the GTCW Professional Development Projects. Cardiff: General Teaching Council for Wales. 16 OECD (2007). PISA 2006: Science Competencies for Tomorrow’s World. Volume 1. Paris: OECD. 17 Wössmann, L., Lüdemann, E., Schütz, G. and West, M.R. (2007). ‘School Accountability, Autonomy, Choice, and the Equity of Student Achievement: International Evidence from PISA 2003’. Education Working Paper No. 13, Directorate of Education, OECD, September. Page 34. See also Fuchs, T. and Wössmann, L. (2007). ‘What Accounts for International Differences in Student Performance? A Re-examination using PISA Data’. Empirical Economics, 32(2–3), pages 433–64. 18 For further information on FMSiS, see the FMSiS page on the Department for Children, Schools and Families website <www.fmsis.info/> accessed 29 May 2008.

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19 Victorian Department of Education (2004). The Privilege and the Price: A Study of Principal Class Workload and its Impact on Health and Wellbeing. Victoria: State of Victoria, <www.eduweb.vic.gov.au/edulibrary/public/ohs/PCWFinal. pdf> accessed 5 June 2008. 20 Ibid. 21 Ibid.

7

Breakthrough in governance

Strategies for achieving success for all students in all settings have been assembled in a robust and dependable body of knowledge as a result of impressive developments in research, policy and practice over the past decade. How can these strategies be brought together and made effective? This is the primary purpose of governance. Some experts specialise in particular fields and highlight related strat­egies in their presentations, publications and consultancy support for policymakers and practitioners. Their expertise has brought bene­ fits in efforts to achieve the transformation of schools. A review of developments in recent years reveals that particular strategies have taken their turn in moving to centre stage and then retreating as others are spotlighted. One might be a curriculum for the 21st century that enables every student to find a pathway to success at the same time that the needs of society are addressed. Another might be pedagogy, taking up the extraordinary advances in scholarship about how the brain functions and young people learn. It might be a matter of money, because quality and equity cannot be addressed without appropriate allocation of funds to schools and within schools. It might be to attract, reward and sustain the best teachers and other professionals. It might be to replace the rundown and obsolete stock of school buildings that are no longer fit for learning and teaching if there is to be success for all. It might be to build the support of the community for public education. It is all of these strategies and more, and the key to success is to bring them together and make them effective. Leadership is required at all levels – for a system of schools as well as for particular schools. New concepts of leadership are emerging: system leadership, but not in its traditional form, and distributed leadership, but not constrained to a simple sharing of tasks to make lighter the work of the principal. Outstanding governance is also required, but there must be a breakthrough in how we understand the concept. It is time to draw together what we have learnt from schools 119

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that have been transformed. It is a task we were able to accomplish in the International Project to Frame the Transformation of Schools. In this chapter we demonstrate the need to go beyond structures, roles, responsibilities and accountabilities in governance. After presen­ ting the ‘breakthrough’ in a new definition of governance and listing ten indicators that reflect this development, we summarise findings from the international project. We conclude the chapter by describing how schools can assess their capacity for good governance

Beyond structures, roles, responsibilities and accountabilities A review of recent literature on the topic reveals an increasing number of reports and recommendations on governance. Most suffer from a significant shortcoming in their preoccupation with structures, roles, responsibilities and accountabilities. Questions addressed include ‘How should parents be involved in the decision-making processes of the school?’ or ‘Should a school have a governing body that includes representatives of different stakeholders, and what should be the role of the principal in such an arrangement?’ ‘Should the governing body set policy and approve the budget for the school?’ ‘Which of the various arrangements are likely to have a direct or indirect effect on improving the learning outcomes of students?’ ‘How should meetings of the governing body be organised?’ ‘How are legal obligations to be met when the governing body has the powers of a board of directors?’ Securing answers to such questions is necessary if governing arrangements are to work. While these may be necessary tasks they are far from sufficient.

The breakthrough The breakthrough is the adoption of a broader view of governance as the process through which the school builds its intellectual, social, financial and spiritual capital and aligns them to achieve its goals. We developed ten indicators of good governance in the International Project to Frame the Transformation of Schools. Four marked with an asterisk (*) were illustrated in each school in each of the six countries. Four marked with a hash symbol (#), were illustrated in the majority of schools. The others (2) were evident or were implied in accounts from at least one school.

  1. * Authorities, responsibilities and accountabilities of the governing body and professional staff are clearly specified.

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  2. Mechanisms are in place to ensure that obligations in respect to legal liability and risk management are addressed.

  3. * There is a clearly stated connection between the policies of the school and intended outcomes for students.

  4. # Policies have been prepared after consultation with key stake­ holders within the school and the wider community.

  5. # Policies have been formally approved by the governing body.   6. Policies are consistent in their application across the school so that students with the same needs are supported in the same manner.

  7. * Data are used in making decisions in the formulation of policies and making judgements about their effectiveness.   8. * Data are gathered across the range of intended outcomes.   9. # Information about policies and their implementation is readily avail­able to all stakeholders. 10. # There is a strong sense of commitment to policies and their imple­ men­tation on the part of all stakeholders.

Findings from the International Project to Frame the Transformation of Schools One of the best ways to learn about effective governance is to share rich descriptions of how particular schools have achieved successful transformation or sustained high performance. We were able to accom­ plish this in the International Project to Frame the Transformation of Schools. Consistent with the new definition of governance, the focus was on how successful secondary schools in the six countries strengthened and aligned the four types of capital. We have organised the findings according to country, given different national frameworks, and provide one relatively detailed illustration in each instance.

Australia The constitutional responsibility for education in Australia lies with the states and territories. Each of the six Australian states and two territories formulates policy and administers schools through departments of edu­ cation. The Australian case studies for the project were all undertaken within the State of Victoria, which is an exemplar of an education system with high levels of school-based management. The principals in each case study have high levels of autonomy within a centrally determined framework of accountability. The freedom to recruit and appoint highquality staff to meet the needs of the local community is reported to be a significant benefit of school self-management.

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School data are widely used to evaluate and monitor any changes that are made within the school and identify areas that need further atten­tion. Schools make use of formal and informal data, drawing infor­ mation from a wide range of sources that may include the results of standardised tests and informal surveys of the school community. The case study schools illustrated how school reports and annual imple­ mentation plans assist in setting the direction for the school and the goals and targets that need to be achieved. Principals have strong visions for their schools and a solid under­ standing of the educational processes required to achieve them. While the governance structures in these schools were tailored to suit the needs of the local community, all Victorian government schools are required to maintain a formal body, the school council, which approves plans and budgets but is not involved in day-to-day manage­ment. The school council generally comprises representatives of the school community, with parents forming a majority. Schools indicated that there is a clear understanding of the roles and res­pon­sibilities of their councils and there is a high level of support for approaches to improving student achievement. Koonung Secondary College provides an example of how shared understandings of roles and practices can support effective school governance. The governance structure at Koonung Secondary College, a govern­ ment school in the eastern suburbs of Melbourne, comprises a leadership team and the school council, which includes representatives of the school community. The transformation of this school is demonstrated by sustained above-average achievement of students in the VCE and the high ratings achieved by the school in student, parent and staff attitudinal surveys. The success of the school’s transformation, which has seen its enrolments double to over 870 students, and which enabled the school to thrive during periods of change in the school community, is described as being the result of the school leaders’ vision and the governing team’s direction for the growth of the school. Both the school council and the principal are viewed as important elements in the effective management of the school, and have a clear understanding of their individual roles and responsibilities in supporting the school’s transformation. The principal and other leaders are responsible for the day-to-day management of the school. The school’s ability to negotiate successfully changes in the community, such as the closure of a nearby school, has been enhanced by the principal’s trust and consultation with members of the school community. He consults widely with the community, supports a system of distributed leadership and has articulated a clear vision for the school’s development over the next five years. The school council, on the other hand, is largely responsible for school policy decisions, which

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are made in consultation with other members of the school community. The business of the council, as with leadership teams in the school, is efficiently conducted with a clear agenda and purpose. The stated core purpose of the school is to meet the needs of all students and to support staff in the delivery of high-quality teaching. A number of strategies have helped Koonung to recruit, support and maintain high-quality teaching and non-teaching staff. It has employed a human resources manager to assist with recruitment, management and professional development, working with the curriculum coordinator to ensure that programs meet the needs of the staff and are directed towards the goals of the school. The school has also established several committees that reflect its structure for distributing leadership. The finance committee successfully monitors and maintains a surplus in the school budget, while consulting with the school council on major budget­ary decisions. A number of parents show their support for the school through active involvement in the fundraising committee. The most outstanding aspect of governance at Koonung is the clarity of roles and responsibilities in the shared leadership of this school. There is strong social cohesion and collaboration with the school community, all working together to realise the vision for the next stage of the school’s transformation.

China The case studies from China included three secondary schools and two middle schools in the city of Chongqing. They illustrate a balance of centralised and distributed governance. The decision-making and imple­ mentation body in each school comprises the principal and deputy principals. The principal is ultimately responsible for the operation of the school. Deputy principals are generally given responsibility for particular areas of the school’s operation. A number of other stakeholders also play a role in the governance of the case study schools in China. Representatives from the teaching staff, student body and the Communist Party secretary, a role that may be filled by the principal in some schools, participate in decision-making processes and support the work of school leaders. Some schools, such as Chongqing 37th Secondary School, encourage parents and teachers to voice their opinions and become involved in the school governance processes. Chongqing 37th Secondary School is one of the largest key second­ ary schools in Chongqing, with approximately 5000 enrolled students. Teachers and parents in the school community are actively involved in the governance of the school and regularly meet with the school leaders and

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administrators to discuss the progress of the school. They are encouraged to share their views and provide feedback regarding the school’s goals and plans. The school has been supported through its association with Southwest Normal University. The direction and progress of the school is, therefore, considered to be the result of the collaborative effort of parents, staff, school leaders and other stakeholders. The school principal played a critical role in the leadership of the school and its efforts to enhance the creativity, coherence and strength of other school leaders. When he started as principal of Chongqing 37th Secondary School in 1998, he proposed the idea of governing the school with ‘humanity’. The goal of governance with ‘humanity’ is to provide teachers with respect and a feeling of autonomy so that they can reach their potential as educators. The school is dedicated to motivating teachers and supporting them to be more effective through autonomy and innovation. The principal has taken the lead in encouraging teachers to be creative and reflective in their teaching, and to conduct school-based research. As a result, a number of teachers in the school have initiated action research projects and published their findings in education journals. The school has also made significant efforts to support its teaching staff. An induction program is offered to all teachers in their first three years of teaching, which includes specialised professional development activities. The school has also established a three-stage program for new teachers to support them in gaining their qualifications in four years and to become an excellent teacher within six years of employment. An incentive system has also been established to encourage teachers’ participation in professional development. All teaching staff are paid for their attendance at professional development activities, and they receive additional financial rewards for achievements in research and teaching. Senior teaching staff are given the option to reduce their teaching load and take on greater responsibilities for teacher training within the school, while maintaining their regular salary. Members of the school community share the belief that teachers can be motivated to work more effectively if they are shown respect. As a demonstration of this respect, the school praises its teachers in public forums. Any advice or feedback on their teaching practices, on the other hand, is provided in a one-on-one setting. The school provides a number of activities and events to entertain and support teachers outside school hours. Activities have included a Tai Chi club, poets’ night and counselling service. These activities give teachers the opportunity to interact and encourage informal peer support between members of staff. Chongqing 37th Secondary School has used all of these strategies to

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attract and retain high-quality teaching staff and, as a result, to further improve the performance of the school.

England The English studies provided detailed illustrations of the structures and processes utilised in specialist schools. Each has a governing body, leader­ship team and head teacher with vision, commitment and energy to strengthen and align the four forms of capital. In general, these schools repor­ted a preference for distributed leadership structures. In every school, however, one has the sense that the head teachers, who demonstrate passion­ ate involvement and interest in all aspects of operations, have a powerful influence on approaches to governance and the success of their schools. These high-performing specialist schools have also appointed both teaching and non-teaching staff members who bring valuable expertise. School leadership teams often include bursars, finance managers and site managers. Several also employ teaching/ learning assistants who work alongside and support teachers. The national curriculum has become increasingly flexible in recent years. Each school has embraced this freedom with an innovative and enterprising spirit, which is evident in approaches to governance. The school leadership team at Ringmer Community College praised the school’s governors for being challenging and supportive of innovative practices that reflect the school’s focus on issues of sustainability. The governing body at Ringmer Community College, a specialist technology and vocational community college, is reported to be ‘chal­leng­ ing and active’. The head teacher reported that, some years ago, there were concerns that the governing body would accept her proposals without question. Changes in the governing body have encouraged active and challenging discussions regarding proposals for change. The governing body, which includes staff members, parent governors, com­munity gover­ nors and the head boy and head girl of the school, are involved in the approval and updating of all school policies. The school employs a nonteaching member of staff to manage and evaluate school data, which feature prominently in all of the college’s planning and evaluation. Since 2003, the current principal has restructured the leadership of the college. The introduction of a delegated leadership model has been embraced by a majority of staff and parents. Changes in the leadership model have been accompanied by a restructure of the pastoral care system. The previous system was based on year level and led by heads of year. This has been replaced by a house system, with small age-vertical mentor groups for pastoral care, led by teaching and associate staff.

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The new heads of house hold non-teaching appointments, which releases teaching staff from many pastoral care activities. While initially received with some trepidation, this reform has had a positive effect on behaviour and attitudes within the school. The leadership team at Ringmer consults widely within the school and wider community. All teaching and non-teaching staff are actively involved in decision-making and planning at all levels. This approach has been highly effective, as all staff members report feeling ownership of school decisions and accept responsibility for maintaining and improving the quality of the learning environment. Students are also actively involved in the development of college policies and are consulted in all initiatives, including the development of new school buildings. The implementation of students’ suggestions for improving the sustainability of the school, such as the harvesting of rainwater, has led to the students being three times awarded the Eco Schools green flag. The college holds regular meetings of stakeholders, including parents, community members and partner organisations to discuss the college’s vision, policies and practices. The college has been actively involved in supporting community projects. An outstanding example of the college’s involvement is its management of a local swimming pool, in association with the local council and Freedom Leisure, a non-profit organisation. The partnership between Ringmer and Freedom Leisure has provided the community with a fully staffed and maintained pool that can be used free-of-charge by local schools within school hours.

Finland The schools from Finland were all secondary schools located in the city of Tampere. As with all Finnish schools, these are required to follow the national curriculum, which is produced by the Finnish National Board of Education, a parastatal body. Municipal authorities are able to add detail and focus to the national curriculum. Individual schools, on the other hand, have limited ability to make changes to the curriculum in the area of non-compulsory subjects and are required to adhere to strict guidelines for compulsory subjects. Guidelines offer detailed descriptions of the content to be covered in all subjects at all year levels, and provide teachers with standardised marking criteria for all subjects. Teachers have considerable freedom in selecting their pedagogical styles and the order in which topics are to be taught. Teachers hold a highly trusted role in Finnish society. They are valued as professionals and are expected to have expertise in pedagogy and their subject areas. As such, there is a belief that it is not necessary to evaluate teachers’ work.

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Schools in Finland are not externally evaluated in the same way as schools in other countries. The primary goal of the education system is to provide equitable access to high-quality education for all Finns. There is little desire, therefore, to rank schools. The Finnish National Board of Education carries out national school evaluations, which provide an overview of how the nation’s schools are performing but do not identify individual schools. Schools are active in undertaking self-evaluations and comparing their results with the results of the national evaluations, in order to identify areas in which they can improve. Schools in Finland have significant autonomy in day-to-day oper­ ations. In the past, the Finnish National Board of Education was actively involved in all school management decisions. The municipal education authorities, however, are now responsible for the administration of schools and have devolved a number of decision-making responsibilities to the school level. Principals reported that this devolution of respon­ sibilities has greatly increased their workload and changed their role. They stated that they now spend a significant amount of time focused on administration and the provision of data to the municipal authorities, and less time with teachers and students. Ristinarkku School is a secondary school that enrols about 360 students in Tampere. The principal reported that in the past decade he has more power and independence in the management of the school. In the early 1990s, the Finnish National Board of Education was highly directive and actively involved in all school decisions. The system was changed with the implementation of the 1994 national curriculum. The responsibility for decision-making was devolved to ‘where the skills are’, namely, the schools. The devolution of responsibilities has substantially increased the workload for school leaders in a number of areas. The principal believes that experience enables school leaders to become more efficient and better able to prioritise tasks. Nevertheless, he states that he is sometimes frustrated that he is unable to spend more time with teachers and students, as he is now responsible for new areas, including personnel salary accounting and the selection of school staff. Previously, the local board of education in Tampere was responsible for the interviewing and selection of school staff. While the municipal board is still responsible for the employment of staff, the principal now has the ability to interview candidates for vacant positions. The school is able to select the candidates who best meet the needs of the school and recommend their appointment to the local board. As a reflection of their focus on the holistic care of all students, Ristinarkku School employs a curator (counsellor) and specialist teacher, in addition to other teaching staff, to assist students with particular difficulties.

