What Is Going On In Schools? Regarding The Effects Of School Inspections On School Development In Germany

Author(s):

Christian Weyer(presenting / submitting)Nina Fritsch(presenting)Kathrin Dedering

Conference:

ECER 2012

Network:

23. Policy Studies and Politics of Education

Format:

Paper

Session Information

23 SES 08 C, Inspection and Regulation

Parallel Paper Session

Time:

2012-09-20

09:00-10:30

Room:

FFL - Aula 31

Chair:

Palle Rasmussen

Contribution

Many European countries have implemented instruments of school inspections as an element of quality assurance in the school system. Although they differ in some way, all have in common that school inspection is a procedure targeting the assessment of school quality and ensuring school development (Ehren & Visscher 2008). In Germany school inspections have been implemented in all 16 federal states between 2004 and 2008. Meanwhile, scientific research into the functioning of school inspections has begun, too. The question of its effectiveness and its outcome is increasingly examined in empirical studies. (Dedering & Müller 2011)
One of these studies is currently (2010 – 2013) conducted at Bielefeld University. It is funded by the Federal Ministry of Education and Research (Bundesministerium für Bildung und Forschung) and tries to answer the question, which intended and unintended side-effects have any causal effect on the quality of schools. In doing so, the aim is to generate new findings, which derive from general conclusions concerning the effectiveness of the newly introduced control mechanisms. The findings can also be used to point out new ways to both, support the administration in improving their inspection system and conditions outside school.
Moreover the study intends to identify those factors accompanying the development activities within schools (i.e. internal factors such as the innovation capacity of staff or external factors such as assistance systems). In this context the project takes into account the process level (reception of and reaction to feedback), the content level (measures in consequence of the feedback) and the context level (relationship between the feedback system, (external-) school factors and internal activities in school development).

Method

The two German federal states, Thuringia and Hamburg, whose school inspection concepts differ as to the feedback systems, were selected exemplarily. A quasi-longitudinal design is realized with data collections at three times before and after the obligatory school visit has taken place. Each period of time lasts six months. The first approach of this design takes place two weeks before the school visit and it includes a standardized survey of principals and teachers fulfilling functional roles in school development activities. There, the focus is on activities in preparation for the school visit. The second approach is a standardized survey of all teachers that takes place four months after the school visit. At that point, the schools already received feedback from the external evaluations; furthermore it is assumed that during this phase the most important reception processes and reactions either take place or not. For the third analyzis it is intended to examine the schools again. It takes place one year after the school visit and, as during the first stage, includes a standardized survey of principals and teachers fulfilling functional roles in school development activities. We assume that consistent developments can be traced back by the activities at that time.

Expected Outcomes

At that point in time the first (January – June 2011) and the second phase (May – October 2011) of the survey are already completed, whereas the third one is almost finished. Hence it will be possible to present results of school activities that took place as a consequence of the announcement of the school visit. At that time we focus on the reception processes and reactions that took place as a consequence of both the school visit and the feedback after the inspection. We can give information about how the feedback-information is handled by the schools, about the relationship between inspectorates and schools and different feedback-characteristics respectively. Even though one has to keep in mind that the third phase is not finished at this point in time, it can be assumed that the received data already gives hints on how consistent and lasting developments and activities were initiated as a result of school inspection. The data thus obtained will be used for the empirical verification of a theoretical framework of school inspections’ effects at the school level presented by Ehren and Visscher (2006).

References

Dedering, K. & Müller, S. (2011): School Improvement through Inspections? International research findings and first insights from Germany. Journal of Educational Change, 12, (3), 301–322. Ehren, M.C.M. & Visscher, A.J. (2008). The relationship between school inspections, school characteristics and school improvement. British Journal of Educational Studies, 56, (2), 205–227. Ehren, M.C.M. & Visscher, A.J. (2006). Towards a theory on the impact of school inspections. British Journal of Educational Studies, 54, (1), 51–72.

Author Information

Christian Weyer (presenting / submitting)

Universität Bielefeld

Fakultät für Erziehungswissenschaft - AG 4 Schulentwicklung und Schulforschung

Bielefeld

Nina Fritsch (presenting)

University of Bielefeld

Fakulty of Pedagogy

Hannover

Kathrin Dedering

Universität Vechta, Germany

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