Defining System Effectiveness: Clarifying System Improvement

1
Defining System EffectivenessClarifying System
Improvement

• Report of theInternational Education Leaders
  Dialogue

2
INTERNATIONAL EDUCATION LEADERS DIALOGUE
Ontario Dr Carol Campbell Dr Avis Glaze Dr Ben
Levin Nancy Watson
Participants
England Rt. Hon. Ed Balls MP, Secretary of
State for Children, Schools and Families Jim
Knight MP, Minister of State for Schools and
Learners Lord Andrew Adonis, Parliamentary
Under Secretary of State for Schools and
Learners David Bell, Permanent Secretary,
DCSF Tony Danker Mike Gibbons Sue Hackman Steve
Munby
Hong Kong Dr Catherine K.K. Chan Dr Francis
Wing-Ming Cheung Betty Ip Tony Tang
Victoria Tony Cook Dr Sara Glover
Singapore Tharman Shanmugaratnam, Minister of
Education Wong Siew Hoong
Wales Jane Hutt AM, Minister for Children,
Education, Lifelong Learning and Skills Steve
Marshall Bethan Guilfoyle Karl Napieralla Elizabet
h Taylor
South Australia Garry Costello
Host Sue Hackman
Participants
Facilitator Tony Mackay Expert Commentators
Michael Fullan Michael Barber
3
DAY ONE
Ministerial Welcome p.4 On Day
One p.5 Opening Presentations Michael
Fullan p.6 Michael Barber p.8 The Case
Studies England p.10 Hong Kong
p.11 Ontario p.12 Singapore p.13
South Australia p.14 Victoria p.15 Wale
s p.16 Tensions and Dilemmas p.17 The
Keys System Improvement p.19
4
DAY TWO
On Day Two p.21 Potential Solutions as
presented to Andrew Adonis Michael Fullans
Group p.22 Ben Levins Group p.23 Sue
Hackmans Group p.24 Tony Mackays
Group p.25 Key Actions for the next 12
Months England / Hong Kong p.27 Ontario /
South Australia p.28 Victoria /
Wales p.29 Concluding Remarks Michael
Barber p.30 Michael Fullan / Sue
Hackman p.31
5
OPENING REMARKS
6
DAY ONE
7
OPENING PRESENTATION Michael Fullan 1/2
8
OPENING PRESENTATION Michael Fullan 2/2
9
OPENING PRESENTATION Michael Barber 1/2
10
OPENING PRESENTATION Michael Barber 2/2
11
THE CASE STUDIES England
12
THE CASE STUDIES Hong Kong
13
THE CASE STUDIES Ontario
14
THE CASE STUDIES Singapore
15
THE CASE STUDIES South Australia

• In the area of Early Childhood reform, the
  strategy is focussing on integrating education,
  health, care and preschool policies. A new
  programme of Childrens Centres for Early
  Childhood Development and Parenting has been
  launched
• 28.8m will be used to create 20 centres for
  integrated child care, preschool, health and
  family support, and promote smooth transition
  into the first years of school
• This is supported by structural and
  administrative changes to help connect strands of
  reform in education, care, health, child
  protection and family support
• The Early Childhood strategy draws on best
  practice from across the world, but recognising
  that there is no single model and that the best
  approaches are built on local strengths,
  opportunities and priorities, ensuring that local
  stakeholders are involved from the early stages.

• Since the 2006 Dialogue, South Australia has
  maintained their focus on tri-level reform
• Leaders Executive Congress meetings in
  October 2006 and April 2007 to prioritise trends
  and issues, and to shape necessary reforms for
  system improvement
• Engaging leaders from all three levels in
  developing secondary reform, which will be
  complemented by School to Work initiatives
  Trade Schools for the Future, raising the
  compulsory school leaving age, student mentoring
  programmes, industry partnerships and
  school-based apprenticeships
• Developing broad and diverse curriculum
  pathways for future training and employment
• Introduction of the Department of Education
  and Childrens Services Improvement and
  Accountability Framework, as a context for
  whole-organisation improvement and accountability
  
• Providing access to online data and analysis
  systems to schools, districts and national
  government, to support improved use of data