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Despite increases in responsibility in the management of schools, changes to the national curriculum mean that schools have limited ability to choose what will be taught. Schools are, however, able to make some decisions about the non-compulsory courses that they teach. The principal at Ristinarkku School is not concerned about the limitations within the curriculum framework, as he does not believe that a more flexible curriculum would be more effective for student learning. School development and improvement in Finland is based on school self-evaluation. The local board of education in Tampere collects some information from schools. This information, however, is primarily used for social science-related studies. Municipal authorities are also interested in the culture of schools. The National Board of Education carries out a survey-based national evaluation of schools. Although this survey does not evaluate or identify individual schools, schools are able to order the same tests and independently evaluate their own practices. These selfevaluations can then be directly compared to the national results.

United States As in Australia, the responsibility for school education in the United States lies with the states. There are, therefore, significant differences in the systems of schooling in each state. The five secondary schools involved with this project are located in different regions including Hawaii, New York and Michigan. Although they are all public schools, the governance structures described in these case studies differ significantly. Some have high levels of autonomy, whereas others must function within a defined decision-making framework that is set by the district authorities. Despite the differences, the governance structures in each of these schools share a common feature, namely, the central role in leadership played by the school principal. Principals have embraced the role as the leader of the school’s trans­ formation processes. Each has worked with staff, students, parents and community to establish a vision for their school. They have communi­ cated this vision and encouraged members of the local community to support the school in its efforts to achieve it. While principals are central to the school transformation processes, they are not autocratic in their leadership. They rely on others in the school leadership teams and all staff to collaboratively work towards the goals for the school. Distributed forms of leadership are promoted, with vice-principals and other staff members sharing responsibilities for some tasks. It was also reported that principals actively seek feedback and assistance from members of the school and the wider community. Some schools, such as James Campbell High School, encourage parents

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and representatives from the local community to be actively involved in the decision-making processes. James Campbell High School serves a culturally diverse community in Ewa Beach, located on the western shore of Pearl Harbor in Hawaii. It has about 2200 students. The principal encourages members of the school and wider community to be actively involved in decision-making pro­ cesses. Parents and community members are invited to participate in the school community council, which supports reform models and approves program designs for the school. The school has also established a demo­ cratic governance model that requires 80 per cent of the faculty to vote to approve any changes at the school. The principal indicated that the school has ‘set up our governance structure for decision-making through our leadership team. Creativity and imagination evolve from the diversity and strength of the group process, analysis of data, trust and collaboration’. While this school has a highly inclusive and collaborative model of governance, the principal is ultimately responsible for decisions within the school. Significant changes have been made to the structure of the school, which have aided its transformation from a low-performing school to being selected as a ‘Breakthrough High School’ in 2004. The school governance team altered the school timetable to enable staff to participate in daily professional development. The new schedule has been designed so that every teacher is free to undertake professional develop­ment activities for one of the four 80-minute classes each day. The school hired consultants to train teachers to manage these extended lessons, collaborate in lesson planning, carry out classroom observations and form small learning communities. The establishment of small learning communities has also been used in changes to the internal structure of the school. When the current prin­cipal was appointed, the school had a very traditional structure. Under this model, students were separated into three groups, which were supervised by one of the three vice-principals and two school coun­ sellors. The school now maintains small learning communities inside each academic department. The departments currently have small learn­ ing communities, referred to as ‘academies’, for Grades 9 and 10, and five learning communities for students in Grades 11 and 12. There are department heads for Grades 9 and 10 academies, and each of the small learning communities in the upper levels has a chairperson. All departments within the school collaborate in selecting three goals to be the focus for the school. Individual departments, however, can decide the methods that they will employ in meeting their goals. If they are able to maintain levels of student enrolment and meet their achievement goals, departments are awarded additional funding, which can be allocated at their discretion.

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Wales One feature of the governance arrangements in each school in Wales was the purposeful and inclusive leadership of the head teacher. Heads were all closely involved in school improvement and pedagogical developments. It was reported that head teachers endeavour to maintain their professional knowledge and understanding of research developments that can assist the school. Schools have used their financial capital to create positions within the school for additional support staff. The majority increased their appointment of non-teaching staff. Bursars and/ or site managers have been appointed at some schools to enable the leadership team to focus more strongly on learning and teaching as part of a key strategy for transformation. Increased numbers of learning support staff have been employed in a number of schools to assist teachers in the classroom and relieve them of many of their pastoral care duties. These schools are exemplars of how to effectively support staff and develop strong middleleadership skills. While each school has adopted a form of distributed leadership, the extent of the distribution of responsibilities varies between schools. The style of governance in each school reflects the school’s culture and context. In two of the five schools, there appears to be strong leadership from the top in particular areas of school improvement. The head at Barry Comprehensive School, for example, believes that it is sometimes necessary to specify the professional practice that he wishes to be used in the school. Barry Comprehensive School is a large secondary school that caters for 1465 boys to the age of 16 years, and provides joint provision for students from 16 to 19 years of age with the neighbouring girls’ comprehensive school. The head teacher of this school was described as ‘an inspired and inspiring leader’ in a recent inspection report. He prides himself on knowing the names of almost all members of the school community and being actively involved in all aspects of the school, including working in the school tuckshop (canteen) and making frequent classroom visits. The head teacher has been strongly focused on the transformation of the school culture. Under his leadership, the school has worked towards eradicating a culture of aggression and moved towards a culture in which strong values are recognised and reflected in the work of staff and students. Several steps have been taken to achieve this goal, such as the re-introduction of a school uniform, which has assisted in creating a stronger sense of school identity. The provision of subjects like drama, the performing arts and catering have been highly successful in

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supporting this change. The school also maintains an open-door policy for parents. The cultural change has been further supported by the use of learnercentred approaches to teaching and learning. The LEA provides one of the lowest levels of funding in Wales. The school has successfully sought external funding and carefully manages its financial capital to maintain small class sizes and personalised attention for all students. The school has also introduced the role of learning mentors, non-teaching staff who have been appointed to work with the heads of year and heads of faculty to manage pastoral care and to support students with specific learning needs. All professional development activities have been linked to perfor­ mance management and are monitored closely by the school leadership team. Additionally, the head teacher reported that he strongly believes in specifying the professional practice that he wishes to see adopted within his school. The leadership style at Barry Comprehensive, however, is highly democratic and is built upon a distributed leadership structure. The head teacher works with a leadership team, involving a deputy head teacher, four assistant head teachers, heads of years and heads of all school faculties. The leadership team is empowered and supported by the head teacher to continue the school’s transformation, which has seen the school win the award for the most improved school in Wales in successive years, from 2003 to 2005.

Common features of governance All schools in the project have established strong governance structures, which are used to align the four forms of capital. It is interesting to note that each school has developed its own structure, which range from traditional, top-down approaches to more distributed, democratic and inclusive forms of leadership. Analysis revealed two broad features shared by all of the schools.

Schools have developed leadership structures that address the needs of the school community and are led by a principal with vision and commitment The schools from each country have developed strong governance struc­ tures to suit the needs of their school communities. These were identified as a significant factor in the success of all schools involved in the project. The syntheses from each country have indicated that these schools have some form of distributed leadership. School principals are supported by assistant heads and heads of departments or other units. Many have

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established new positions on the school leadership team to assist with the effective management and transformation of the school. Cardiff High School in Wales, for example, has created the positions of ‘Head of Thinking for Learning’ and ‘Head of School Research and International Links’ to strengthen the intellectual capital of the school. Leadership is a shared responsibility at Crownpoint High School in the United States, with the principal reporting that ‘every adult wears multiple hats’. While each of these schools has a strong leadership team, the case studies indicate that the schools are also led by strong, visionary leaders. The principals are described as leaders of teaching and learning and are closely involved in school improvement. The principal of Canterbury Girls’ Secondary College in Australia, for example, has implemented a number of changes to the school curriculum that have assisted the school in reaching its strategic goals for school improvement. This principal is active in the planning, implementation and monitoring of changes in the school.

The schools have high levels of freedom in day-to-day management School leaders have a high degree of freedom in day-to-day management. In addition to managing the school budget and selecting staff, schools have been able to implement innovative and entrepreneurial plans. They have established strong relationships with other organisations and have developed original governance structures that involve members of the school and wider community. Furthermore, some schools in Australia, China, England, United States and Wales have used the flexibility in the curriculum to develop personalised learning programs to suit their students’ needs. It has been noted that schools in Finland do not have a high degree of freedom in changing the curriculum. The case study of Hatanpää School, however, indicates that teachers have the freedom to choose the methods that they use in their classrooms. Teachers are, therefore, able to tailor their teaching methods to suit the needs of individual students. While Finnish schools are required to follow the national curriculum, the Finnish National Board of Education no longer gives schools direction on day-to-day management. These schools have high levels of freedom to make decisions on day-to-day operations to suit the needs of the local community. These common characteristics reflect four of the ten indicators for gover­nance set out at the start of the chapter. All schools have imple­ mented models of governance that most effectively address the needs of the school and local community. Each model of governance described

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in these case studies, however, reveals that all school staff and members of the governing body are aware of their roles and responsibilities. In some cases, such as Koonung Secondary College in Australia and Barry Comprehensive School in Wales, new roles in the leadership team and middle management have been established, with clearly stated goals, responsibilities and accountabilities (Indicator 1). Some schools, like James Campbell High School in the United States, have radically restructured policies and practices within the school to improve student learning and staff professional development. Policy changes at Chongqing 37th Secondary School have been made to support and encourage staff to research and implement innovative teaching and learning practices. One common feature of all policy changes in these schools is that each has been implemented to improve school performance and support the needs of its students (Indicator 3). All schools are active in gathering data to monitor, evaluate and improve their practice (Indicator 8). Furthermore, each of these schools utilises its own data and evidence from research in the development of school policies and practices (Indicator 7). Improvement and evaluation at Ristinarkku School, like many schools in Finland, are based primarily on self-evaluation. While they are able to order evaluation surveys from the National Board of Education, the staff at Ristinarkku must collect, collate and examine data to monitor the school’s performance and identify areas for improvement. Ringmer Community College in England has appointed a non-teaching member of staff to collect and manage all school data, which are used to assist in decision-making processes.

More international studies of governance We combined the findings on governance in the International Project to Frame the Transformation of Schools with those from studies in five other schools in Australia, Chile and England. We reported the outcomes of this combination in a separate publication.1 Two of the five schools were from England, where different frameworks for governance have been encouraged in recent years. Park High School in London is a stand-alone school whose governance has been praised by inspectors. Haberdashers’ Aske’s Federation is an example of new arrangements, in this instance, a federation of two schools, one of which is also a new kind of school, namely, an academy. Maria Luisa Bombal School in Santiago, Chile, is a rare example where the governing body is comprised of teachers. It has received national awards for the quality of its management and the achievement of its students. St Monica’s College in Melbourne, Australia is a systemic Catholic school, subsidised from public funds, which has been nominated at the central level for the quality of its governance.

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Governance in a federation The schools in the International Project to Frame the Transformation of Schools were all ‘stand-alone’ schools, each with its own special gover­ nance arrangements. It is worthwhile briefly to describe how governance works in a federation of schools – that is, when two or more schools develop a formal partnership intended to deliver benefits to each school in the federation. The Haberdashers’ Aske’s Federation in South London comprises two schools. One is Haberdashers’ Aske’s Hatcham College, which has a long association with the Haberdashers’ Livery Company that has supported education for more than 300 years; the other is the Knights Academy, formerly the Malory School. They offer specialisations in music and sport, respectively, operating as separate 11–18 (age of students) schools with separate delegated budgets from the federation but with a shared sixth form. The federation was formed in 2005. Dr Elizabeth Sidwell is the Chief Executive Officer; that is, the senior educational leader serving both schools. The federation has a single governing body whose role and that of the Chief Executive Officer are clearly defined in a formal statement. The chairman’s role is that of a non-executive chairman of a company, but of necessity he is required to have a close working relationship with the Chief Executive, who will in particular circumstances need to refer to him for ad hoc decisions or endorsements in respect of matters of urgency that arise. Dr Sidwell described how different forms of capital are aligned at the Haberdashers’ Aske’s Federation. As far as intellectual capital is concerned, she described how the federation can offer: both economies of scale and the advantages of scale – I can retain senior managers within the federation who would normally have to range from school to school for the right promotions. I don’t lose them but rather see them develop. My Chief Financial Officer is of a quality that the budget of a single school could not afford.2

She highlighted the manner in which the federation can retain its most experienced and skilled staff, and referred to the manner in which the federation ‘inspires staff to greater heights and levels of involvement’. The financial capital of the two schools is made more effective in a feder­ ation, with economies of scale in areas like ICT and reprographics, and ‘pump priming’ when the income from the sixth form enrolments in one school can be used to stimulate enrolments in the other. While there is one over­all income stream, there are two budgets: one for each school, but transfer of funds across budgets is used to good effect. Spiritual capital

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is manifested in the values that have been embraced, with a focus on the Haber­dashers’ motto of ‘Serve and Obey’ and the embedding of ‘respect and responsibility’ in the Haberdasher brand. The federation has close links with the community and is an active participant in several net­works (social capital). It is a two-way arrangement, with the federation gaining from and contributing to other schools. It coordinates primary and secon­ dary sporting activities in the Lewisham borough and is the lead school in an initial teacher education consortium of 10 secondary schools.

Federations in Australia While the possibility of federations has often been discussed in Australia, there are no examples like the Haberdashers’ Aske’s Federation or others in England (bearing in mind that multi-campus schools in either the public or private sector are not federations of two or more schools, even though some may have been formed from an amalgamation of schools). A noteworthy example of a federation under development in Australia is the Learning Federation in southern Tasmania. The trigger for its establishment was a tragic fire that destroyed Bridgewater High School, located near Hobart. The Tasmanian Government was faced with a decision about whether to re-build the school, or plan a new arrangement that would take account of needs in nearby primary schools and possibilities for early learning centres and education and training beyond Year 12. After a series of consultations with the local community and those with knowledge of developments elsewhere, 3 the Bridgewater and Southern Midlands Education Renewal Taskforce (BASMERT) was established and built a case for shared governance by describing best practice in the following terms: Best practice links all education provision together to form a joined up education and training pathway for all people in the region. Primary and secondary schools work closely with teachers sharing the same resources, the same purpose and ethos and the same professional learning. In many cases, schools share administrative and human resourcing services. Transition points from one education stage to the next are facilitated by the close relationships between all education providers. These linkages are very often the result of shared governance and decision-making arrangements. Best schools often work in federations with other schools, not only pooling resources, but also making decisions together in order to cater collectively for the needs of all students in the area, from birth to adulthood. Shared governance also assists schools to interact more effectively and consistently with their community networks.4

136   Why not the best schools?

In addition to describing an arrangement for shared governance, this is a fine statement of alignment of intellectual, social, financial and spiritual capital, drawing on an understanding of best practice. BASMERT’s recommendations included a proposal for a ‘learning federation’ of four birth to age 4 child and family centres, four kinder­ garten to Grade 4 early years sites, two Grades 5–8 middle schools and one Grade 9–12 and beyond learning centre (to be located on the site of the former Bridgewater High School). These recommendations drew support from across the community and among all political parties, and were broadly accepted by the Tasmanian Government. The detailed design of governance arrangements was underway as this book went to press. These arrangements should also be understood in the context of a comprehensive reform of the senior secondary years and beyond in Tasmania, described in more detail in Chapter 9, which involve a highly innovative restructure and the creation of new governance arrangements.

Assessing capacity for good governance Schools can assess their capacity for good governance using the instru­ ment contained in Appendix 1, which lists each of the 50 indicators adopted in the International Project to Frame the Transformation of Schools. This approach reflects the breakthrough in our understanding of governance. While we have been concerned about the pre-occupation with structures, roles, responsibilities and accountabilities in matters of gover­nance, we have been clear in acknowledging that clarity in their specification is critically important. Readers may use the instrument in Appendix 1 to achieve this clarity by choosing which of seven modes should be adopted: 1. Governing body decides without reference to externally determined

frameworks or consultation with others 2. Governing body decides within a framework set by a systemic 3. 4. 5. 6. 7.

authority Governing body decides after consultation with principal or others Principal decides within a framework set by a systemic authority and reports to the governing body Principal decides within a framework set by a systemic authority without reference to governing body Principal decides without reference to a framework set by a systemic authority Unit of the school decides within a school-wide framework

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The instrument lends itself to use in seminars and workshops independent of the school setting or as a process to be undertaken by a governing body as it seeks to enhance its capacity for good governance.

Discussion We conclude the chapter by returning to a distinction we made at the outset, and highlight the significance of the breakthrough that we made in the International Project to Frame the Transformation of Schools. We understand that most people consider governance as referring to the structures, roles, responsibilities and accountabilities that frame the processes of decision-making at different levels. We noted the consider­ able effort that is invested in getting these things right. No matter what the context is, there is an ongoing search for the best ways to make decisions. As we stressed on the first page of the chapter, these matters are necessary to an understanding of good governance, but they are not sufficient if there is to be outstanding governance. Moreover, there is no best way to go about the task, even in similar contexts. Governance comes to life when the broader view is adopted so that governance is defined as the process through which the school builds its intellectual, social, financial and spiritual capital and aligns them to achieve its goals. We believe that participation in governance will be richer and more satisfying if the sense of purpose embodied in this second view is adopted. The two views are not mutually exclusive; they go hand in hand as the examples from different countries have illustrated.

