Realising the Potential of System Reform Frameworks for Evaluation and Action Keynote Presentation f

1
Realising the Potential of System Reform
Frameworks for Evaluation and ActionKeynote
Presentation for the 20th Anniversary of
theNational Centre for Educational Development
Research andInternational Seminar on Macro
Education Policy in the 21st Century, Beijing,
China, Thursday 19th October 2006
Professor David HopkinsHSBC Chair of
International Leadership Institute of Education,
University of London
2
Policy Does Not Mandate What Matters

• It is exceedingly difficult for policy to change
  practice, especially across levels of
  government. Contrary to the one-to-one
  relationship assumed to exist between policy and
  practice, the nature, amount, and pace of change
  at school level is a product of local factors
  that are largely beyond the control of
  higher-level policy makers. McLaughlin
  (199012)

3
(No Transcript)
4
(No Transcript)
5
4

6
The High Challenge High Support Framework
Intervention in inverse proportion to success
Ambitious Standards
High Challenge High Support
Devolved responsibility
Accountability
Access to best practice and quality professional
development
Good data and clear targets
7
Percentage of pupils achieving level 4 or above
in Key Stage 2 tests 1998-2003
English
Maths
80
75
70
Percentage
65
60
55
50
1998
1999
2000
2001
2002
2003

• Test changes in 2003
• Major changes to writing test/markscheme
• Significant changes to maths papers

8
The Key Question - how do we get there?

• Most agree that in England
• standards were too low and too varied in the
  1970s 80s
• some form of direct state intervention was
  necessary
• the impact of this top-down approach was to raise
  standards (particularly in primary schools).
• But now
• progress has plateaued - while a bit more might
  be squeezed out nationally, and perhaps a lot in
  underperforming schools, must question whether
  this is still the recipe for sustained reform
• there is a growing recognition that to ensure
  that every student reaches their potential,
  schools need to lead the next phase of reform.
• The 64k dollar question is how do we get there?

9
Towards large scale sustainable reform
Building Capacity
Professionalism
Prescription
National Prescription
Every School a Great School
Schools Leading Reform
System Leadership
10
4 drivers mould to context through system
leadership
Personalised Learning
SYSTEM LEADERSHIP
Networks Collaboration
Professional Teaching
Intelligent Accountability
11
System Leadership A Proposition

• System leaders care about and work for the
  success of other schools as well as their own.
  They measure their success in terms of improving
  student learning and increasing achievement, and
  strive to both raise the bar and narrow the
  gap(s). Crucially they are willing to shoulder
  system leadership roles in the belief that in
  order to change the larger system you have to
  engage with it in a meaningful way.

12
Every School a Great School Framework
Intelligent Accountability
Mobilisation and Agency
System Leadership
Professionalised Teaching
Personalised Learning
Governance and funding
Innovation and Networking
13
Complementary Policy Framework for System Reform
14
Trajectories for System Reform
Target
Half way to go
50-100
Half way there 0-50
Starting Point
Performance
Time
15
A Halfway There Halfway To Go Analysis on
12 Dimensions of School Reform
16
Some Insights on System Reform

• Every thing Counts on the dimensions of system
  reform
• But they look different at each stage
• However, the second stage needs to build on the
  first
• In some cases progress may not move beyond the
  first stage
• And, both stages need to be considered together
  in a long term systemic strategy

17
Coherent System Design
U N I V E R S A L H I G H
High quality personalised learning for every
student
18
Professor David Hopkins HSBC Chair in
International Leadership