Tagarchief: oeso

OESO publiceert literatuurstudie rond schoolgrootte

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Interessant, de OESO publiceerde net een literatuurstudie rond optimale schoolgrootte waarbij ze kijken naar voor- en nadelen. Omdat we in Nederland en Vlaanderen ogenschijnlijke tegenovergestelde bewegingen hebben (schaalvergroting in Vlaanderen, zeg maar post-schaalvergroting in Nederland), zeer actueel.

De conclusie van de studie is ontnuchterend. Het is namelijk niet zo eenvoudig te stellen dat er een optimale schoolgrootte is. Soms zijn scholen noodgedwongen klein, wegens afgelegen, maar kunnen ze de beperking van een kleine schaal (minder kansen tot professionalisering, minder ondersteuning, minder specialisatie) wel opvangen door bijvoorbeeld bovenschoolse samenwerking of online ondersteuning van de lesgevers. Iets wat ik zelf ook al zag bij projecten waarbij ogenschijnlijk ’te kleine’ scholen (cfr New York) toch zeer effectief bleken.

Ik neem even dit stuk over uit de eigenlijke conclusie als samenvatting, aandachtspunten voor iedereen die over schaalvergroting (of -verkleining) nadenkt.

One of the arguments that has appeared more consistently throughout this paper is that there is no ‘one-size-fits-all’ solution in school size policies. Even if consolidation may improve school quality and efficiency in some contexts, it is unfeasible in others, mostly due to geographical isolation. Other alternative forms of organisation have proven effective in counteracting the disadvantages of small remote schools, without having to remove the school institution of its community. School clusters and school federations, and other more informal forms of cooperation, have allowed smaller schools to obtain specialised teachers and courses, to organise larger groups of students for certain classes, and also to create a wider professional community for teachers and principals. For those cases where interaction with other nearby schools is unfeasible, information and communication technologies provide an innovative tool to combat isolation, and positive experiences of their implementation show that they could be a useful tool for very remotely located schools.

Any decision on changes in school size must be made carefully, and it needs to be exhaustive in including all of the mechanisms and variables that mediate size effects. In that respect, existing studies have insufficiently reflected on the possible interaction effects between size and other school and context related variables. Grade level and social class have proven to be two strong mediators of size effects. This indicates that policy-makers need to carefully consider which student populations will benefit or suffer from different school sizes. Changes in size policies should be conducted through an open and transparent process that permits the participation of the affected communities, and that clearly presents the arguments for changes in the school structure

TALIS-rapport: OESO-onderzoek naar waarom leerkrachten het onderwijs verlaten

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Via @jonatanacademie kreeg ik te horen dat er een boeiend nieuw rapport van de OESO is over waarom jonge leerkrachten de job verlaten. Na wat zoeken heb ik dit nieuwe rapport ‘The Experience of New Teachers – Results from TALIS 2008’ gevonden. TALIS staat voor Teaching and Learning International Survey. Het is volgens de OESO het eerste en enige rapport van deze grootte over de omstandigheden van lesgeven en onderwijs. Je kan het rapport niet los zien van het rapport dat we vorige week al vermeldden over het aantrekken van nieuwe leerkrachten.

Dit is de korte samenvatting:

This report examines the working lives of new teachers through the TALIS 2008 survey of lower-secondary teachers and schools. New teachers are defined as having two years or less of teaching experience. In most countries, new teachers assume virtually the same teaching responsibilities as more experienced teachers, but they report that they often lack the necessary classroom management skills for effective teaching and learning. Their classrooms often have insufficient time devoted to teaching and learning and poorer disciplinary climate.

Uit de blog van een van de onderzoeksters valt alvast een vaststelling heel erg op:

One of the issues that is often cited as a reason for new teachers leaving the profession before five years is that new teachers are placed in more difficult schools than their more experienced colleagues. The TALIS report found that this is simply not true. Despite research that has led to a widespread belief that new teachers work in harder conditions (or harder-to-staff schools), on average across TALIS 2008 countries, new teachers report that their students have similar language and socioeconomic backgrounds to the students of more experienced teachers.New teachers also work in schools with similar material and personnel resources, measured by their impact on teaching and learning.

Although new teachers may not be in more challenging schools, this doesn’t mean that they don’t have challenges in the area of classroom management. The report finds that new teachers spend less time on teaching and learning of any kind and more time than experienced teachers on keeping order in the classroom. This is a worrying trend for both the students of these teachers, who are not getting the same quality learning experience as their peers might be, and for the teachers themselves, who report significantly lower levels of self-efficacy than their more experienced colleagues. (bron)

Je kan een uitgebreide samenvatting hier downloaden.

Het volledige rapport kan je hier downloaden. Wil je zelf met de data aan de slag, dat kan, check hier.