Notes 1

Caldwell, B.J. and Harris, J. (2008). Breakthrough in Governance. London: Specialist Schools and Academies Trust (written in association with the research team in the International Project to Frame the Transformation of Schools comprising Evelyn Douglas, David Egan, Mike Goodfellow, Tony Saarivirta, Jim Spinks and Yong Zhao).

2

Ibid.

3

Brian Caldwell was consulted by the BASMERT and provided illustrations of developments in England.

4

BASMERT (2008). Taskforce Report. Hobart: Department of Education and Skills, pages 4–5.

8

Breakthrough in transformation

On the basis of evidence in the International Project to Frame the Transformation of Schools and other research in related studies, we believe that all schools can be ‘best schools’ in the sense that all schools regardless of circumstance can be as good as those exceptional few currently considered to be the best. Expressed another way, we now know how to achieve the transformation of schools, defined in this book and associated publications as significant, systematic and sustained change that secures success for all students in all settings. We acknowledge that what is regarded as ‘best’ will change in the years ahead as the internal and external environments of schools continue to change. The breakthrough in transformation is to understand that strategies for success have been around for some time; it is the way they come together that ensures that transformation is achieved. The concepts of coherence and synergy are central to this understanding. We demonstrated a breakthrough in governance in Chapter 7, not by seeking or finding the ‘one best way’ as far as structures, roles, responsibilities and accountabilities are concerned, but by reconfiguring the problem and then identifying and describing the ways in which schools were able to strengthen and align all of the resources available to them in order to achieve their goals. We extend this line of argument in Chapter 8, which commences with the identification of practices common to all schools in each of the six countries in the International Project to Frame the Transformation of Schools. We then address three issues. The first concerns the contribution of our findings to knowledge about school improvement and school effectiveness. The second is to consider the same as far as knowledge about leadership is concerned. The third deals with the concepts of public and private, given the continuing robust debate on the differences between the two and the relative merits of public and private schools. 138

Breakthrough in transformation    139

Common practices in successful schools Chapters 3 to 7 illustrated the findings of the International Project to Frame the Transformation of Schools, which were drawn from 32 studies of 30 secondary schools in six countries, as well as one primary school and one network of schools from two regions of government schools in Victoria, Australia. All have been recognised as having been transformed, or being well on the path to achieving transformation, or having sustained success over several years. We studied government (state, public) and non-government (private, independent) schools; faith-based and secular schools; schools that serve predominantly culturally homogeneous com­ munities and schools with students from a diverse range of cultural backgrounds; schools with high levels of autonomy and schools in systems with more centralised decision-making practices. The relatively detailed accounts in separate publications provide rich descriptions of schools in a wide range of cultural, political and systemic contexts. In addition to contextual differences, each school faced its own local challenges. Many serve disadvantaged students, including students from low socio-economic backgrounds, students from minority cultures or students with special educational needs. Some are in communities that value education and provide them with high levels of support, whereas others are struggling to involve members of the wider community. In brief, all schools in this project operated in their own unique local and systemic contexts. Despite these contextual and other differences, we were able to identify a number of similarities in the practices that schools used to achieve success for all students. Chapters 3 to 7 described numerous prac­ tices that were used by many of these schools to strengthen and align the four forms of capital through good governance. The indicators for each form of capital and for governance illustrate the range of approaches. One of our major findings was the identification of nine practices used by all of the schools in the study. Each school, whether it is a Jewish independent school in Melbourne, a Catholic school in Wales, a specialist school in rural England, a secondary school in downtown Chongqing, a charter school in Detroit or a public school in Tampere, has implemented these strategies in its journey to transformation. These common practices in schools in six countries and ten differ­ ent school systems are striking. They challenge the view that we cannot learn from good practice when it is found in other countries, other school systems, or other social contexts. An opinion piece in an Australian newspaper referred to in Chapter 1, for example, suggested that practices used in Finland to secure that nation’s success in PISA were not transferable to Australia because the social, cultural and linguistic differences are too great.1 The findings from the International Project

140   Why not the best schools?

to Frame the Transformation of Schools, however, have demonstrated that there are already a number of common practices used by schools in Finland and Australia in order to achieve success for their students. The ten practices summarised in Table 5 were found in all schools in each of the six countries. These ten practices transcend national, systemic and local con­ textual differences as they were evident in all schools. The illustrations in Chapters 3 to 7 provide rich descriptions of how they have been adapted or implemented in schools from the six countries. Each school has developed its own approach.

Intellectual capital The building of intellectual capital is a prime focus for many of the schools. It takes place at all levels and is evident in the two practices summarised in Table 5. The level of freedom to select staff varied between schools according to the level of autonomy they had been granted. However, each has been able to utilise its autonomy, either tightly or loosely constrained, to select high-quality staff in order to reflect the needs of the school and its community. In addition to selecting staff, all schools in each of the six countries highlighted their focus on CPD. The high value placed on professional learning and the improvement of instruction in each school supports the findings of other research indicating that the ‘quality of a school will never exceed the quality of its staff’ (adapting the finding of the McKinsey & Company report cited in Chapters 2 and 3). Chapter 3 contains illustrations of three approaches used by schools to ensure that all staff are, and remain, at the forefront of knowledge and skill in order to address the learning needs of their students.

Social capital All schools have developed strong links with the wider community, includ­ ing other schools and external agencies, organisations and institutions. In particular, informants from each school referred to the importance of their involvement in networks with feeder primary schools and, in the case of Serpell Primary in Victoria, the local secondary school. In addition to sharing knowledge and skill among staff, these relationships assisted students and parents in the transition from primary to secondary schools. The relationships that these schools have developed may also include links with other schools or education providers, members of the local community, businesses and other organisations. Chapter 4 contains des­ criptions of three different approaches to drawing on or building social capital that are used in different ways to support students, the school and the wider community.

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Table 5 Common practices from successful schools in six countries Domain

Common practices

Intellectual capital

• The schools select staff to reflect local needs. • The schools share a strong focus on CPD for staff, particularly in-house sharing of knowledge and skill.

Social capital

• The schools have strong relationships with other schools, particularly feeder primary schools, to share knowledge and skills. • The schools have developed relationships with organisations other than schools.

Spiritual capital

• The schools have clearly defined values. • Student well-being is held as a priority.

Financial capital

• The schools receive government funding. • The schools seek funding from other sources.

Governance

• The schools have developed leadership structures appropriate to their contexts and are led by valued and visionary leaders. • Schools have high levels of freedom for day-today management.

Spiritual capital While the notion of spiritual capital is relatively new in educational research, each school in the study has a strong moral purpose and clearly defined values. While the values for some of these schools are based in religious beliefs or philosophical approaches, all have worked with their local community to forge strong relationships and align their values about life and learning. The study revealed a clear focus on student well-being, with schools putting in place a range of strategies to support the needs of their students. They have endeavoured to help students develop as wellrounded individuals and prepare them for their future. Chapter 5 provides illustrations of six methods used by schools to strengthen their spiritual capital. They confirm the importance of this resource for all schools, regardless of whether they are public or private.

Financial capital We identified two approaches to strengthen and effectively manage finan­ cial capital in schools in each country. Each school received government funding regardless of whether it was publicly or privately owned. However, each also adopted innovative and entrepreneurial approaches

142   Why not the best schools?

to seeking additional funds. Some drew on their strong social capital to obtain support from a range of public and private sources.

Governance All schools have established strong governance structures, which are used to align the four forms of capital. It is interesting to note that each school has developed its own structure, which ranges from traditional, top-down approaches to more unconventional and inclusive forms of leadership. However, our analysis identified two common features. All have developed effective leadership structures that address the needs of their community, and are led by a principal with vision and commitment. Furthermore, all have high levels of freedom in day-to-day management. Chapter 7 provided detailed accounts of how these practices are used in each country setting.

Breakthrough in improvement and effectiveness We are often asked about the relationship between the model for aligning the four forms of capital and models for school improvement and school effectiveness. Are these models complementary or in competition? The question is pertinent when schools and school systems have adopted a particular model that all schools are encouraged or required to adopt. We believe that the model for aligning the four forms of capital through good governance to achieve the goals of the school identifies the resources that will energise the design and implementation of models for school effectiveness and school improvement. In some instances, especially when reference is made to the 50 indicators, the model may identify new elements or suggest aspects that warrant a higher priority. The approach to improvement and effectiveness in government schools in Victoria provides an illustration of this complementarity. Harvard University’s Richard Elmore has been a valued consultant in Victoria in recent years, and offers high praise for the approach to school improvement:2 ‘The good news is that Victoria, because of the thoughtful design of its improvement strategy, is on the leading edge of policy and practice in the world’. He identified three distinctive features of the design. First, ‘its central focus is the creation of human capital. The central message is simple: Schools improve by investing thoughtfully and coherently in the knowledge and skill of educators’. This feature is in harmony with the importance we attach to intellectual capital, the findings in the international project and in other studies, such as that of McKinsey & Company.3 Second, ‘accountability measures are seen

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as instrumental to the development of human capital’. Elmore contrasts this with the approach in the United States, in which ‘accountability for performance is considered to be the leading instrument of policy, and human investment is considered to be a collateral responsibility of states and localities’, resulting in ‘a disastrous gap between capacity and performance’. What is impressive about Victoria, Elmore states, is ‘its emphasis on using school performance data and data on teacher, student and parent attitudes towards their schools, as the basis for human investment decisions, rather than primarily as the basis for admin­ istering rewards and sanctions’. Elmore’s observations are borne out in our studies of schools in Victoria in the International Project to Frame the Transformation of Schools. The use of data is an indicator of good governance (‘data are used in making decisions in the formulation of policies and making judgements about their effectiveness’ and ‘data are gathered across the range of intended outcomes’). Elmore’s third distinctive feature about Victoria’s approach to school improvement is the way it defines ‘leaders as essential carriers of the new culture of school improvement’. We take this up in the next section. Victoria has adopted a particular model of school effectiveness based on the work of Sammons, Hillman and Mortimore, as published in 1995.4 There are eight elements in the model: professional leadership, focus on teaching and learning, purposeful teaching, shared vision and goals, high expectations of all learners, accountability, learning com­ munities and stimulating and secure learning environments. We see the four forms of capital as sources of energy in the design and imple­ mentation of the model. It requires high levels of knowledge and skill to ensure success; that is, intellectual capital. The notion of shared vision and goals, together with high expectations of all learners, captures important aspects of spiritual capital. Financial capital is an important driver. However, rigorous reflection suggests that the model does not pay sufficient attention to social capital: it may be too inward looking. For example, one of the factors included in the paper on which it was based is ‘parental involvement in their children’s schooling’. As the ten indicators of social capital suggest and the examples in Chapter 4 illustrate, we have travelled a long way since 1995 in appreciation of a more outwardlooking view of school effectiveness and the engagement of the wider community. We selected Victoria to illustrate the coherence of its approach to school effectiveness and school improvement. It allows us to show the complementarity of a model for alignment of four forms of capital and suggest ways in which models adopted in other schools and school systems can be energised or enhanced.

144   Why not the best schools?

Breakthrough in leadership The findings in the International Project to Frame the Transformation of Schools suggest a breakthrough in leadership in similar fashion to what we described in Chapter 7 with regard to governance. This is not to suggest that there is a lack of knowledge on leadership. Indeed, the evidence base is richer and more robust than ever before. To some extent, the breakthrough has already been made but, as with governance, improvement and effective­ness, we need a framework to achieve coherence in the field. We can compare the situation with the breakthrough on the impor­ tance of teaching. It took a remarkable analysis by Hattie5 of more than 500,000 studies on factors that underpinned learning to conclude that the quality of teaching made the most important contribution, a con­ clusion reaffirmed by the 2007 report of McKinsey & Company.6 For most observers, the conclusion was stating the obvious. We are coming to the same point in our studies of leadership. Robinson,7 who like Hattie is based at the University of Auckland, New Zealand, worked with colleagues to review previous research on school leadership and student outcomes, responding to the question ‘what works and why?’ Five dimensions were identified on the basis of 11 studies: (1) estab­ lishing goals and expectations; (2) strategic resourcing; (3) plan­ning, coordinating and evaluating teaching and the curriculum; (4) promoting and participating in teacher learning; and (5) ensuring an orderly and supportive environment. Trust was identified as an integrating force, in much the same manner as reported in Chapters 1 and 4. The break­ through is in some sense an acceptance of the obvious as far as quality of teaching and the importance of leadership are concerned. A special issue of the Australian Journal of Education 8 made a simi­ lar contribution in reporting research on educational leadership, school renewal and learning outcomes. Mulford did the same in a special edition of the Australian Education Review.9 Policies and practices on standards for school leadership have been critically reviewed.10 Like Hattie’s meta-analysis on teaching, many observers are likely to conclude that these studies are stating the obvious. Preparation and professional development programs can be designed and delivered with a higher degree of confidence than ever before.

Coherence in studies of leadership On an international scale, an OECD project on school leadership pro­ vides a state-of-the-art account of current knowledge and exemplary practice in Australia, Belgium (Flanders), Finland and Britain (England).11

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Recommendations for policymakers are consistent with those in this book: (1) redefine school leadership responsibilities (provide higher degrees of autonomy with appropriate support, redefine school leader­ship respon­sibilities for improved student learning, develop school leader­ship frameworks for improved policy and practice); (2) distribute leadership (encourage distribution of leadership, support distribution of leadership, support school boards in their tasks); (3) develop skills for effective leadership (treat leadership development as a continuum, ensure consis­ tency of provision by different institutions, ensure appropriate variety for effec­tive training); and (4) make school leadership an attractive profession (professional recruitment, focus on relative attractiveness of school leaders’ salaries, acknowledge the role of professional associations of school leaders, provide options and support for career development).12 Particular attention is paid to the new view of system leadership, wherein leaders in particular schools provide support for schools across a school system.13 What these studies of leadership have achieved, in much the same way as the studies reported above have for teaching, is a degree of coherence in what has been a fragmented field.

The breakthrough in the international project Our work in the International Project to Frame the Transformation of Schools suggests that greater account should be taken of the four forms of capital and the importance of good governance to ensure that the goals of the school are achieved. Expressed another way, the point we have reached in the meta-analyses of studies of leadership has yielded necessary knowledge but it is not yet sufficient. While there has been recognition that links with the community are important, capacities for building and drawing on social capital, more broadly defined, have not been given the attention that is warranted if the work of successful leaders in successful schools is taken into account. This is what our studies in the international project have revealed. While what some describe as ‘instructional leadership’ is absolutely necessary and must take account of current knowledge, as illustrated in the studies reported above, there is much more to the role, as we shall show in the pages that follow. We wish to take up an important issue, namely, how does our model of the four forms of capital, strengthened and aligned through good leadership and governance, compare with other models of leadership. It is a similar issue to that raised in connection with models of school improvement and school effectiveness. Quite simply, they complement or extend them, or provide an alternative lens through which to examine what successful schools and their leaders are doing. Two illustrations are offered, based on the work of Sergiovanni14 and Bolman and Deal.15

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Sergiovanni provided a view of leadership that has proved helpful over the years. His pioneering publication in 1984 was in some respects a response in the field of education to what Peters and Waterman had provided the corporate sector in In Search of Excellence,16 which attrac­ted extraordinary attention in management circles at the time. Sergiovanni suggested that five leadership forces should be addressed, ordered in a form of hierarchy as technical, human, education, symbolic and cultural. Where technical and human leadership were evident but little more, a school may well avoid being ineffective. In order to be effective, educational leadership was required. However, to be an excellent school, both symbolic and cultural leadership had to be strong. This was a breakthrough at the time, for the leader in education had barely heard of, let alone understood and developed, practice in symbolic and cultural leadership. It was then, and remains now, a helpful way to analyse the work of a leader and, to some extent, provide a framework for development and appraisal. Another helpful way to frame leadership was proposed by Bolman and Deal and, in its own way, this provided a further breakthrough. They proposed four frames or lenses: structural, human, symbolic and political. They demonstrated how the same phenomenon could be under­stood in different ways, depending on what frame was employed, and proposed that leaders develop a capacity to frame and reframe a problem, drawing on the repertoire. The breakthrough here was the concept of reframing, but also the inclusion of the political frame. This was novel for many leaders who were well aware of the internal and external politics in their school, but this was seen as dysfunctional or something to be avoided. Some scholars, notably Cheng, combined the Sergiovanni and Bolman and Deal frameworks to good effect.17 We propose the model of alignment with its four forms of capital, strengthened and aligned through good governance, as another frame or lens, with the breakthrough being a more expansive view of social capital and the concept of alignment, proposed in Chapter 7 as a breakthrough in governance, and now as a breakthrough in leadership. We stress that adoption of this frame or lens does not constitute a rejection of the others. Rather, it complements, extends and in some respects enriches the others. Moreover, each of the dimensions in the Sergiovanni and Bolman and Deal frames may be required to address each of the strategies implied in the indicators identified in the International Project to Frame the Transformation of Schools. For example, each has a technical require­ ment; most have a political dimension; and many, especially those concerned with spiritual capital, are concerned with symbolic or cultural leadership. It is better to frame or reframe in this way, than try to fit new insights and understandings into a single frame, which can have the same

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effect as putting new wine in old wineskins. This has been a puzzling feature of approaches to leadership in Victoria, where the Sergiovanni framework was adopted, with each new challenge or insight placed in one or another of the five categories of leadership forces. An example is the classification of one of the most important requirements of a school leader in the 21st century, namely, strategic leadership, as an element of the ‘technical’. We consider strategic leadership to be a generic capacity that must be effective in each of Sergiovanni’s forces, or Bolman and Deal’s frames, or the alignment of the four forms of capital. We have reached a point at which a leader should be cognisant of the body of research on learning, especially the links between leadership and learning, and should have the capacity to frame and reframe problems through different lenses, including those achieved in the earlier breakthrough work of Sergiovanni and Bolman and Deal, and the one we describe here that has been confirmed in the International Project to Frame the Transformation of Schools.

