School inspection is used by most European education systems as a major instrument for controlling and promoting the quality of schools. Surprisingly, there is little research knowledge about how school inspections drive the improvement of schools and which types of approaches are most effective and cause the least unintended consequences. The study presented in this paper uses interviews with inspection officials and a document analysis to reconstruct the “program theories” (i.e. the assumptions on causal mechanisms, linking school inspections to their intended outcomes of improved teaching and learning) of Inspectorates of Education in six European countries. The results section of the paper starts with a summary of the commonalities and differences of these six national inspection models with respect to standards and thresholds used, to types of feedback and reporting, and to the sanctions, rewards and interventions applied to motivate schools to improve. Next, the intermediate processes through which these inspection models are expected to promote good education (e.g. through actions of stakeholders) are explained. In the concluding section, these assumptions are critically discussed in the light of research knowledge.

Impact of school inspections on improvement of schools-describing assumptions on causal mechanisms in six European countries

“New” school inspections are essential parts of “evidence-based governance” concepts and have been implemented by many European countries as a major strategy to assure and improve the effectiveness and quality of their education systems. However, national inspection systems vary in their composition and in their contextual features. Using online survey data from approximately 2300 principals in 7 European countries, the paper explores the role of “accountability pressure” as an element for understanding the operation of inspection systems. The results indicate that principals who feel more “accountability pressure” are more attentive to the quality expectations communicated by inspections, more sensitive to stakeholders’ reactions to inspection results, and more active with respect to improvement activities. However, also the number of unintended consequences is increasing with pressure. Inspection systems in different countries are seen by school leaders as applying differential degrees of “accountabilit...

Does accountability pressure through school inspections promote school improvement

From inspection to quality: Ways in which school inspection influences change in schools

With decentralisation becoming increasingly widespread across Europe, evaluation and accountability are becoming key issues in ensuring quality provision for all (Altrichter & Maag Merki, 2010; Eurydice, 2004). In Europe, the dominant arrangement for educational accountability is school inspections. The purpose of this research is to identify and analyse the ways in which school inspections in The Netherlands impact on the work of schools. The results of 2 years of survey data of principals and teachers in primary and secondary schools show that inspection primarily drives change indirectly, through encouraging certain developmental processes, rather than through more direct and coercive methods, such as schools reacting to inspection feedback. Specifically, results indicate that school inspections which set clear expectations on what constitutes “good education” for schools and their stakeholders are strong determinants of improvement actions; principals and schools feel pressure to respond to these prompts and improve their education

Setting expectations for good education: how Dutch school inspections drive improvement

ZusammenfassungMit ‚Schulinspektion‘ wird eine Funktion im Schulsystem bezeichnet, die mittels Überprüfung und Beurteilung der Qualität schulischer Arbeit durch schulexterne Personen zur Sicherung und Weiterentwicklung dieser Qualität beitragen soll. In diesem „Stichwort“ werden zunächst Hinweise auf die historische Entwicklung dieser Funktion der Qualitätskontrolle im Schulwesen und in anderen gesellschaftlichen Bereichen skizziert. Danach werden die zentralen Merkmale der jetzt aktuellen „neuen Schulinspektion“ erläutert, die als wichtiges und charakterisierendes Element einer evidenzbasierten Governance der Schule verstanden wird; ihr Verhältnis zur Schulaufsicht wird erörtert. Sodann werden bisherige Theorieansätze dargestellt, die die Bedingungen und die Wirkungsweise dieses komplexen Instruments der Schulsystemsteuerung thematisieren. Schließlich wird der aktuelle Stand der empirischen Forschung zu Schulinspektionen zusammenfassend dargestellt. Dabei zeigt sich, dass wichtige Fragen nach ihrer Wirkungsweise bisher nicht befriedigend beantwortet werden können. Abschließend wird auf Forschungsdesiderate aufmerksam gemacht.AbstractSchool inspection is a function in school systems which aims for quality assurance and quality development by having external persons monitor and evaluate the work in schools. This article begins by sketching the historical development of this function in schooling and other systems. The main features of ‘new school inspections’ which are seen as important are explained and characteristic elements of evidence-based governance models and their relationship to school administration is discussed. In the second part of the article, theoretical models which conceptualize the conditions, processes and effects of this complex instrument of school governance are explained. Finally, the state of empirical research in this field is summarized which show that the results with respect to effects and effective processes remain inconclusive. The article concludes with open questions for further research.

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Stichwort: Schulinspektion@@@Keyword: school inspection

Schulinspektionen erlangen in verschiedenen europaischen Landern einen immer hoheren Stellenwert Gleichzeitig steigen damit auch die Erwartungen in ihre Wirksamkeit, wobei vor allem Wirksamkeit in Hinblick auf nachhaltige Schulentwicklung gemeint ist Ausgehend von einer Darstellung der Funktionen von Schulinspektionen gibt der Artikel eine Ubersicht uber Wirksamkeitsmodelle und Forschungsarbeiten Teilweise wird in den Forschungsarbeiten davon ausgegangen, dass die Wirksamkeit von Inspektionen hinsichtlich der Schulentwicklung direkt an den Schulerleistungen messbar ist Allerdings bleibt unklar, wie die schulinternen Verarbeitungsprozesse als Bindeglied zwischen Schulinspektion und verbesserter Schulerleistung gestaltet sind Andere Studien betrachten die Einstellungen oder Reaktionen der Akteure auf die Inspektion, wobei teils Wirksamkeitserwartungen und tatsachliche Schulentwicklung konfundiert sind Ausgehend von der Rekonstruktion der unterschiedlichen Forschungsansatze zeigt der Artikel den Bedarf fur Modelle auf, die die schulischen Verarbeitungsprozesse im Anschluss an Inspektionen starker in den Blick nehmen

Vera Husfeldt

Papers

Wirkungen und Wirksamkeit der externen Schulevaluation