CATEGORÍAS DEL DESARROLLO PARA COMUNIDADES INDÍGENAS EN COLOMBIA

Indicator Rationale Evidence could include Research information Professional leadership Effective leaders can

play a key role in articulating a vision and direction for the school. Professional leadership is not the role of the principal alone: leadership roles occur school-wide and contribute to school performance.

Professional leadership is focused on learning, including the use of assessment data to improve teaching.

There is an alignment of resources, policies and practices to ensure quality teaching in classrooms across the school. The school has an inclusive culture and partnerships for learning with parents.

The school has collaborative decision-making processes within a culture of ongoing learning.

Leadership is monitored and evaluated effectively and the results are used for overall improvement and staff development.

The board provides access to effective and well-targeted professional development that balances the needs of the national curriculum, the school as a whole, and the needs of the people in leadership roles.

Links have been made (Lingard & Mills, 2002) between effective schools and leadership that:

is supportive of teachers and students; encourages innovation and risk taking; and maintains a strong focus on student learning. Evidence from many school effectiveness studies demonstrates that strong, positive leadership is an important contributory factor to school effectiveness (Harris, 1999).

While there has been a substantial focus on effective leadership in the effective schools research literature, this is not always linked to student achievement. In the 1991 IEA Reading Literacy study, students achieved significantly more highly when their school principals were involved in the evaluation and development of their teachers‟ teaching of reading.

Day-to-day management

A school that is well managed is likely to use resources more effectively in support of its goals.

Day-to-day management is efficient and appropriately delegated.

Mäori staff have the opportunity to be involved in day-to-day management, especially issues relating to Mäori families.

Where the size of the school permits, those with high level strategic responsibilities are not diverted by excessive involvement in day-to-day matters.

The management of the school has good processes for maintaining effective relationships with other agencies and community groups that enable the school to draw on external resources and expertise where appropriate.

School-wide planning Effective planning helps to provide overall directions for the school, and ensure that school activities are carried out in support of these directions. New planning and reporting requirements for schools have recently been introduced in the Education Act.

Strategic and other planning is based on the evaluation and use of student achievement data.

The board and management have a robust and consultative process for developing a strategic intent and this process is followed through.

The board and management have a process for planning the deployment of resources on an annual basis in a way that is compatible with the broader strategic intent. There are processes for assessing likely future changes and trends and incorporating these assessments into the planning process.

The school‟s planning includes goals and targets relating to Mäori students.

There is a process for assessing and managing risks, especially health and safety risks.

There are processes for making timely decisions on long lead-time projects, such as the provision of teaching accommodation.

Research has shown that planning can lead to improved performance and service quality (La Vigna, Willis, Shaull, Abedi & Sweitzer, 1994).

Review and development

Self review is a key mechanism through which schools can gather and analyse information on the effectiveness of what

The school uses student achievement data (including separated Mäori and Pacific student achievement data) as an explicit basis for its self review, and analyses changes over time. Other relevant data such as student and parent perceptions of the usefulness of what is taught, and student retention and destination data, are also used where

McBeath, Boyd, Rand & Bell (1996) found that there are considerable benefits to be gained from schools evaluating their own experiences, successes and priorities for future development.

results to improve the quality of their policies and programmes.

The school collects, analyses and uses valid and reliable information for self review purposes.

The school adopts a coherent approach to self review that focuses on strategic planning, and incorporates review of policies, plans and programmes, curriculum review and staff appraisal.

The school uses the results of self review to feed into the planning process and contribute to educational

improvement.

Resource management This indicator contributes to the efficient use of resources for well- targeted programmes.

The board complies with required financial management processes (ERO‟s processes for checking these are set out in the Board Assurance Statement).

The board has a robust process for well targeted budgeting. Resources are allocated appropriately to meet the

identified needs of Mäori students and to support the promotion of the bicultural development of all students.

Research has found that effective schools tend to manage their resources to the advantage of the whole school and to the advantage of all students (Harris, Jamieson & Russ, 1995).

Personnel management

The quality of

teaching has a key role in influencing student achievement. The quality of a school‟s personnel management is likely to influence positively the recruitment, retention and development of high quality teachers.

The board complies with required personnel management processes (ERO‟s processes for checking these are set out in the Board Assurance Statement).

Teaching throughout the school is effectively evaluated and monitored and the results are used for overall improvement and staff development.

The board provides access to effective and well-targeted professional development programmes that balance the needs of the national curriculum, the school as a whole and the individual teacher.

The school has capabilities and competencies among staff that are appropriate to the needs of Mäori students.

Teacher professional development can vary widely in effectiveness. Evaluative evidence about the impact on junior students‟ achievement of professional

development in the Numeracy Project and the „Picking up the Pace‟ flexible literacy approach has shown marked and dramatic impacts on student achievement (Phillips, McNaughton & MacDonald, 2001).

Research on professional development has identified that the characteristics of robust programmes are:

systematic identification of needs; a focus on the reality of the classroom;

links to the gathering of high quality assessment data;

The school‟s induction procedures are of high quality.

practice;

good facilitation;

the involvement of school leadership; involvement of the wider community; and rigorous evaluation of programme effectiveness.