Leadership and governance Chapter 7 thus provides a lead on the expanded view of leadership. Appendix 1 lists the 50 indicators, ten for each form of capital and ten of governance, which were generated in the project. Governance is the process through which a school builds its intellectual, social, spiritual and financial capital and aligns them to achieve its goals. This process does not occur by itself, and this is where leaders and leadership are required. Moreover, it requires not just one leader but many leaders; leadership is distributed. Leadership and management must be blended and, in many instances, some people designated as managers will undertake the work. Failure to achieve this further breakthrough and to adopt related policies and practices is a factor contributing to the fragile state of school leadership, as illustrated in the decline in some countries, including Australia, in the number of applicants and reports of high levels of stress.18 It is profoundly disappointing that important but still limited developments, while accompanied by impressive commitments of resources and the creation of institutions such as the National College for School Leadership in England, has not made much of a dent in the number of applications and levels of job satisfaction. The work of leaders, as found in the International Project to Frame the Transformation of Schools, points to the need for new policies and practices in many settings. For example, in many systems of public (government, state) schools, the amount of leadership and management support for principals is still woefully inadequate compared to what

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may be found in many private (non-government, independent) schools. Expressed bluntly, there has been insufficient recognition of the fact that school leaders must be concerned with the four forms of capital, and this is very demanding work. There are exceptions, as in large schools and federations of schools, especially in England, where the role of the executive head or chief executive officer has been created. We note with concern the observation of principals in Finland that the amount of support has not kept pace with their roles and responsibilities.

Public and private Whereas settlement on the issue has been achieved in many countries, debates about the relative merits of and approaches to funding public and private schools continue in Australia. These debates are too complex to address to any great extent in this section but the findings from the International Project to Frame the Transformation of Schools are note­ worthy. Of the six countries in the project, three do not allow public funding of schools described in Australia as private schools (China, Finland and the United States); two provide full public funding for such schools, although they are not permitted to charge fees (England and Wales); while Australia provides a form of needs-based funding to private schools but permits them also to charge fees. The findings in respect to Australia are of interest because the additional capacity to generate income through fees has contributed to strength in each of the four forms of capital, with alignment achieved through impressive approaches to governance. The case of Bialik College is described below. In Chapter 2 we cited a report by Andreas Schleicher,19 in which he compared the relative performance in PISA 2006 of public and private schools in 22 nations where there had been prior agreement to allow such comparisons (Australia did not agree). On actual levels of achievement, private schools outperformed public schools in 15 instances. However, when the scores were adjusted for the socio-economic background of students, public schools outperformed private schools in 14 instances, with no differences in three. Other findings on public and private schools were also contained in Chapter 2, including two reports for the OECD, which concluded that a mix of autonomy, accountability and choice enhances both quality and equity. 20 Evidence was also provided of private schools outperforming public schools in developing countries or in settings of extreme poverty. Findings in the International Project to Frame the Transformation of Schools confirm that both public and private schools can build strength in each form of capital and can determine arrangements for good governance. Among all of the schools in the study, an exemplar is Bialik

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College, a detailed study of which is included in the country report for Australia. 21 A summary of its major features is set out below, followed by a commentary on the comparative advantages of schools such as Bialik.

The case of Bialik College Located in an inner suburb of Melbourne, Bialik College is a K–12 singlecampus, independent Jewish school. It has been transformed from a small school that struggled to find its identity, and which at one time was about to be taken over by another school, to a leading school that consistently gains outstanding results in the VCE. Enrolment has increased from about 350 to about 1050 students over the past 20 years. The school is located in attractive, spacious grounds with state-of-the-art buildings and high levels of security. There is no selective intake at any level. A major investment in intellectual capital was associated with the adoption of the Reggio Emilia approach in the early years. A small team of teachers and the school architect visited Reggio Emilia in Italy to gather information before adoption. The principal visited the city two years later, and groups of teachers continue to make the journey annually. Adopting the approach was a significant decision as it required additional staff, in order to provide two teachers in each classroom, and new facilities. Thus, the school went from investigating what was seen then as a novel and untried approach to early childhood learning in Australia, to a fully fledged approach in a purpose-built facility. Another major investment in building intellectual capital was the school’s involvement in the five-year Cultures of Thinking project in collaboration with the Harvard Graduate School of Education and its Project Zero program. All teachers are involved but in varying degrees, with many choosing to participate intensively by joining focus groups and participating in regular meetings. Teachers could nominate to be in a focus group, involving a cross-section of staff from different disciplines and ages. At least two such groups have been established each year since 2005, with original groups still meeting. The focus groups follow a protocol consisting of professional development in thinking routines, teacher-led action-research projects involving their classes for six months, and teacher visits to each other’s classrooms. The high cost of the program, which includes visits by a team from Harvard two or three times a year, has been supported by generous benefactors. There have been significant benefits of developing a school’s intellectual capital. Moreover, some of the barriers to learning between early learning, primary and secondary appear to have been broken down. These and other initiatives were responses to insightful staff identi­ fying and recognising the needs of students and a council that trusted

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its principal and allowed her to lead the school with relative autonomy. Genia Janover led the school for more than 20 years, retiring in mid2008. She described her role as that of a culture-builder and a risk-taker. To assist with harnessing and mobilising the social capital of the school, it has an important resource in the form of a development manager. Her roles are numerous, ranging from fundraising; publicity, media and special events coordination; and liaison with parents and former students. The development manager’s formal networks include a large number of Jewish and non-Jewish organisations and schools. She is regarded as a ‘face of Bialik’ in the wider community; a vital part of her work is ‘friend-raising’. As far as financial capital is concerned, the growth in student num­bers, together with donations and other fundraising, has ensured financial stability. A restructure of federal government funding has meant the school receives less money than in the past from this source. The main source of income, however, is through the fees charged to parents. A large number of families, about one in five, are either fully or partially subsidised. In addition, a number of bursaries and scholarships are offered. The school attracts benefactors from the parent and grandparent com­munity, which may come in the form of donations towards a new building or a new educational initiative. With a flat leadership hierarchy and a consequent reduction in costs, the school was able to improve the teacher–student ratio to the current 1:8, regarded as a key factor in securing good student outcomes. There is a line in the school budget of about 8 per cent that is kept solely for educational innovation. The link between the school’s academic success and its financial capital is thus very strong. Spiritual capital is strong. Both Jewish and universal human values are fully integrated into the school program and complement each other. The curriculum, both formal and informal, reflects the democratic and multicultural ethos of the wider community. As Bialik has grown from a small school with a largely academic focus to a much larger school, so too has there been a marked increase in the emphasis on the spiritual side, in particular, its Jewish identity. Governance is provided by a council of 18, which meets monthly. Several members are long-serving, with a life governor and two desig­ nated governors. Care has been taken to ensure that council is ‘take-over proof’, with four senior council members elected in rotation every four years. Most members of council are parents of current or former students. Teachers from the school are not included on council. The Bialik College Council operates as a board, and its functions are to provide general direction for school policy, control of school finances, public appeals and public relations. No major decision is made without council approval.

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An executive of six, including the president, vice-president, secretary, treasurer, finance manager and principal, meets fortnightly, taking care of the day-to-day affairs of the school on behalf of council.

Comparative advantages Bialik College has been transformed from a struggling school to one that has sustained its success by building strength in each form of capital and aligning them through good governance. A feature was continuity in leadership by a long-serving principal in whom the governing body had invested considerable trust with the passage of time. It is a private, non-government, non-selective independent school. There are of course many schools, both public and private, that could demonstrate the same, but Bialik was the independent school nominated for inclusion in the Australian component of the International Project to Frame the Transformation of Schools. Such schools have several comparative advantages. They are well funded from both public and private sources, and their financial capital is managed well by councils that include people with extensive experience in fields other than education. A high priority is given at Bialik and similar schools to building intellectual capital, but it is evident that social capital and spiritual capital are also strong. Indeed, it is the coherence or alignment of each that is the outstanding feature. Not all schools can achieve such strength and coherence. Schools that are unable to assemble the expertise for good governance, especially in respect to capacity to exercise the powers of a board, are at a disadvantage. Schools that do not have deep roots in their communities or have not established strong support from past students are also handicapped. A particular advantage enjoyed by schools such as Bialik is the quality of facilities, which are funded from fees and donations. Good governance ensures that reserves are built up and loans secured. However, a report commissioned by the Australian Education Union (AEU)22 concluded that ‘children in Australia’s public education systems are attending schools with per capita investment budgets that are far below those enjoyed by private sector schools’ and that ‘the current funding imbalance affects the quality of schooling and puts the public schools and their students at a disadvantage to the private sector’. It asserted that ‘families may perceive that if they place their children in a private school they will have access to better facilities’. While some may take issue with aspects of the methodology and engage in debates about the respective roles of Commonwealth and state governments, the report provides a generally accurate account of the comparative advantage of private schools that extends to other aspects of schools that require funding for success.

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State and territory governments have increased their investment in the infrastructure of government schools after sustained professional and public criticism in recent years. Some of the criticism relates to poor maintenance and some to the fact that most schools designed in the 19th and 20th centuries are ill-suited to approaches to learning and teaching in the 21st century. There is clearly a strong case for a dramatic increase in funding from a range of sources and using different mechanisms to address this need. We reiterate our finding in the international project that all schools, both public and private, are able to strengthen and align the four forms of capital, as described and illustrated in Chapters 3 to 7. This finding is consistent with those in other studies reported in these pages. It is encouraging to read books by principals of public schools that have been transformed, including those co-authored by John Fleming 23 (Bellfield Primary School and Haileybury College in Victoria) and Christine Cawsey24 (Rooty Hill High School in New South Wales), who give particular attention to the building of intellectual capital.

Variations on a theme We referred earlier in the chapter to research cited in Chapter 2 that the best-performing school systems have policy settings for high levels of autonomy, accountability and choice. Choice may be provided through a mix of public and private schools or within each of the public and private sectors. Choice within the public sector may be difficult to achieve in remote or regional locations, but it is possible in larger cities by the abandonment of rigidly enforced attendance zones while guaranteeing a student’s right to attend the nearest school to their home or, at the secondary level, through the introduction of specialist schools, as in England, where more than 90 per cent of all secondary schools offer one or two specialisations while still addressing the broad national curriculum. An educational market is created where there are no constraints on applications to attend public schools except for a ‘nearest-school’ guarantee. Some schools become more popular than others for a range of reasons and it is interesting to note the policy response in various settings. In England, for example, local authorities are required to conduct a ballot when the number of applications exceeds the number of places. This thwarts a trend in which parents buy a residence near to the school they wish their child to attend, thus guaranteeing a place. The same phenomenon is evident in the United States, where charter schools have been created. Charter schools are privately operated but

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fully publicly funded; they are not classified as private schools. Charter schools appear to be more effective in disadvantaged settings than trad­ itional public schools, a finding that is still challenged in some quarters, but there is no denying their popularity, as illustrated in the following account of a lottery in Harlem, which has the most charter schools per square mile in the United States. Those who had won whooped with joy and punched their fists. The dis­ appointed shed tears. Some 5,000 people attended the April 17th’s Harlem Success Academy Charter school lottery, the largest ever held in the history of New York state. About 3,600 applied for 600 available places, and 900 applied for the 11 open slots in the second grade. The desperation of these parents is hardly surprising. In one Harlem school district, not one public elementary school has more than 55% of its pupils reading at the level expected for their grade.25

At Harlem Success Academy Charter School, 86 per cent of six-year-olds were at their grade level in mathematics at the end of the 2006–07 school year, whereas only 11 per cent were at their level at the start of the year. It is striking that students are grouped by ability rather than age, and that parents must read six books per week to their children. New York’s superintendent of schools wants to ‘charterise’ the whole system. Despite some promising outcomes of efforts to reform the public school system in Chicago, it seems that a breakthrough in highly disad­ vantaged settings has been achieved through a charter initiative. 26 Chicago’s mayor, Richard Daley, wishes to open 100 new schools in the city’s bleakest areas by 2010 through Renaissance 2010. Business leaders give their support through the Renaissance Schools Fund with $44 million raised by mid-2008, when 55 new schools had been created. It seems that schools such as those set up in Harlem and Chicago have built strength in each form of capital and have impressive approaches to governance. This was illustrated in studies in the United States in the International Project to Frame the Transformation of Schools. One of the five schools was a charter school: CCHS, located in the eastern suburbs of Detroit, Michigan. 27 These variations on the theme of choice within the public sector can also be illustrated in recent experience in Sweden. We provided a short account in Chapter 2 in the context of developments in England, where the Conservative Party has given its support to a voucher scheme introduced in 1994 to ‘allow pretty much anyone who satisfies basic standards to open a new school and take in children at the state’s expense … Children must be admitted on a first-come, first-served basis – there

154   Why not the best schools?

must be no religious requirements or entrance exams. Nothing extra can be charged for, but making a profit is fine’. 28 Whether these are public schools or private schools is debatable, but they are certainly popular, with enrolment share increasing from less than one per cent to more than 10 per cent in barely a decade, in a country that is already performing well by international standards (like Australia and Finland, Sweden was a high performance, high equity nation in the science component of PISA 2006). Consortiums of schools have been created in Sweden, the largest of which is Kunskapsskolan (‘Knowledge Schools’), which has 30 schools, 700 employees and nearly 10,000 students. The Swedish initiative is attracting attention in Australia, with one commentator asserting that ‘if Rudd wants to take a leaf out of Sweden’s book he should look at the Swedish school voucher system’ (Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd was formerly a diplomat in Sweden), des­ cribing it as ‘the most interesting reform carried out in Sweden since the beginning of the 1990s’. 29

The fourth way There are different ways of framing the preference for private schools described above. Those familiar with the research will be reassured, given the findings of OECD studies that support a balance of autonomy, accountability and choice. Those irrevocably wedded to the view that private schools have no place in the scheme of things will continue the battle. Those attracted to a ‘third way’ view of public policy will not be surprised. The third way was a popular political preference in the 1990s, perhaps achieving its highest profile through the advocacy of Tony Blair and to some extent Bill Clinton, although its origins lie as much in longstanding social policy in European countries, including Scandinavia. It is sometimes simplistically conceived as a middle way between socialism and capitalism. Anthony Giddens, one of its most powerful advocates, weighed up the various critiques and concluded that ‘Third way politics, as I conceive of it, is not an attempt to occupy a middle ground between top-down socialism and free-market philosophy. It is concerned with restructuring social democratic doctrines to respond to the twin revo­ lutions of globalisation and the knowledge economy’. He contends that ‘it emphasises the core importance of active government and the public sphere. The public sphere does not coincide with the domain of the state. State institutions can diminish or discredit the realm of the public when they become oversized, bureaucratic or otherwise unresponsive to citizens’ needs’. 30

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Charles Leadbeater is an ardent advocate of public-sector reform, especially in Britain. Writing in 1999, he suggested a ‘fourth way’: ‘Knowledge is our most precious resource: we should organise society to maximise its creation and use. Our aim should not be a third way, to balance the demands of the market against those of the community. Our aim should be to harness the power of both markets and community to the more fundamental goal of creating and spreading knowledge’.31 Leadbeater anticipated alignment of a kind that energised the Inter­national Project to Frame the Transformation of Schools when he concluded that ‘when the three motive forces in the new economy – financial capital, knowledge capital and social capital – are in harmony, the economy grows and society is relatively secure and stable’. 32 He would be comfortable with the addition of spiritual capital. As far as public and private schools are concerned, as our findings in the international project make clear, public schools can perform outstandingly well under the most challenging circumstances, as can private schools. There is an echo here of Tony Blair’s view of the third way, in which he called for absolute adherence to basic values but, in respect to how to get there: ‘We should be infinitely adaptable and imaginative in applying those values. There are no ideological pre-conditions, no pre-determined veto on means. What counts is what works’.33 The ‘basic values’ in this formulation as applied to schools would be ‘success for all students in all settings’. What are the implications for Australia, which already provides choice between public and private as well as varying degrees of choice within the public sector? Labels are not helpful, so there is no call here for returning to a third-way view, which has likely reached its ‘political expiry date’.34 Leadbeater’s playful reference to a fourth way has serious intent given its goal of creating and spreading knowledge. We should therefore focus on removing the barriers and encouraging innovation to achieve such an outcome. There is no doubt that parents in some settings are not confident in public schools, as indicated by the steady drift to private schools to the extent that public schools enrol a minority of students at the senior secondary level in some communities. Parents in lower socio-economic communities in some suburbs of Melbourne and Sydney are bypassing their local public school to enrol their children in private schools. Why not fully funded, non-fee schools along the lines of the popular charter and voucher schools in New York and Sweden, respectively? Above all, however, why not make a more significant, systematic and sustained effort to build intellectual, social, financial and spiritual capital, so that all schools regardless of setting can be as good as the best?

