Rosalind Levacic

Raising School Performance in the League Tables (Part 1): Disentangling the effects of social disadvantage

The article uses data from a longitudinal study of over 300 secondary schools to investigate differences in the rate at which schools improved General Certificate of Secondary Education (GCSE) examination results over the period 1991-98 and the reasons for such differences. Two variables found to have the most impact on examination improvement were a low concentration of social disadvantage relative to other local schools and starting from a low base level of GCSE results. Furthermore, schools with high concentrations of social disadvantage were liable to suffer a dual handicap as their relative social disadvantage tended to worsen over time. Schools with better examination improvement slightly increased their budget share per pupil over the period studied while those performing least well experienced a reduction in budget share per pupil.

Raising School Performance in the League Tables (Part 2): Barriers to Responsiveness in Three Disadvantaged Schools.

This is the second of two articles drawing from the Economic and Social Research Council-funded Impact of Competition on Secondary Schools study. The first article reported quantitative data concerning the relationship between the rate of school improvement and degree of social disadvantage amongst school student communities. This article examines qualitative data from three case-study schools in order to illuminate the barriers to responsiveness that face socially disadvantaged schools and impede school improvement. Attention is drawn to the cumulative impact of contextual influences, which interact with internal school factors, particularly the influence of local school hierarchies and processes of labelling that affect students and their learning experiences.

Educational leadership as a causal factor: Methodological Issues in Research on Leadership ?Effects?

There has been an increasing emphasis in educational policies, practices and professional development on the capacity of educational leadership to exert a causal impact on student cognitive and non-cognitive outcomes. If the strict criteria of counterfactual causality are adhered to no causal inference could be made about the effects of leadership, given that experimental research designs are inappropriate. Statistical studies of leadership ‘effects’ need to operationalize the concept of leadership and use data from natural settings. They are unable reliably to disentangle associational from counterfactual causal relationships. Given this dilemma, the article argues for using less purist criteria for causal inference but making this methodological approach explicit. Relationships observed in both quantitative and qualitative data can be interpreted only through insights derived from theoretical and conceptual knowledge of the area of inquiry. Causal social explanation (as distinct from counterfactual causality) provides a justification for ‘mixed methods’ to build a more secure empirical basis for knowledge about the effects of leadership.

Financing Schools Evolving Patterns of Autonomy and Control

The article tracks the evolution of the English school finance system from 1988 to 2007. Three main periods are distinguished: Establishing Local Management of Schools (1988—1997); New Labour and Consolidation (1997—2002); and Centralizing Labour (2002—2007). Three key criteria are applied in assessing the system—efficiency, equity and transparency. Until 2002, the degree of financial delegation to schools was steadily extended, thus enabling schools to manage their resources more efficiently. The entire period was marked by tensions between central government and local authorities over methods for determining the amount of central government funding allocated to education at local level. This culminated in the loss of local authority discretion with the introduction of a centrally determined Dedicated Schools Grant. Formula funding of schools is horizontally equitable within each local authority, but the degree of compensatory funding for socially disadvantaged schools remains variable across local authorities. The historical journey through which the school finance system has travelled has produced an a-rational and non-transparent method of funding from central to local government. As this method is at present historical rather than based on a national funding formula for education, it will become increasingly inequitable and will require further amendment.

‘Really Good Ideas’?: Developing Evidence-Informed Policy and Practice in Educational Leadership and Management

This article examines the potential for evidence-informed policy and practice (EIPP), in relation to educational leadership and management. We begin by considering what may be meant by the term, setting out a model of EIPP and discussing some issues to which it gives rise. We then look at some factors promoting and inhibiting the development of EIPP in educational leadership and management. Our general stance is that we see considerable potential in this approach, which is why in this article we go beyond a conceptual discussion to present a set of proposals for developing EIPP in educational leadership and management, including some ideas about the possible role of BEMAS in supporting an EIPP agenda.

Senior Management, Classroom Teacher and Governor Responses to Local Management of Schools

Eamon Marren, Education Officer, Borough of Kingston and Rosalind Levač ič, Centre for Educational Policy and Management at the Open University, report on research in which they examine the positive and negative views of the Local Management of Schools held by senior managers, governors and classroom teachers in 11 case study schools within one LEA.

Using Quantitative Data in World Bank Per-Student Funding Reform Projects: Data, Designs and Dilemmas in Transition Countries.

Since the late 1980s, education systems have increasingly moved to allocating funding for general education by means of a per-student formula. The trend started with developed economies and moved to transition and developing economies, where the World Bank has promoted the adoption of per-student funding (PSF). But promoting a particular reform, such as PSF, by including it in a package of sector-specific development projects funded by World Bank grants or loans, and employing local and international specialist staff do not guarantee successful implementation. This paper examines experience with implementing PSF to school level in transition countries, comparing varying degrees of success to date (2013) in Bulgaria, Moldova and Kosovo. The paper considers the dilemmas inherent in designing PSF formulae for schools, how this played out in each of the countries and the reasons for varying success in implementation.