16
THE CASE STUDIES Victoria
17
THE CASE STUDIES Wales
18
TENSIONS AND DILEMMAS 1/2
19
TENSIONS AND DILEMMAS 2/2

• System intervention in schools performing poorly
  how can systems avoid being destructive?
• Need to be supportive/negotiate initially - but
  for how long before action is taken?
• Intervention not just for failing schools -
  coasting schools are a barrier to world-class
  performance
• How can the negative impacts (such as labelling
  and parental flight) of intervention be managed?
• Schools should be (made) aware of their own
  performance (trends, value-added, absolute) but
  what if they are not?
• Is it right that in some systems financial
  mismanagement is considered a trigger to
  intervention but not poor performance?
• Dilemma how do we shape networks / learning
  communities to develop an effective coaching
  culture?
• School leadership how do we enhance the capacity
  of school leaders to manage competing priorities
  and emerging challenges? Do they have the
  necessary motivational skills? How can they
  sustain a focus on performance? Succession
  planning?
• Challenges in system reform
• Management of change (including stakeholders,
  media)
• Ministry-led system transformation tends to be
  led from the top down but needs to engage bottom-
  up
• Institution-level change is very difficult to
  scale up systematically
• Ministries themselves need to change
• Getting good individuals to become teachers
• How do we attract top graduates?
• How do we retain and develop the people we have?
• Ensuring diversity - the best teachers might not
  exclusively be the most academically successful.
  Their personal characteristics and ability to
  empathise with very diverse range of pupils are
  also crucial.

20
THE KEYS System Improvement 1/2
(use data to challenge and case studies to
demonstrate the possibilities)
21
THE KEYS System Improvement 2/2
22
DAY TWO
23
POTENTIAL SOLUTIONS AS PRESENTED TO ANDREW ADONIS
1/5
24
POTENTIAL SOLUTIONS AS PRESENTED TO ANDREW ADONIS
2/5

• Ben Levins group
• The idea Improving practice in all schools for
  improving outcomes for their bottom performing
  students
• CONTEXT Recognise must be one element of a
  multi-part strategy
• ACTION Every school is expected to improve
  performance among bottom quartile students
• Produces a strategy for evidence-based support
  for improving performance
• Specify outcome/target (flexible in agreeing
  this)
• 3-year proposal for additional resources
  annual/ongoing review
• Must work with an external partner with specific
  expertise (e.g. HE institution etc), and with
  local authority
• Monitor effectiveness through effective
  accountability, with more than one outcome
  measure (makes it harder to cheat!)
• Ramp up good practice
• National level
• Policy framework, resources, assessment tools,
  more systematic data flowing back to schools
• Improve middle tier capacity to do this
• Middle tier
• Commonality of approach across jurisdiction
  common domains different countries have
  different layers of autonomy
• Teams with specific consultant skills involved as
  a partner in implementation of proposal
• Support schools to network and share good
  practice
• Identify what areas of good practice are
  non-negotiable

• Andrew Adonis response
• What do the external partnerships involve? e.g.
  they should include links with universities
  making links from theory to practice, exchange
  both ways
• This would need to be built into existing school
  strategies avoid overloading schools with
  excessive new strategies
• He commented on the challenge of narrowing gaps
  whilst also raising threshold performance, citing
  the experience of London where significant
  attainment gaps and high levels of
  underperformance are also accompanied by middle /
  professional class disaffection with state
  education provision and consequent flight to the
  private sector

25
POTENTIAL SOLUTIONS AS PRESENTED TO ANDREW ADONIS
3/5
26
POTENTIAL SOLUTIONS AS PRESENTED TO ANDREW ADONIS
4/5
27
POTENTIAL SOLUTIONS AS PRESENTED TO ANDREW ADONIS
5/5
28
KEY ACTIONS FOR THE NEXT 12 MONTHSEngland
Hong Kong
29
KEY ACTIONS FOR THE NEXT 12 MONTHSOntario
South Australia
30
KEY ACTIONS FOR THE NEXT 12 MONTHSVictoria
Wales
31
CONCLUDING REMARKS
32
CONCLUDING REMARKS