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Discussion In this chapter we have endeavoured to blend our discussion of the find­ings of the International Project to Frame the Transformation of Schools with research in other studies along with issues that are in the public and pro­fessional domains on matters such as improvement, effectiveness, leadership, governance, public and private. There are implications for policy and practice and we take these up in Chapter 9, where we propose a ten-point, ten-year strategy to ensure that all schools can be ‘best schools’. We use the language adopted by the Australian Government to describe what is required to achieve an ‘education revolution’. To do so means that we must take a futures-oriented approach, whereas we have tended to draw from studies of the current situation in earlier chapters.

Notes 1

Walker, J. (2008). ‘Seems I’ll have to eat my hat’. The Mercury (Hobart), 5 March, page 32.

2

Elmore, R. (2007). ‘School improvement in Victoria’. Prepared for the Office of Government School Education, Department of Education, Victoria, <www. eduweb.vic.gov.au/edulibrary/public/staffdev/schlead/Richard_Elmore-wpsv1-20070817.pdf> accessed 23 June 2008.

3

Barber, M. and Mourshed, M. (2007). How the World’s Best-Performing School

4

Sammons, P., Hillman, J. and Mortimore, P. (1995). ‘School effectiveness’,

Systems Come Out on Top. London: McKinsey & Company. <www.le.ac.uk/education/ESI/doc1f.html> accessed 23 June 2008. 5

Cited by Rowe, K. J. (2004). ‘The Importance of Teaching: Ensuring Better Schooling by Building Teacher Capacities that Maximise the Quality of Teaching and Learning Provision – Implications of Findings from Emerging International and Australian Evidence-Based Research’. Invited paper at the Making Schools Better Conference of the Melbourne Institute of Applied Economic and Social Research, University of Melbourne 26–27 August, pages 12–13.

6

Barber, M. and Mourshed, M. (2007), cited at 3 above.

7

Robinson, V.M.J. and Timperley, H. S. (2007). ‘The leadership of the improve­ ment of teaching and learning: Lessons from initiatives with positive outcomes for students’. Australian Journal of Education, 51(3), pages 247–62.

8

Australian Journal of Education (2007), 51(3), Special issue on Educational Leadership and School Renewal.

9

Mulford, B. (2008). The Leadership Challenge: Improving Learning in Schools. No. 53 in the Australian Education Review series. Camberwell: Australian Council for Educational Research.

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10 Ingvarson, L., Anderson, M., Gronn, P. and Jackson, A. (2006). Standards for School Leadership: A Critical Review of Literature. Acton, ACT: Teaching Australia. 11 Pont, B., Nusche, D. and Hopkins, D. (2008). Improving School Leadership: Case Studies and Concepts for Systemic Action. Paris: OECD. 12 Ibid. 13 Hopkins, D. (2007). Every School a Great School. Maidenhead, Berkshire: Open University Press. 14 Sergiovanni, T. J. (1984). ‘Leadership and Excellence in Schooling’. Educational Leadership, 41(3). 15 Bolman, L. and Deal, T. (2003). Reframing Organizations: Artistry, Choice and Leadership. Third Edition. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass. 16 Peters, T. J. and Waterman, R. H. (1982). In Search of Excellence. New York: Harper and Row. 17 Cheng, Y.C. (2005). ‘New paradigm of school leadership’. New Paradigm for Re-engineering Education: Globalization, Localization and Individualization. Dordrecht: Springer, chapter 9, pages 213–42. 18 Department of Education and Training (Victoria) (2004). The Privilege and the Price. Melbourne: Department of Education and Training; Department of Education, Employment and Workplace Relations (2007). Staff in Australia’s Schools. Canberra: author; Western Australian Secondary School Executives Association (2007). ‘The Increasing Workload of Principals and Deputy Principals: Issues and a Strategic Response’ (available from the author at 440 Vincent Street West, West Leederville, WA 6007); Australian Secondary Principals Association (2007). Making a Difference … Counting the Cost. Report of a 2007 survey on school leader welfare <www.aspa.asn.au/images/surveys/schoolleadersurvey report2007at20080214.pdf> accessed 13 August 2008; Milburn, C. (2008). ‘Few want to be principal’. The Age (Education), 17 March, pages 3 and 4. 19 Schleicher, A. (2008). ‘The increasing global talent pool: Worldwide trends in educational attainment’. Invited presentation at the Asia Pacific Leaders Forum on New Skills for a Global Innovation Society, hosted by The Asia Society, New Delhi, India, 26–28 March. 20 Wössmann, L., Lüdemann, E., Schütz, G. and West, M.R. (2007). ‘School Accountability, Autonomy, Choice, and the Equity of Student Achievement: International Evidence from PISA 2003’. Education Working Paper No. 13, Directorate of Education, OECD; Schütz, G., Wössmann, L. and West, M.R. (2007) ‘School Accountability, Autonomy, Choice, and Level of Student Achievement: International Evidence from PISA 2003’. Education Working Paper No. 14, Directorate of Education, OECD. 21 Douglas, E. and Harris, J. (2008). Why not the Best Schools? The Australia Report. Camberwell: ACER Press.

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22 Rorris, A. (2008). Rebuilding Public Schools 2020 – Investment Targets. Report commissioned and published by the Australian Education Union, <www. aeufederal.org.au> accessed 24 June 2008. 23 Fleming, J. and Kleinhenz, E. (2007). Towards a Moving School. Camberwell: ACER Press. 24 Anderson, M. and Cawsey, C. (2008). Learning for Leadership. Camberwell: ACER Press. 25 The Economist (2008). ‘Six Books a Week: Harlem Parents are Voting for Charter Schools with their Feet’, 10 May, page 44. 26 The Economist (2008). ‘Red Ties and Boys’ Pride: Sowing the Seeds of Good Schools in the Mid-west’, 10 May, pages 44–5. 27 See Zhao, Y., Ni, R.,Yang, W., Chen, Q., and Zhang, G. (2008). Why not the Best Schools? The US Report. Camberwell: ACER Press, for a detailed account of the César Chávez High School. 28 The Economist (2008). ‘The Swedish Model: A Swedish Firm has Worked out How to Make Money Running Free Schools’, 24 June, page 77. 29 Rankka, M. (2008). ‘A lesson from Scandinavia in School Reform’. The Australian, 5 May, page 8. 30 Giddens, A. (2000). The Third Way and its Critics. Cambridge: Polity Press, pages 163–4. 31 Leadbeater, C. (1999). ‘Towards the knowledge society’. New Statesman, 12 July, pages 25–7. 32 Leadbeater, C. (1999). Living on Thin Air: The New Economy. London: Viking, page 225. 33 Cited by Midgely, S. (1998). ‘Third Way: A Challenge for All in Education’. Times Educational Supplement, 25 June, pages 44–5. 34 This is the view of Ernst Hillebrand, director of the Paris-based Friedrich-EbertSiftung Foundation, writing in Hillebrand, E. (2008). ‘Replay of tragic third way’. The Australian, 26–7 April, page 26.

9

Strategies for an education revolution

The way forward in these matters may be determined at different levels. At the national level in Australia, for example, a range of possibilities emerged from the Australia 2020 Summit, held in early 2008. At the school level, a project of Teaching Australia aims to build capacity for futures thinking in schools. In January 2007, Prime Minister Kevin Rudd, then leader of the opposition, invoked the idea of an ‘education revo­lu­ tion’ to describe what he believed was necessary. The term continues to be used, to some extent by the Australian Government but also by commentators who take every opportunity to compare each step forward with expectations that were raised. We conclude the book by proposing a ten-point, ten-year strategy that will ensure that, when all is said and done, people can look back and say that a revolution in schools has occurred and all schools can be fairly described as ‘best schools’. Our aim in this chapter is to place findings in the International Project to Frame the Transformation of Schools in a policy context. While our immediate aim is to deal with the Australian setting, much – if not most – of what is proposed may apply to other nations, reflecting the emergence of a global arena in school education.

‘Big ideas’ That there is a need for a more significant, systematic and sustained effort to build intellectual, social, financial and spiritual capital was evident at the Australia 2020 Summit, held in April 2008, when 1000 people came together in Canberra to address ten themes and to seek out ‘big ideas’ to assure the future of the nation. Education was relevant to each theme but possibilities for schools were addressed most explicitly in the productivity agenda that dealt with education, skills, training, science and innovation. About 100 people addressed each theme, with about 25 giving particular attention to the early years and schools. Brian Caldwell was a participant 159

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and contributed ideas based on the findings of the International Project to Frame the Transformation of Schools. Most of the main ideas in the final report of the summit are consistent with these findings, as well as the need to achieve a better alignment of education, economy and society along the lines set out in Chapter 1. The following excerpts1 illustrate this consistency, with cross-referencing to the concepts of capital and other themes in this book shown in parentheses. • The group agreed on three goals and ambitions: maximising wealth, excel­

•

•

•

lence and equity by driving up productivity to the leading edge of developed countries [education, economy and society]; focusing on human capital through early childhood development, world-class education, skills formation and innovation [intellectual capital]; encouraging all Australians to realise their potential [transformation]. We will know we are on the right track when productivity is maximised by: children’s development being at the heart of the productivity agenda [spiritual capital]; all children achieving individual excellence and having their learning and social needs met [transformation]; education, training and work being socially inclusive [education, economy, society]; people wanting to, and being able to move in and out of good jobs, training and education throughout their lives, to suit their family commitments, and their talents and needs. Australia needs to focus on three priority themes: equip all Australians with the capacity to contribute and innovate through an education and training system that leads the world in excellence and inclusion [transformation]; deploy Australia’s human capital efficiently and fairly by overcoming barriers that lock individuals and communities out of real opportunities [intellectual capital]; connect through collaborations in education, business, research and innovation [intellectual capital, social capital]. ‘Top ideas’ included: overcome the public–private divide in education by, for example, funding students according to need and attracting more private invest­ment [‘fourth way’, financial capital]; reward excellence in teaching – focus on the connections between quality teaching and productivity [intel­ lectual capital]; celebrate the vocation and contribution of teaching; establish a national program to attract talented graduates and career switchers into teaching, and reward teachers for working in national priority areas, including disadvantaged communities [intellectual capital]; education policies should be underpinned by the principle of ‘what works’ [‘fourth way’]; communities have access to integrated services to support children’s health, development, learning and care; creating a national curriculum [social capital]; creating a coordinated partnership program between Australia’s top 200 public and private organisations and schools; connecting scientists, business and the arts with the education system, with the use of specific engagement criteria as a condition of public funding [social capital, financial capital].

Strategies for an education revolution   161

The way in which these ideas will be taken up depends on a range of factors, including some that were addressed in other themes at the Summit, such as the future of governance, especially between Commonwealth and state levels of government.

Teaching for Uncertain Futures One of the striking features of schools in the International Project to Frame the Transformation of Schools was the extent of change in recent times. In some instances it was dramatic change, either from a good or struggling school to a great school, or a great school that sustains its performance and continues to develop because it anticipates the implications of change in the wider environment or seizes new opportunities as soon as they appear, or even before. Principals and other school leaders demonstrated a capacity for strategic leadership, which may be operationally defined as: • Keeping abreast of trends and issues, threats and opportunities in the wider

• •

• •

environment, nationally and internationally; discerning the ‘megatrends’ and anticipating their impact on education generally and on the school in particular. Sharing their knowledge with others in the educational community and encouraging other leaders to do the same in their areas of interest. Establishing structures and processes that enable the school to set priorities and formulate strategies that take account of likely and/or preferred futures; being a key source of expertise as these occur. Ensuring that the attention of the school community is focused on matters of strategic importance. Monitoring the implementation of strategies as well as emerging strategic issues in the wider environment; facilitating an ongoing process of review.2

Attention is now turning to how to build capacity for strategic leadership, not just in the short term but for the future, even beyond 2020, which was the headline purpose of the Summit described above. Scenario-writing is one approach for schools and school systems that wish to engage with the longer term. Recent interest was sparked to a large extent by the Schooling for Tomorrow project of OECD, which yielded six scenarios for the future of schools. Related projects have been conducted in several countries since the initial report in 2001.3 Most of the work has been conducted at the system level, but attention is turning now to schools. Teaching Australia (Australian Institute for Teaching and School Leadership Limited) is the national body for the teaching profession,

162   Why not the best schools?

with funding provided by the Australian Government under the Australian Government Quality Teaching Program. Commencing in April 2006, Teaching Australia, with the support of the Neville Freeman Agency, undertook a scenario-building project, the purpose of which was ‘to draw on the knowledge and expertise of practising teachers and principals to reflect on the dimensions of good teaching, to explore the possible changes in the teaching environment and to draw out the consequences of these changes for professional practice in schools’.4 The 55 participants were drawn from every level and every sector of schooling in each state and territory. Four scenarios were developed, with differences on nine dimensions reflecting likely or preferred changes in society, education, the role of the teacher, family life, the role of technology, immigration, the economy, politics and the environment. Commencing in 2008, Educational Transformations Pty Ltd, in par­ tner­ship with Teaching Australia, undertook a professional learning program for schools and their communities to build capacity for futures thinking and strategic planning. In addition to two-day workshops held in every state and territory, a range of materials are being developed to support principals, teachers and parents to engage with change and respond to the needs of students and society. The Futures-Focused School Project draws on OECD’s Schooling for Tomorrow and Teaching Australia’s Teaching for Uncertain Futures. Brian Caldwell is director and Jessica Harris is project manager; co-director is David Loader. Consultants to the project include Rufus Black, who is Principal and Partner in the international consultancy practice of McKinsey & Company and based in Melbourne; Brent Davies, Professor of International Leadership Development at the University of Hull; Tony Mackay, Executive Director of the Centre for Strategic Education; and Erica McWilliam, Professor of Education and Program Leader, Creative Workforce Program at the ARC Centre of Excellence for Creative Industries and Innovation, Queensland University of Technology.

Futures-oriented curriculum Futures-oriented leadership calls for an understanding of the constantly changing interaction of education, economy and society. There are implications for knowledge and skills to be addressed through the school curriculum. Such an understanding calls in turn for an appreciation of the forces of globalisation. For example, Australia is losing thousands of jobs in manufacturing industries as a result of globalisation. Writing about the United States in terms that apply also to Australia, Meredith gives the reason in her engagingly titled The Elephant and the Dragon:

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The Rise of India and China and What It Means for All of Us: ‘Westerners got a “free pass” when India and China walled themselves off from the world in the twentieth century. During that time “we got a false sense of security” … No more. Suddenly Americans [Australians] must compete for their jobs with much of the rest of the world and are learning the hard way that they have no automatic right to earn ten times more than anyone else on the planet for the same work. With both China and India open for business with the West, more than a billion workers earning dramatically less than Westerners have suddenly been added to the world’s labor pool’. 5 The National Curriculum Board has been charged with the dev­ elop­ment of a curriculum6 for Australian schools that ‘will be futuresoriented and outline the essential skills, knowledge and capabilities that all young Australians are entitled to access regardless of their social or economic background or the school they attend’.7 The Board contends that ‘the quality of schooling depends on com­ munity commitment [social capital], the quality of teaching [intellectual capital], the quality of school and system leadership, the level of resources available [financial capital] as well as the quality of curriculum’. It contends that ‘a world-class curriculum is not a sufficient condition for developing the best school education system in the world but it is a necessary one’.8 The Board, which is comprised solely of educationists, has made a commitment to extensive consultation (‘a culture of consultation’). This consultation will need to be wide and deep to ensure that shifts in the alignment of education, economy and society are reflected in the curriculum. It is noteworthy that the Board reports to the Council of Australian Governments’ Working Party on the Productivity Agenda as well as the Ministerial Council on Education, Employment, Training and Youth Affairs. The National Curriculum Board chose to illustrate the possibilities by including in its initial ‘development paper’ excerpts from the national curriculum for schools in Finland, China–Hong Kong, Ontario (Canada) and Singapore. These are appropriate exemplars given that each featured in the report of McKinsey & Company on how the world’s best-performing systems come out on top and – except for Singapore, which did not participate – Australia, Canada, China–Hong Kong and Finland are four of a relatively small number of systems that are high performance, high equity in the classification based on the results for science in PISA 2006. In the case of Canada, one of its provinces – Alberta – was second only to Finland, and Ontario falls just below Alberta in student achievement.

164   Why not the best schools?

History of an idea In January 2007, Prime Minister Kevin Rudd, then leader of the opposition, invoked the idea of an ‘education revolution’ to describe what he believed was necessary. Two questions might be posed. What is the history of proposals for an education revolution? Are there seeds of such a revolution in policies announced during the election campaign and since Rudd’s sweeping win in November 2007? How can the findings of the International Project to Frame the Transformation of Schools contribute to the scope and scale of the revolution? It is possible that the idea of a revolution was drawn from a book that inspired New Labour’s election in Britain in 1997, when its top three priorities were famously declared to be ‘education, education, education’. The book was The Learning Game: Arguments for an Education Revolution.9 Its author, Michael Barber, former research officer for England’s largest teacher union and later professor of education, became Tony Blair’s chief adviser on education the day after the election and went on to become head of public-sector delivery in the cabinet office. Knighted for his services in these fields, Barber now works for McKinsey & Company and is co-author of McKinsey’s report10 on How the World’s Best Performing School Systems Come Out On Top, referred to in several places in this book and possibly the most widely read study worldwide in recent times of what should lie at the heart of an education revolution. There have been two revolutions, or stages of a revolution, in Australia’s schools in the past half-century. One was the landmark reforms of the Menzies and Whitlam governments that delivered finan­cial support for, and fostered choice among, government and non-government schools. Another is the adoption of information and communications technology that has transformed learning and teaching. Much of the Australian Government’s promise of an education revolution is a continuation of the first and completion of the second.

