Systemic factors in school improvement

• Published in: Research papers in education 2004-06, Vol.19 (2), p.161-183
• Main Authors: Byrne, Grainne, Gallagher, Tony
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Autonomous units; Economically Disadvantaged; Educational Change; Educational Improvement; Educational policy; Educational sciences; Foreign Countries; Interdependence; Ireland; Northern Ireland; Policy, reform, legislation; School effectiveness; School improvement; Selective system; Systemic pressures; United Kingdom; Urban Areas; Western Europe
• ISSN: 0267-1522; 1470-1146
• DOI: 10.1080/02671520410001695416

Many official strategies for school improvement appear to be based on an assumption that schools operate as autonomous units, hence the privileging of school-based characteristics that are taken to provide indicators of effectiveness. However, if the systemic relationships between schools are recognized then it may be that the establishment of effective characteristics in one school may simply shift problems onto other schools in the system rather than dealing with underlying issues. This paper explores this notion using data that have been drawn from a large-scale examination of the effects of the selective system of education in Northern Ireland (Gallagher & Smith, 2000 ). In theory the systemic constraints on school improvement may be less evident in a selective system since the role and mission of the schools are differently designed. The paper, however, argues that the selective system actually exacerbates the pressures identified above. A system of academic selection, allied with open enrolment, exaggerates systemic pressures and creates a situation where most of the negative consequences of the system bear down on a limited number of secondary schools, typically those located in urban areas and serving economically disadvantaged communities.