Overview of the Symposium

Objectives

This symposium will report the key findings from a three-year study (2013-16) on the evaluation of teaching schools commissioned by the National College for Teaching and Leadership (NCTL) in England. The broad aim of the project was to gather robust qualitative and quantitative evidence to understand the effectiveness and impact of Teaching Schools on school improvement, and the quality and scope of external support required to enhance these.

Background

In November 2010, the Schools White Paper ‘The Importance of Teaching’ set out the UK Government’s plan to establish a national network of teaching schools as part of the policy aim of developing a self-improving school system. The first cohort of 100 teaching schools across 97 TSAs were designated by September 2011, followed by the designation of a second cohort of 86 TSAs in March 2012 and a third cohort of 126 TSAs in February 2013. By January 2015 there were 598 teaching schools across 486 TSAs in England.

Research Questions

The investigation was guided by an overarching research question: How teaching schools and their alliances are formed and developed over time and how and why (or why not) they are making a difference to improvement within the locality and/or beyond?

Methodology

This evaluation used a mixed methods approach. This involved combining qualitative and quantitative data collection and analysis derived from three research activities: case studies of 26 TSAs, a national survey of the first three cohorts of 345 TSAs, and secondary research and analysis of national performance and inspection results.

Conceptual framework

The design of the investigation was grounded in the wider research base on teacher and leadership development, school-to-school collaboration and networks, and system leadership both in England and internationally.

It is clear from the research literature both from England and further afield that school-centred partnerships and collaborations can, when based on certain principles, structures and processes and with high quality leadership, provide opportunities for deeper and more sustained professional learning between practitioners than might be achieved through more ‘traditional’ forms of CPD alone. There is clear evidence that such networked learning opportunities enhance professional practice and contribute to capacity building in participating schools. However, as yet, the empirical evidence which indicates that networking enhances pupil learning and leads to improved attainment is  far from conclusive (e.g. Sammons et al., 2003; 2007; Fruchter et al., 2015). Moreover, the research evidence shows that the ways in which school-to-school partnerships are structured, governed and led can make a significant difference to their impact on pupil outcomes (Chapman and Muijs, 2014; Hutchings, Francis and Vries, 2014).

The role of system leadership in driving a school-led system cannot be more strongly emphasised in the literature (Hargreaves, 2011; Ainscow, 2015).  However, the research evidence also suggests that the effective enactment of system leadership requires, inherently, ‘interrelationships and interdependence between different levels of the system’ (Pont et al., 2008: 57) so that practices, expertise and enthusiasm for improvement within individual schools and networks of schools can be connected and scaled up in a coordinated and coherent manner.

ScholarlySignificance

The symposium will bring together new empirical research and practice informed knowledge about the nature and meaning of system leadership in the current educational reform contexts in England. It will also provide unique illustrations of the ways in which inter-school partnerships grow educational leaders and through this, contribute to improvements in teaching, learning and pupil outcomes.

Ainscow, M. (2015) Towards a Self-Improving School System. London: Routledge. Chapman, C., & Muijs, D. (2014) Does school-to-school collaboration promote school improvement? A study of the impact of school federations on student outcomes. School Effectiveness and School Improvement, 25 (3), pp. 351-393. Fruchter, N., T. S. Arvidsson, C. Mokhtar, J. Beam, and W. Simmons. (2015) Demographics and Performance in New York City's School Networks: An Initial Inquiry. Providence, RI: Brown University, Annenberg Institute for School Reform. Hargreaves, D H, (2011), Leading a self-improving school system, Nottingham, National College for School Leadership. Hutchings, M., Francis, B., & Vries, R. D. (2014) The impact of academy chains on low income students. London: Sutton Trust. Pont, B., Nusche, D. & Hopkins, D. (2008). Improving School Leadership Volume 1: Improving Policy and Practice. Paris: OECD. Sammons, P., Power, S., Elliot, K., Robertson, P., Campbell, C. and Whitty, G. (2003) New Community Schools in Scotland. Final Report. National Evaluation of the Pilot Phase. London: Institute of Education, University of London. Sammons, P., Mujtaba, T., Earl, L. and Gu, Q. (2007) Participation in Network Learning Community Programmes and Standards of Pupil Achievement: Does it make a difference? School Leadership and Management, 27 (3): 213-238.