Strategies for a successful revolution Ten strategies are proposed for a ten-point, ten-year plan to achieve the transformation of Australia’s schools. Success will ensure that history will judge that the second decade of the 21st century as indeed a time of revolution in education.

1. National curriculum It is clear that the development of a national curriculum is an important strategy in an education revolution. Four of the six countries in the International Project to Frame the Transformation of Schools have had a

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national curriculum for some time; the exceptions are Australia and the United States. We develop the strategy by referring again to Finland. In this respect we have come full circle from the opening pages of Chapter 1, where contrasting views of the merit of comparison were presented. It is striking that Finland’s national curriculum is the broadest and least specified of the three exemplars chosen by the National Curriculum Board. Whereas others specify curriculum at the grade or year level, Finland is content to outline expectations for an entire phase of schooling (there are three phases in basic education in Finland: Grades 1–2, 3–5 and 6–9). One reason for this lack of specification is the quality of teachers in schools, all of whom must now have a master’s degree, with knowledge and skill to ensure that no child is left behind. The quality of teaching must be the starting point for a strategy for transforming Australia’s schools.

2. At the forefront of knowledge and skill A ten-year timeframe will likely be required to achieve this outcome. It took this long in Finland. There is enormous good will in support of the profession at this time, and care must be taken not to squander it. There have been consistent calls for higher salaries for teachers but it will take time for these to be achieved in the current economic climate. One of the key findings of the International Project to Frame the Transformation of Schools is that professional development is continuous. Finland sets the pace in this respect, with teachers having one-half day per week in school time available for this purpose. The aim is to ensure that teachers and those who support them commence their careers at the forefront of knowledge and skill and remain there; the expectation for the education profession is the same as it is for the medical profession. This is one of several strategies to strengthen the intellectual capital of schools.

3. New structures to align education, economy and society Finland models another option that warrants serious consideration. Indeed, that option has already been taken up in one state. A broadly based national curriculum to frame efforts to achieve a constantly chang­ ing alignment of education, economy and society warrants a review of structural arrangements for schools. We have been wedded to a standard comprehensive system of secondary schools for several decades, with some states abandoning a long-standing system of technical schools to ensure a more-or-less uniform approach. We now realise the importance of diversity, and a 21st-century approach to technical education is urgently needed. Proposals along the lines of a technical wing in every

166   Why not the best schools?

high school do not make sense; they repeat the same error of faith in uniformity. Another possibility is to follow the lead of England and encourage every school to develop a specialisation. In England more than 90 per cent of its approximately 3100 secondary schools have done so, with each receiving additional funding from public and private sources to introduce one or two specialisations while still addressing a broad national curriculum. There are 11 specialisations to choose from, and technology is the most popular. Some states in Australia are moving in this direction on a modest scale. Another option is to follow Finland’s lead in offering two streams of education at the upper secondary, postcompulsory level, following nine years of basic education. One is the matriculation stream for students heading to university; the other is a vocational stream for those proceeding to a polytechnic. The purpose of vocational education in Finland11 is to give students the vocational skills they will need in working life and the skills required to earn a living on a self-employed basis. There are 75 initial vocational qualifications, including renewable natural resources, technology and tran­s­port, commerce and administration, hotels, catering and home economics, health and social services, culture, leisure activities and physical education. The initial vocational qualification takes three years to complete and also qualifies the student for further studies in higher education. In addition to theoretical studies in the classroom, there are practical study periods in the workshops of the educational institution and on-the-job training at actual workplaces. Initial vocational edu­cation is arranged by the municipalities, joint municipal boards and private organisations, and is free of charge to students. Finland has designed the system to allow student movement between matriculation and vocational streams, and for graduates of each to proceed to either universities or polytechnics, between which there is also the opportunity for movement. In Australia, Tasmania is the only state to pursue the Finland approach, with the post-compulsory years of secondary education divided into two streams, described as the Tasmanian Academy and the Tasmanian Polytechnic.12 The initiative is part of the Tasmania Tomorrow project, led by the Minister of Education and Skills, David Bartlett. Bartlett became Premier of Tasmania in early 2008 and chose to retain the education portfolio, the first premier or prime minister in a Western industrialised nation to do so since David Lange was prime minister and minister for education at the time of the landmark education reforms in New Zealand in the late 1980s. The initiative is a dramatic change for Tasmania, which has pursued a more-or-less comprehensive approach in senior secondary colleges for more than 30 years. These colleges were innovative at the time of their introduction but there is now recognition that the state must diversify its approach

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to ensure the mix of knowledge and skills that are required for a 21st-century economy. The scale of the reform means a dramatic change in culture in the profession in a relatively short period of time, and much of 2008 was devoted to ensuring that all staff in secondary colleges gained an understanding of the rationale for the change (intellectual capital) and that all stakeholders, including those from business and industry, were committed to the approach (social capital).

4. A sunset for national testing It is noteworthy that Finland, the top-performing nation in PISA, has no national system of tests and no public reporting of local tests that enable school-by-school comparison. As noted above, Finland has a broad national curriculum but it has resisted approaches to testing of a kind that are now entrenched in Britain and the United States and are gathering momentum in Australia. There is, of course, a comprehensive program of testing within schools in Finland. In some instances schools use tests that are developed by the National Board of Education. There are substantial amounts of data on the progress and achievement of students, and teachers have high levels of expertise in interpreting them. It is understandable that national tests have been introduced in Australia, given the lack of transparency in performance among the states and territories, each of which has its own curriculum. Assurance has been given that there will be no ‘league tables’ of school performance. However, in the longer term, and again a period of ten years is suggested, it may be desirable and possible to reduce if not cease a national testing program that leads to the public release of outcomes for each school, even if tables are limited to ‘like-school’ comparisons of ‘value-added’ performance. Teachers are already gaining skill interpreting a range of data and, if a uniformly high quality of teaching is achieved, there may be no need for such a program. This strategy is another facet of building the intellectual capital of the profession.

5. Serious engagement of the wider community Another set of strategies builds on the current broadly based good will to engage the wider community. While some observers remain opposed for largely ideological reasons, this engagement should extend to the busi­ness community, broadly defined, as part of an ongoing effort to achieve continuous alignment of education, economy and society. This should occur at all levels, including schools, and calls for new structural arrangements such as the creation of trusts or foundations to receive public and private funds, extending the promising developments in recent times. This strategy is designed to build both social and financial capital.

168   Why not the best schools?

6. Streamlining needs-based funding There is general agreement that higher levels of funding are required for public schools, across the board and in particularly challenging settings. We know how to design needs-based funding models, with Victoria an exemplar by international standards. There is a need to extend the approach across the nation. One qualification is offered, however, and this concerns the level of specification that is required in calibrating the level of funding that reflects the mix of needs at the local level. Finland’s schools enjoy a high level of autonomy with control over their budgets but the funding mechanism is relatively straightforward, largely on a per-student basis, without the complex list of factors in the Victorian approach that to a large extent is modelled on what was pioneered in Edmonton, Alberta in the 1970s. One explanation for the approach in Finland is the uniformly high quality of teaching regardless of the setting. There is little need for substantial compensatory funding in this approach to assembling the financial capital of the school. Once again, it will likely take a decade before this level of alignment of intellectual and financial capital can be achieved in Australia.

7. Innovation in governance Another set of strategies deals with approaches to governance and fund­ ing of public and private schools. One strategy addresses the need for innovation in governance in the public sector. While there is choice within the public sector and between public and private schools, large numbers of parents, including many in highly disadvantaged settings, are bypassing public schools because they perceive that private schools will better meet their expectations. There may be good reason why some parents choose private schools, but on the evidence before us there is no reason why all schools in all settings cannot be ‘best schools’. Australia needs to follow the lead of New York and Chicago in the United States, and Sweden, and introduce fully publicly funded, no-fee charter schools where, especially in the United States, demand far exceeds supply. Another important innovation in governance is the creation of feder­ ations of schools along the lines that are proving successful in England. These were described and illustrated in Chapter 7. One initiative in the planning stage in Australia is the learning federation in southern Tasmania following acceptance by the Tasmanian Government of the recom­mendations of the Bridgewater and Southern Midlands Education Renewal Taskforce (BASMERT). It will bring together in one framework of governance education in the early years, primary, secondary and beyond, and will operate within a network of other services to support children, schools and families.

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8. A new settlement on the public–private issue While it may take a decade to get there, Australia should aim to fund public and private schools on the same basis; that is, ownership of the school should not be a factor in determining the level of funding, which should be driven by the resources required to address the learning needs of students. In two countries in the International Project to Frame the Transformation of Schools – England and Wales – schools owned by a non-public entity receive their funds on the same basis as publicly owned schools. The exception is the small number of truly independent private schools that receive no public funding. Most countries in Europe, including Scandinavia, follow the same approach. In the Netherlands, for example it is unconstitutional and therefore illegal to discriminate in funding on the basis of who owns the school. Moving to the same point in Australia will take time but success will eliminate the debilitating and divisive debate that is currently part of the scene.

9. The evidence is in on school autonomy Another strategy is concerned with school autonomy. The highest quality of teaching will have little effect if schools are unable to make decisions that ensure design and delivery respond to the unique mix of needs that exists in each and every school. This means having capacity to select staff and allocate funds within a framework of accountability. The findings of studies conducted for OECD reported in Chapter 2 are unmistakable as far as the efficacy of this strategy is concerned. While this level of autonomy is now well established in Victoria, there is still resistance in some parts of the country. The design and implementation of these strategies call for outstanding governance, as defined throughout the book; namely, the process through which the school builds its intellectual, social, financial and spiritual capital and aligns them to achieve its goals. Outstanding governance calls for outstanding leadership. The focus on aligning the four forms of capital brings coherence to leadership, complementing other kinds of coherence described earlier in the chapter as a breakthrough in the field. Building capacity for leadership at all levels but especially in schools is an important element in the strategy to transform Australia’s schools. Efforts to date have been fragmented compared with what has been achieved in the relatively well-resourced National College for School Leadership in Britain. Each state and territory has developed its own approach, as have many universities. Teaching Australia was established to bring coherence to the field through a range of national initiatives, but it has had to deal with teaching as well as leadership. It is underresourced given the scale of the task. While a well-resourced national

170   Why not the best schools?

agency for leadership development may be worthwhile and necessary, it is likely that there will continue to be a range of providers. Andreas Schleicher, head of the indicators and analysis division of the directorate of education at OECD, has surveyed studies of student achievement in PISA and other projects, and has concluded that the key to success is ‘creating a knowledge-rich profession in which schools and teachers have the authority to act, the necessary knowledge to do so wisely, and access to effective support systems’.13 This is a concise sum­ mary of the case for autonomy and the importance of intellectual capital.

10. A workplace for the 21st century The final strategy calls for replacing or refurbishing large numbers – if not the majority – of school buildings that were built last century. This applies especially to schools in the public sector, which, as described earlier in the chapter, compare poorly with the private sector. Apart from backlogs in maintenance, their design is simply ill-suited to the curriculum and pedagogies of the 21st century. They are not attractive places for students and staff to work in. While state and territory governments are doing better and have announced some good long-term intentions, there is nothing on the scale of England where most secondary schools will be rebuilt or replaced over the next decade. Schools in Finland are designed well and hold pride of place in their communities.

Synthesis The ten-point, ten-year plan for the transformation of Australia’s schools may be summarised as follows: 1. A national curriculum is designed that is broad enough and sufficiently

2.

3.

4.

5.

adaptable to ensure the professional judgement of a highly skilled profession will prevail at the school level. Initial teacher education is transformed to ensure all teachers have a master’s degree and remain at the forefront of knowledge and skill through continuous professional development. New structural arrangements are designed to ensure diversity of programs in the post-compulsory years in an effective, constantly changing alignment of education, economy and society. National testing of all students is minimised as the highest levels of knowledge and skill are developed by teachers and those who support them. The wider community including business is seriously engaged in design and delivery, with public and private funds deployed through networks of foundations and trusts.

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  6. Transparent, needs-based mechanisms are designed to ensure the

efficient deployment of public and private funds.   7. Innovative approaches to governance are introduced along the lines of

publicly funded, no-fee charter schools to ensure that public schools maintain their appeal to parents.   8. School ownership ceases to be a factor in determining the amount of public funds that are disbursed to schools.   9. Higher levels of school autonomy in the public sector are achieved within a framework of accountability and choice. 10. Most schools in the public sector are rebuilt or redesigned to make them suitable for learning and teaching in the 21st century.

The way forward Expectations for an education revolution in the short term are unrealistic. It took Finland more than ten years to create what is generally regarded at the close of the first decade of the 21st century as the best in public education. It will take at least that time in Australia. Short-term, headline initiatives that increase the numbers of computers in schools are simply completing a revolution in technology that gathered momentum in the 1990s. Achieving in every school a vision along the lines summarised above calls for unprecedented levels of cooperation by different levels of government in partnership with all stakeholders who are committed to the idea that success can be secured for all students in all settings. Intentions along these lines are contained in the final report of the Australia 2020 Summit, especially in the two streams dealing with the productivity agenda and the future of Australian governance. We can be reassured, should these intentions be fulfilled, that all schools can be ‘best schools’, given what we learnt in the International Project to Frame the Transformation of Schools. Should they not be fulfilled, it will take much longer than a decade, during which time disparities may grow and the public may lose confidence in the enterprise. Much is at stake.

Notes 1

These excerpts are drawn with minor modification from the final report of the Australia 2020 Summit, <www.australia2020.gov.au/docs/final_report/2020_ summit_report_full.pdf> accessed 27 June 2008.

2

This definition is from Caldwell, B.J. and Spinks, J.M. (1992). Leading the Selfmanaging School. London: Falmer, page 92.

3

OECD (2001). What Schools for the Future? Paris: OECD, Chapter 3 ‘Scenarios for the Future of Schooling’.

172   Why not the best schools?

4

Teaching Australia (2007). Teaching for Uncertain Futures. Acton, ACT: Teaching Australia.

5

Meredith, R. (2007). The Elephant and the Dragon: The Rise of India and China and What It Means for All of Us. New York: Norton, page 190.

6

The remit of the National Curriculum Board and an outline of the principles it is addressing in developing a national curriculum for Australia are contained in National Curriculum Board (Australia) (2008). National Curriculum Development Paper. Presented at the ‘Into the Future – National Curriculum Board Forum’, Melbourne, 27 June, available at <www.ncb.org.au>. The paper also contains excerpts from school curriculum for Hong Kong, Finland, Ontario (Canada) and Singapore.

  7 National Curriculum Board (Australia) (2008), cited at 6 above.   8 Ibid.   9 Barber, M. (1996). The Learning Game: Arguments for an Education Revolution. London: Victor Gollancz. 10 Barber, M. and Mourshed, M. (2007). How the World’s Best-Performing School Systems Come Out on Top. London; McKinsey & Company. 11 This description of vocational education in Finland is drawn from the Virtual Finland website that provides a comprehensive account of approaches to education and training, accessed 28 June 2008. 12 Details of the Tasmania Tomorrow project and the Tasmanian Academy and Tasmanian Polytechnic can be found at accessed 13 August 2008. 13 Schleicher, A. (2008). ‘The Increasing Global Talent Pool: Worldwide Trends in Educational Attainment’. Invited presentation at the Asia Pacific Leaders Forum on New Skills for a Global Innovation Society, hosted by The Asia Society, New Delhi, India, 26–28 March.

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Appendix 1

Indicators of four kinds of capital and governance Indicators were generated in the International Project to Frame the Transformation of Schools for each form of capital and for governance. They served as a guide to studies in schools in each of the six countries in the project and in the analysis of the findings. These were also incorporated in a survey instrument for use in seminars, workshops and school-based assessment of capacity at the school level.

183

184   Appendix 1

Intellectual capital (chapter 3) For each of the sample indicators, provide ratings of (1) importance in the context of your school, (2) how well your school is performing and (3) the priority you attach to further development. Sample indicator

Importance 1 2 3 4 5 Low High

Performance 1 2 3 4 5 Low High

/50

/50

Priority 1 2 3 4 5 Low High

  1. The staff allocated to or selected by the school are at the forefront of knowledge and skill in required disciplines and pedagogies.   2. The school identifies and implements outstanding practice observed in or reported by other schools.   3. The school has built a substantial, systematic and sustained capacity for acquiring and sharing professional knowledge.   4. Outstanding professional practice is recognised and rewarded.   5. The school supports a comprehensive and coherent plan for the professional development of all staff that reflects its needs and priorities.   6. When necessary, the school outsources to augment the professional talents of its staff.   7. The school participates in networks with other schools and individuals, organisations, institutions and agencies, in education and other fields to share knowledge, solve problems or pool resources.   8. The school ensures that adequate funds are set aside in the budget to support the acquisition and dissemination of professional knowledge.   9. The school provides opportunities for staff to innovate in their professional practice. 10. The school supports a ‘noblame’ culture which accepts that innovations often fail. TOTAL

Top 3 Priorities

Appendix 1   185

Social capital (chapter 4) For each of the sample indicators, provide ratings of (1) importance in the context of your school, (2) how well your school is performing and (3) the priority you attach to further development. Sample indicator

Importance 1 2 3 4 5 Low High

Performance 1 2 3 4 5 Low High

/50

/50

Priority 1 2 3 4 5 Low High

  1. There is a high level of alignment between the expectations of parents and other key stakeholders and the mission, vision, goals, policies, plans and programs of the school.   2. There is extensive and active engagement of parents and others in the community in the educational program of the school.   3. Parents and others in the community serve on the governing body of the school or contribute in other ways to the decision-making process.   4. Parents and others in the community are advocates of the school and are prepared to take up its cause in challenging circumstances.   5. The school draws case or in-kind support from individuals, organisa­ tions, agencies and institutions in the public and private sectors, in education and other fields, including business and industry, philanthropists and social entrepreneurs.   6. The school accepts that support from the community has a reciprocal obligation for the school to contribute to the building of the community.   7. The school draws from and contri­ butes to networks to share knowledge, address problems and pool resources.   8. Partnerships have been developed and sustained to the extent that each partner gains from the arrangement.   9. Resources, both financial and human, have been allocated by the school to building partnerships that provide mutual support. 10. The school is co-located with or located near other services in the community and these services are utilised in support of the school. TOTAL

Top 3 Priorities

186   Appendix 1

Spiritual capital (chapter 5) For each of the sample indicators, provide ratings of (1) importance in the context of your school, (2) how well your school is performing and (3) the priority you attach to further development. Sample indicator

Importance 1 2 3 4 5 Low High

Performance 1 2 3 4 5 Low High

/50

/50

Priority 1 2 3 4 5 Low High

  1. There is a high level of alignment between the values, beliefs and attitudes about life and learning held by the school and members of its community.   2. The values and beliefs of the school, including where relevant those that derive from a religious foundation, are embedded in its mission, vision, goals, policies, plans and curriculum.   3. The values and beliefs of the community are taken into account by the school in the formulation of its mission, vision, goals, policies, plans and curriculum.   4. The school explicitly articulates its values and beliefs in publications and presentations.   5. Publications and presentations in the wider community reflect an understanding of the values and beliefs of the school.   6. There are high levels of trust between the school and members of the community.   7. Parents and other stakeholders are active in promoting the values and beliefs of the school.   8. The values and beliefs of the school are evident in the actions of students and staff.   9. Staff and students who are exemplars of the values and beliefs of the school are recognised and rewarded 10. The values and beliefs of the school have sustained it or are likely to sustain it in times of crisis. TOTAL

Top 3 Priorities

Appendix 1   187

Financial capital (chapter 6) For each of the sample indicators, provide ratings of (1) importance in the context of your school, (2) how well your school is performing and (3) the priority you attach to further development. Sample indicator

Importance 1 2 3 4 5 Low High

Performance 1 2 3 4 5 Low High

/50

/50

Priority 1 2 3 4 5 Low High

  1. Funds are raised from several sources including allocations by formula from the public purse, fees, contributions from the community, and other money raised from the public and private sectors.   2. Annual planning occurs in the context of a multi-year development plan for the school.   3. The financial plan has a multi-year outlook as well as an annual budget.   4. Allocation of funds reflects priorities among educational needs that take account of data on student achievement, evidence-based practice, and targets to be achieved.   5. There is appropriate involvement of stakeholders in the planning process.   6. Appropriate accounting procedures are established to monitor and control expenditure.   7. Money can be transferred from one category of budget to another as needs change or emerge.   8. Actual expenditure matches intended expenditure allowing for flexibility to meet emerging needs.   9. Educational targets are consistently achieved through the planned allocation of funds. 10. The funds from all sources are sufficient and sustainable to meet educational needs. TOTAL

Top 3 Priorities

188   Appendix 1

Governance (chapter 7) For each of the sample indicators, provide ratings of (1) importance in the context of your school, (2) how well your school is performing and (3) the priority you attach to further development. Sample indicator

Importance 1 2 3 4 5 Low High

Performance 1 2 3 4 5 Low High

/50

/50

Priority 1 2 3 4 5 Low High

  1. Authorities, responsibilities and accountabilities of the governing body and professional staff are clearly specified.   2. Mechanisms are in place to ensure that obligations in respect to legal liability and risk management are addressed.   3. There is a clearly stated connection between the policies of the school and intended outcomes of the students.   4. Policies have been prepared after consultation with key stakeholders within the school and the wider community.   5. Policies have been formally approved by the governing body.   6. Policies are consistent in their application across the school so that students with the same needs are supported in the same manner.   7. Data are used in making decisions in the formulation of policies and making judgements about their effectiveness.   8. Data are gathered across the range of intended outcomes.   9. Information about policies and their implementation is readily available to all stakeholders. 10. There is a strong sense of commitment to policies and their implementation on the part of all stakeholders. TOTAL

Top 3 Priorities

Appendix 2

Schools studied in the International Project to Frame the Transformation of Schools Note: All schools are public (state, government) secondary schools except as indicated for schools in Australia (Victoria). Country

School Name

Type

Location

Enrolment (students)

Australia (Victoria)

Aquinas College

NonGovernment Catholic Secondary

Ringwood, Melbourne

1570

Bialik College

NonGovernment Jewish Primary– Secondary

East Hawthorn, Melbourne

1060

Canterbury Girls’ Secondary College

Government Secondary

Canterbury, Melbourne

Frankston Assistant Principals Network

Government Schools Network (Primary, Secondary, Special)

Frankston, Melbourne

Koonung Secondary College

Government Secondary

Mont Albert North, Melbourne

Wangaratta High School

Government Secondary

Wangaratta, Hume Region (Rural)

1400

Serpell Primary School

Government Primary

Templestowe, Melbourne

850

950

36 schools

872

189

190   Appendix 2

Country

School Name

Type

Location

China (Chongqing)

Chongqing Eighth Secondary School

Secondary

Chongqing

Chongqing 18th Middle School

Secondary

Chongqing

Chongqing Qinghua High School

Secondary

Chongqing

4200

Chongqing 37th Secondary School

Secondary

Chongqing

5500

Chongqing Yucai Middle School

Secondary

Chongqing

5000

Beauchamp College

Secondary

Oadby, Leicestershire

2100

Birchwood Community High School

Secondary

Warrington, Cheshire

Pershore High School

Secondary

Worcestershire

1200

Plumstead Manor School

Secondary

South-East London

1750 (girls)

Ringmer Community College

Secondary

East Sussex

800

Hatanpää School

Secondary

Tampere

324

Kaarila School

Secondary

Tampere

402

Ristinarkku School

Secondary

Tampere

360

Sampola School

Secondary

Tampere

670

Tesoma School

Secondary

Tampere

446

César Chávez High School

Secondary (Charter)

Detroit, Michigan

525

Crownpoint High School

Secondary

Crownpoint, New Mexico

475

James Campbell High School

Secondary

Ewa Beach, Hawaii

2200

James Madison High School

Secondary

San Diego, California

1500

The Young Women’s Leadership School

Secondary

Manhattan, New York

England

Finland (Tampere)

United States

Enrolment (students) 6000 unknown

unknown

420

Appendix 2   191

Country

School Name

Type

Location

Enrolment (students)

Wales

Barry Comprehensive School

Secondary

Barry, Glamorgan

1465

Cardiff High School

Secondary

Cardiff

1450

Glyncoed Comprehensive School

Secondary

Ebbw Vale

St Joseph’s Roman Catholic High School

Secondary

Newport

1387

Treorchy Comprehensive School

Secondary

Rhondda Valley

1511

774

Index

adult education 67, 71 Aiston, S. 82, 178 Alberta (Canada) 23, 102, 163 Anderson, M. 157, 158, 173, 178 Aquinas College (Australia) 97, 105, 189 Atkinson, M. 82, 173 Atlanta 23, 30 Australia viii, ix, 1–3, 5, 8–10, 12–15, 20–23, 27–30, 32, 36, 38, 40, 41, 47, 48, 61, 63, 65–68, 70, 73, 75, 76, 89–91, 101, 103–106, 108, 109, 112, 114, 121, 132, 133, 135, 139, 140, 144, 147–149, 151, 154, 155, 159, 160, 162–171 Australia 2020 Summit ix, 8, 9, 14, 15, 17, 63, 80, 159, 161, 171, 173 Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) x, 24, 59, 79, 173 Australian Business and Community Network (ABCN) x, 65, 66, 81, 173 Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (ACCI) x, 63, 80, 173 Australian College of Educators (ACE) x, 12 Australian Council for Educational Leaders (ACEL) x, 12 Australian Council for Educational Research (ACER) ix, 63, 80 Australian Council of State School Organisations (ACSSO) x, 61, 79, 173 192

Australian Education Union (AEU) 151 Australian Government viii, 12, 13, 16–18, 61, 67, 68, 105, 156, 159, 162, 164, 173 Australian Parents Council (APC) 61, Australian Secondary Principals Association (ASPA) 157, 173 Business Council of Australia x, 37, 63, 80 Department of Education, Employment and Workplace Relations (DEEWR) 157, 176 Department of Education, Science and Training (DEST) (now DEEWR) x, 13 National curriculum 9, 16, 28,160, 163–167, 170 National Curriculum Board 163, 165, 172, 179 Schools in International Project to Frame the Transformation of Schools Aquinas College 95, 105, 189 Bialik College 47, 69, 96, 105, 108, 148–151, 189 Canterbury Girls’ Secondary College 108, 112, 132, 189 Frankston Assistant Principals Network 54, 72, 189 Koonung Secondary College 44, 53, 69, 122, 123, 133, 189 Serpell Primary School 70, 89, 140, 189

Index   193

Wangaratta High School 50, 87, 88, 189 autonomy (see school autonomy) Ball, S.J. 65, 81, 173 Barber, M. 16, 18, 21, 22, 34, 57, 58, 86, 99, 116, 156, 164, 172–174 Barry Comprehensive School (Wales) 92, 93, 130, 131, 133, 191 Bartlett, D. 166 Beare, H. 81, 174 Beauchamp College (England) 43, 50, 70, 109, 190 Beijing Normal University ix, 13 Belgium 23, 30, 144 Bellfield Primary School (Australia) 16, 152 Berger, P.L. 85, 99, 174 Bialik College (Australia) 47, 69, 96, 105, 108, 148–151, 189 Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation 66 Birchwood Community High School (England) 48, 87–89, 110, 190 Bishop, J. 63 Blair, T. 3, 16, 21, 28, 29, 61, 64, 65, 154, 155, 164 Board of Teacher Registration (Queensland) 71, 82, 174 Bolam, R. 3, 17, 174 Bolman, L. 145–147, 157, 174 Bond, J. 65 Boston 23, 30 Bridgewater and Southern Midlands Education Renewal Taskforce (BASMERT) (Tasmania) 135, 136, 168, 174 British Telecommunications (BT) 33 Brown, G. 3, 4, 6, 17, 29, 64, 65, 174 Brown, S. 13 Bush, T. 17, 174 Business Council of Australia x, 37, 63, 80 Caldwell, B. J. viii, 10, 11, 16–18, 28, 34–36, 39, 55, 57, 82, 103, 116, 117, 137, 159, 162, 171, 174, 175

Canada (see also Alberta and Ontario) 21, 23, 24, 30, 31, 102, 163, 172 Canterbury Girls’ Secondary College (Australia) 108, 112, 132, 189 Capponi, N. 99, 175 Cardiff High School (Wales) 48, 92, 108, 109, 112, 113, 132, 191 Cawsey, C. 152, 158, 173 César Chávez High School (United States) x, 111, 153, 158, 190 charter schools 24, 111, 139, 152, 153, 155, 168, 171 Harlem Success Academy Charter School (New York) 153 Chen, Q. 27, 182 Cheng, Y.C. 146, 157, 175 Chicago 23, 30, 153 Chile 12, 133 China viii, ix, 9, 10, 13, 20, 21, 30, 32, 42, 44, 45, 52, 67, 73, 88, 90, 95, 106, 108, 123, 132, 148, 163, 190 Beijing Normal University ix, 13 Schools in International Project to Frame the Transformation of Schools Chongqing 18th Middle School 95, 190 Chongqing 37th Secondary School 42, 44, 45, 67, 123, 124, 133, 190 Chongqing Eighth Secondary School 91, 108, 190 Chongqing Qinghua High School 51, 72, 190 Chongqing Yuckai Middle School 110, 111, 113, 190 Chinese Taipei 21 Chongqing (see China – Schools in International Project to Frame the Transformation of Schools) Clinton Foundation 66 Clinton, B. 66, 81, 154, 175 Coleman, J. 61, 79, 85, 99, 175 Comenius 70, 81, 175 Commonwealth Bank 65

194   Index

community involvement in schools 60, 61, 67, 68 Connors-Tadros, L. 81, 80 Continuing Professional Development (CPD) x, 44, 46–50, 53, 54, 140, 141 Corneille, K. 99, 175 Council for International Schools 54 Covey, S. 5, 17, 76, 175 Croatia 12, 40 Crownpoint High School (United States) 90, 91, 109, 132,190 Cummings, C. 80, 175 Cuttance, P. 81, 82, 99, 175 Czech Republic 30 Dawkins, P. 13 Deal, T. 145–147, 157, 174 Denmark 7 Dettman, P. 117, 182 Dinham, S. 57, 176 Douglas, E. 137, 157, 176 Downes, P. 116, 178 Dyson, A. 80, 175 Eastern Metropolitan Region (Victoria) 13, 34 Economist, The 17, 158, 181 economy, education and society 6, 7, 9, 14, 160, 162, 163, 165, 167, 170 Edmonton Public School District (Alberta) 102, 117, 168, 176 Education Foundation Australia 66, 81, 176 Education Fund, The, Orient Global 32 Education Reform Act (1988) (England) 13, 27, 35 ‘education revolution’ (education policy of Rudd Government) (Chapter 9) ix, 6, 15, 16, 27, 35, 156, 159, 164, 171, 179 Educational Transformations Pty Ltd 13, 18, 162, 176 Egan, D. ix, 13, 117, 137, 176 Elmore, R. 142, 143, 156, 176 England viii, 2, 3, 10, 12, 13, 19, 27,

2–32, 40, 42, 43, 45, 47,48, 51, 52, 54, 61, 62, 64–67, 70, 73, 79, 89, 91, 102–104, 106, 108, 109, 113, 114, 116, 125, 132, 133, 148, 152, 153, 166, 166, 168–170, 190 Department for Children, Schools and Families (DfCSF) (England) x, 42, 62, 64, 117, 176 Department for Education and Skills (DfES) (now DfCSF) (England) 42, 62, 64 Every Child Matters 61, 80, 177 Extended Services / Extended Schools 61, 62, 80, 179 National Foundation for Educational Research (NFER) x, 71, 72, 82, 178 National College for School Leadership 71, 147, 169 National Workforce Agreement 42 Schools in International Project to Frame the Transformation of Schools Beauchamp College 43, 49, 50, 70, 109, 190 Birchwood Community High School 48, 87-89. 110, 190 Pershore High School 48, 68, 76, 110, 113, 190 Plumstead Manor School 51, 54, 190 Ringmer Community College 91, 95, 115, 125, 126, 133, 190 Epstein, J.L. 81, 180 Ernst & Young 65 Estonia 21 Estyn (Wales) 51 European Commission 70 European Union x, 7 Every Child Matters (England) 61, 80, 177 Extended Services / Extended Schools (England) 61, 62, 80, 179 Family School and Community Partnership Bureau (Australia) 61

Index   195

Federations of schools 135, 148, 168 Haberdashers’ Aske’s Federation (England) 133–135 Financial capital (Chapter 6) viii, 10, 11, 14, 15, 22, 59, 69, 75, 98, 131, 134, 141, 143, 147, 150, 151, 155, 160, 163, 167, 168, 187 definition 10 indicators 104, 187 Financial Management Standard in Schools (FMSiS) (England) x, 113 Finland vii, viii, ix, x, 1–3, 6, 7, 9, 10, 13, 19–23, 26, 30, 43, 46, 47, 52, 67, 70, 71, 74, 76, 89, 91, 103, 104, 106, 107, 115, 116, 126–128, 132, 133, 139, 140, 144, 148, 154, 163, 165–168, 170, 171, 182, 190 Schools in International Project to Frame the Transformation of Schools Hatanpää School 43, 71, 74, 75, 132, 190 Kaarila School 105, 109, 114, 190 Ristinarkku School 52, 96, 127, 128, 133, 190 Sampola School 47, 190 Tesoma School 89, 190 National Board of Education 52, 126-128, 132, 133, 167 Fleming, J. 16, 152, 158, 177 Ford Foundation 33 ‘fourth way’ 154, 155, 160 France 30 Frankston Assistant Principals’ Network (Australia) 54, 72, 189 Fuchs, T. 117, 177 Fukuyama, F. 4, 17, 177 Fullan, M. 17, 86, 99, 173, 177 Futures-Focused School Project 162 Gao Kao (national university entrance examination – China) 42 GCSE (General Certificate of Secondary Education) (England) x, 29, 64, 68

General Teaching Council for Wales (GTCW) x, 48, 108 Giddens, A. 154, 158, 177 Gillard, J. 63 Glaeser, E. L. 82, 177 Glyncoed Comprehensive School (Wales) 45, 91, 191 Goodall, J. 177 Goodfellow, M. ix, 13, 137 Gove, M. 29, 35, 177 Governance (Chapter 7) viii, 8, 11, 12, 15, 18, 30, 39, 40, 55, 56, 59, 65, 67, 68, 85, 116, 138, 139, 141–148, 150, 151, 153, 156, 161, 168, 169, 171 definition 10 indicators 120, 121, 188 Government schools (see public schools) Grayson, H. 82, 178 Gronn, P. 157, 178 Haberdashers’ Aske’s Federation (England) 133–135 Haileybury College (Australia) 16 Halsey, K. 82, 173 Hanushek, E.A. 100, 116, 177 Harlem Success Academy Charter School (New York) 153 Harris, A. 80, 81, 177 Harris, J. viii, 35, 117, 137, 157, 162, 175, 176, 182 Harvard Graduate School of Education 48, 85, 142, 149 Hatanpää School (Finland) 43, 71, 74, 132, 190 Hattie, J. 38, 57, 144, 177 Hefner, R.W. 85, 99, 174 Henderson, A.T. 80, 81, 177 Hillebrand, E. 158, 178 Hillman, J. 143, 156, 180 Hodge, S.T. 35, 178 Holland, M. 82, 178 Hong Kong 21, 23, 32, 33, 66, 163, 172 Hopkins, D. 16, 17, 157, 178, 179 Howard Government (Australia) 63

196   Index

HSBC 16, 64, 110 Hume Region of DEECD (Victoria) 13, 189 Iannaccone, L.R. 86, 178 ICT x, 11, 33, 46, 64, 68, 106, 108, 110, 125, 134, 164, 166, 171 Ifo Institute for Economic Research, University of Munich 25 India 20, 30, 32, 33, 163 Ingvarson, L. 57, 80, 157, 176, 178 intellectual capital (Chapter 3) viii, 9, 11, 22, 33, 63, 68, 75, 85, 86, 100, 108, 115, 116, 132, 134, 140–143, 149, 151, 152, 160, 163, 165, 167, 170 definition 10 indicators 40, 184 International Networking for Educational Transformation (iNet) x, 12, 54, 70 International Project to Frame the Transformation of Schools viii, 9, 12, 13, 14, 16, 18, 19, 22, 27, 31, 33, 37, 39, 41, 46, 51, 52, 55, 56, 59, 64, 66, 69, 79, 83, 86, 87, 89, 90, 92, 94, 96, 98, 100, 101, 103, 105, 107, 112, 113, 120, 121, 133, 134, 136–139, 143, 148, 151, 153, 155, 159–161, 164, 165, 169, 171, 176, 183, 189 Jackson, A. 157, 178 James Campbell High School (United States) 47, 95, 96, 108, 112, 129, 133, 190 James Madison High School (United States) 46, 49, 93, 94, 190 James, R. 117, 176 Japan 21, 23, 52 Joftus, S. 12, 178 John Templeton Foundation 36, 84 Johnson, F. 82, 173 Jones, B. 5, 6, 17, 178 Jones, T. 99, 175 Kaarila School (Finland) 105, 109, 114, 190

Karvelas, P. 80, 178 Katha School (India) 32, 33, 36 Kerr, D. 82, 178 Kleinhenz, E. 16, 57, 80, 158, 176, 177 Klick, J. 86, 99, 178 ‘Knowledge Nation’ 5, 6 Koonung Secondary College (Australia) 44, 53, 69, 122, 123, 133, 189 Korea (South Korea) 20-23, 90 KPMG 65 Laibson, D. 82, 177 Lead Learning Support Assistant (LSA) x, 54 Leadbeater, C. 155, 158, 178 Leadership 3, 4, 6, 11, 15, 16, 116, 119, 131, 132, 138, 141–147, 156, 161–164, 169, 170 Leadership Incentive Grant 54 Leicestershire 49, 70, Leigh, A. 38, 57, 178 Levaˇci´c, R. 116, 178 Lin, J. 58, 178 Local Education Authority (LEA) (Wales) x, 47, 107 Lüdemann, E. 18, 35, 117, 157, 182 Malloch, T.R. 85, 86, 99, 178 Mapp, K. L. 80, 81, 177 McGuinness, K. 99, 175 McKinsey & Company vii, viii, 1, 2, 14, 19-23, 30, 33, 37–39, 52, 53, 57, 101, 140, 142, 144, 162–164 Malaysia 12, 40, Mauritius 12, 40, 55, 56 Mercedes-Benz 74, 109 Meredith, R. 162, 172, 179 Metanexus 84, 98, 179 Mexico 26 Michigan State University ix, 13 Midgely, S. 158, 179 Milburn, C. 157, 179 Mohammed bin Rashid al-Maktoum 66, 179 Mortimore, P. 143, 156, 180

Index   197

Mourshed, M. 16, 18, 34, 57, 58, 116, 156, 172, 174 Mulford, B. 144, 156, 179 National Association of Secondary School Principals (NASSP) (USA) 74 National Center on Education and the Economy (USA) 30, 35, 179 National College for School Leadership (England) 71, 147, 169 National Curriculum (Australia) 9, 16, 28, 64, 91, 106, 125, 126, 128, 132, 152, 160, 163, 165–167, 170 National Curriculum Board (Australia) 163, 165, 172, 179 National Foundation for Educational Research (NFER) (England) x, 71, 72, 82, 178 National Union of Teachers Cymru (Wales) 117, 179 National Workforce Agreement (England) 42 needs-based funding 104, 148, 168 Nelson, F. 35, 179 Netherlands 12, 21, 23, 32, 33, 40, 169 New Commission on the Skills of the American Workforce (USA) 30, 35 Ni, R. 27, 182 No Child Left Behind (NCLB) Act x, 5, 17, 179 Nokia 109 non-government schools (see private schools) Norway 7, 20 Nusche, D. 157, 179 Ofsted (Office for Standards in Education) (England) 50, 51, 62, 80, 179 Ohio 23, 30 Ontario (Canada) 23, 163, 172 Optus 65 Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development

(OECD) (see also Schooling for Tomorrow Project) vii, x, 1, 16, 19, 20, 22, 24–26, 30, 33, 34, 57, 70, 82, 101, 117, 144, 148, 154, 161, 162, 169, 170, 171, 179 Papps, I. 80, 175 Parent involvement 67 passion, strategy and trust 4–6, 14 Pearson, D. 80, 175 Pershore High School (England) 48, 68, 76, 110, 113, 190 Peters, T. J. 146, 157, 179 Philippines 12, 40 Pike, B. 33, 36 Plumstead Manor School (England) 51, 54, 190 Pont, B. 157, 179 PriceWaterhouseCoopers 65 Principal Responsibility System (Xiaozhang Fuzezhi) 42 Principles of Learning and Teaching (PoLT) x, 50 private schools (non-government schools, independent schools) 14, 15, 21, 24, 26, 27, 31–34, 36, 79, 83, 100, 101, 103–105, 138, 148, 151–155, 168, 169 Program for International Student Assessment (PISA) vii, viii, x, 1–3, 7, 10, 14, 19, 20, 21, 23, 25–27, 29, 31, 111, 139, 148, 154, 163, 167, 170 Project Zero (Harvard Graduate School of Education) (see also Bialik College) 48, 149 public schools (government schools, state schools) 12, 13, 15, 21, 26, 27, 31, 32, 83, 101, 103, 107, 112, 115, 128, 148, 151–155, 168, 171 Putnam, R. D. 17, 60, 79, 85, 99, 180 Qinghua High School (China) 51, 72, 190 Quality Education Fund (QEF) (Hong Kong) x, 66, 81, 180 Queensland 38, 65

198   Index

Queensland Board of Teacher Registration 71, 82, 174 Raffo, C. 80, 175 Rankka, M. 158, 180 Rasiel, E.M. 34, 180 Reggio Emilia (see Bialik College) 48, 149 Renaissance Schools Fund (Chicago) 153 Research Unit for Urban and Regional Development Studies (SENTE) (Tampere) ix, x, 13 Reynolds, D. 117, 180 Ringmer Community College (England) 91, 95, 115, 125, 126, 133, 190 Ristinarkku School (Finland) 54, 96, 127, 128, 133, 190 Robinson, V.M.J. 144, 156, 180 Rolls-Royce 64, 65 Rose, J. 65 Rooty Hill High School (Australia) 152 Rorris, A. 158, 180 Rowe, K. J. 156, 180 Rudd, K. ix, 5, 6, 8, 9, 63, 154, 159, 164 Saarivirta, T. ix, 13 Sacerdote, B. 82, 177 Sammons, P. 143, 156, 180 Sampola School (Finland) 47, 190 Sanders, M.G. 81, 180 Saulwick Muller Social Research 81, 180 Schleicher, A. 20–22, 27, 34, 148, 157, 170, 172, 180 school autonomy (‘local management’, ‘school-based management’, ‘school self-management’) viii, ix, 11–14, 18, 19, 24–26, 29, 31, 33, 34, 41, 43, 101, 111, 112, 121, 127, 128, 139, 140, 145, 148, 150, 152, 154, 168–171 school effectiveness 138, 142, 143, 145

School Effectiveness Unit, Blair New Labour Government 21 school global budget (student resource package) (Victoria) 101 school improvement 15, 55, 71, 75, 87, 112, 130, 132, 138, 142, 143, 145 Schooling for Tomorrow project (OECD) 70, 161, 162 Schütz, G. 18, 35, 117, 157, 181, 182 Secondary Heads Association Cymru (Wales) 117, 181 Selleck, R.J.W. 117, 182 Sergiovanni, T. J. 145–147, 157, 181 Serpell Primary School (Australia) 70, 89, 140, 189 Sidwell, E. 134 Singapore 12, 23, 40, 163, 172 Smith Family, The 66, 81, 181 Social capital (Chapter 4) viii, 11, 14, 15, 47, 55, 57, 85, 87, 91, 100, 135, 140–143, 145, 146, 150, 151, 155, 160, 163, 167 definition 10 indicators 59, 185 South Australia 12 South Korea (Korea) 20-23, 90 Southern Metropolitan Region (Victoria) 54 Spain 20 Special Education Needs (SEN) x, 107, 113 specialist schools 48, 64, 73, 106, 109, 125, 152 Specialist Schools and Academies Trust ix, x, 54, 64 Spinks, J. M. viii, 10, 16, 18, 28, 34, 39, 57, 82, 103, 116, 117, 137, 171, 175, 181, spiritual capital (Chapter 5) viii, 10, 11, 15, 33, 74, 76, 79, 100, 120, 134, 136, 137, 141, 143, 146, 150, 151, 155, 159, 160, 169 definition 10 indicators 83, 186 Spiritual Enterprise Institute 85 Springate, I. 82, 173

Index   199

St Joseph’s Roman Catholic High School (Wales) 73, 191 Stokes, S. 81, 82, 175 Sweden 7, 9, 38, 153–155, 168 Tampere (see Finland) Tasmania 1–3, 135, 136, 166, 168 Bridgewater and Southern Midlands Education Renewal Taskforce (BASMERT) 135–137, 168, 174 Tasmania Academy 166, 172 Tasmania Polytechnic 166, 172 Tasmania Tomorrow 172, 181 Teaching Australia (Australian Institute for Teaching and School Leadership) 16, 18, 159, 161, 162, 169, 172 Teaching for Uncertain Futures 172, 181, 18 Tesoma School (Finland) 89, 190 ‘third way’ 154, 155 Times Educational Supplement 28 Timperley, H. S. 156, 180 Tiplady, L. 80, 175 Todd, L. 80, 175 Tomazin, F. 36, 181 Tooley, J. 32, 36, 181 Treorchy Comprehensive School (Wales) 51, 114, 191 trust 4–6, 9, 14, 50, 59, 76, 78, 84, 85, 122, 129, 144, 151 Umoh, C. 99, 175 United Arab Emirates 66 United Kingdom (see England and Wales) United States viii, 5, 9, 10, 13, 19–21, 23, 24, 27, 29–31, 38, 41, 47, 48, 66, 67, 74, 89, 90, 101, 103, 104, 106, 108, 111, 112, 128, 132, 143, 148, 152, 153, 162, 165, 167, 168, 190 Michigan State University ix, 13 National Association of Secondary School Principals (NASSP) 74

National Centre on Education and the Economy 30, 35, 179 New Commission on the Skills of the American Workforce 30, 35 Schools in the International Project to Frame the Transformation of Schools César Chávez High School x, 111, 158, 190 Crownpoint High School 90, 91, 109, 132, 190 James Campbell High School 47, 95, 96, 108, 112, 128, 129, 133, 190 James Madison High School 46, 49, 93, 94, 190 Young Women’s Leadership School, The 74, 76, 109, 190 University of Wales Institute Cardiff (UWIC) ix, x, 13 US-China Center for Research on Excellence in Education ix, 13 Van Galen, J.A. 87, 99, 181 Victoria 12, 13, 31, 41, 44, 65, 66, 101–103, 105, 108, 112, 114, 115, 116, 121, 122, 139, 142, 143, 147, 168, 169, 176, 181, 182, 189 Department of Education and Early Childhood Development (DEECD) 13, 41, 58, 176 Eastern Metropolitan Region 13, 34 Hume Region 13 Victorian Certificate of Education (VCE) x, 50 Victorian Institute of Teaching (VIT) x, 44 vision 4–7, 29 Vodafone 110 Wales viii, ix, x, 10, 12, 13, 32, 40, 42, 47, 48, 52, 53, 67, 91–93, 102–104, 107, 108, 114, 130–132, 148, 169, 191

200   Index

Department of Education, Lifelong Learning and Skills (DELLS) x, 13 Estyn 61 General Teaching Council for Wales (GTCW) x, 48, 108 National Union of Teachers Cymru 17, 179 Schools in the International Project to Frame the Transformation of Schools Barry Comprehensive School 92, 93, 130, 131, 133, 191 Cardiff High School 48, 92, 108, 109, 112, 113, 132, 191 Glyncoed Comprehensive School 45, 91, 191 St Joseph’s Roman Catholic High School 73, 191 Treorchy Comprehensive School 51, 114, 191 Secondary Heads Association Cymru 117, 181 University of Wales Institute Cardiff (UWIC) ix, x, 13 Welsh Assembly Government viii, 13, 18, 107, 108 Walker, J. 16, 27, 156, 182 Wangaratta High School (Australia) 50, 87, 88, 189 Warren Buffett Foundation 66 Waterman, R. H. 146, 157, 179 Watterston, J. 13

Weber, M. 85, 182 Welsh Assembly Government viii, 13, 18, 107, 108 Wesfarmers 65 West, M.R. 18, 35, 117, 181, 182 Western Australia 65, 77–79 Western Australian Primary Principals Association (WAPPA) x, 76–78 Western Australian Secondary School Executives Association (WASSEA) 157, 182 White, K. 82, 178 Wilkinson, I.R. 117, 182 Woodberry, R.D. 85, 86, 99, 182 Wössmann, L. 18, 32, 35, 117, 157, 181, 182 Xin Jin Shan Chinese Language and Culture School 69 Yang, W. 158, 182 Yinjin Rencai (Imported Expertise – China) 42 Young Women’s Leadership School (United States) 74, 75, 109, 190 Zhang, G. 158, 182 Zhao, Y. ix, 13, 137, 158, 182 Zhong Kao (high school entry examination – China) 42

the

best

?

schools

Expectations have been raised in Australia and comparable countries for an ‘education revolution’ that will secure success for all students in all settings. Such a revolution must ensure the alignment of educational outcomes, the skills required for a strong economy, and the needs of a harmonious society. Why not the Best Schools? offers a ten-point, ten-year strategy that will ensure that, when all is said and done, people will look back and say a revolution has occurred and all schools can be fairly described as ‘best schools’. This book draws on a five-year study culminating in The International Project to Frame the Transformation of Schools conducted in Australia, China, England, Finland, the United States and Wales. The findings are consistent with the McKinsey & Company report on the world’s best performing school systems and those arising from OECD’s Program for International Student Assessment (PISA). It goes beyond system characteristics to provide an in-depth account of how transformation occurs in schools. Fifty indicators are provided to help shape strategies for policymakers and practitioners in schools and school systems. Guidelines for leadership and governance ensure a future-focus for those who are determined to ensure that all students will succeed in the 21st century.

Jessica Harris is director of research at Educational Transformations and research fellow in the Graduate School of Education at the University of Melbourne. She conducted a comparative study of schools in Australia and Finland before serving as manager of the International Project to Frame the Transformation of Schools.

© Cover photography by ULTRA.F| Digital Vision | Getty Images

ISBN 978-0-86431-955-5

9 780864 319555

Caldwell and Harris

Brian J. Caldwell is managing director of Educational Transformations and professorial fellow at the University of Melbourne where he served as dean of education from 1998 to 2004. He has undertaken more than 450 professional assignments of one kind or another in or for 38 countries. His previous book for ACER Press was Re-imagining Educational Leadership (2006).

Why not the best schools?

Whynot

What we have learned from outstanding schools around the world

Whynot

best schools?

the

Brian J. Caldwell and Jessica Harris

why_not_the_best_cover_final.indd 1

17/9/08 4:04:33 PM