Educational leadership, innovation and teaching play essential roles in shaping student achievement. However, extant literature primarily has relied on linear modelling approaches and has not focused on substantively testing a theory. The present study employs multilevel structural equation modelling (ML-SEM) and multilevel decision trees (MLM trees) to investigate associations between school leadership, team innovation, cognitive activation and student achievement using PISA-TALIS 2018 linked data across seven countries: Australia; Colombia; Czech Republic; Denmark; Georgia; Malta; and T & uuml;rkiye. The ML-SEM findings indicated no significant indirect effects from leadership on achievement. The MLM trees highlighted country-specific patterns in associations between school leadership, innovation and student achievement, revealing potential nonlinear relationships. These findings suggest that the relationship between leadership, instructional practices and achievement is highly context-dependent. The study contributes to the literature by offering a comparative analysis of ML-SEM and MLM trees, highlighting traditional linear models' limitations in educational research.

AbstractWe, in education, all have a common aim: We want students to be able to think deeply about what we teach them, go beyond their current experiences, and have a deep understanding of the world. We want to enable them to think critically, work together, solve problems, read for understanding, and carry out complex cognitive tasks. If we want students to be able to do all this, we should just include itt in the curriculum and teach them, right? In this chapter, we discuss why this apparently obvious strategy of simply teaching children how to think deeply does not work, and offer an alternative way forward. This chapter discusses the prominent role of knowledge in how we learn, think, read, understand, and solve problems. Insights from cognitive and educational psychology, sociology, and curriculum studies are used to underpin the current knowledge revival that is widely being observed in education.

Empirical studies in teaching effectiveness research (TER) have largely yielded small and inconsistent effects. To better understand and explain these effects, we argue that it is core to consider how teaching and its quality have been conceptualized and defined in TER. Looking both within and beyond TER, we identify and discuss three potential contributors: lack of a common definition of teaching and its quality and overemphasis on effects on student academic achievement in the definition of teaching quality, a simplistic assumption that there is a universally valid conceptualization of teaching, and inaccurate conceptualization of the dynamics among different aspects of teaching. To address these challenges, we offer three steps related to giving conceptualization a more prominent role in TER; defining and using terms more clearly, consistently, and transparently; and enriching, extending, or revising TER models to better embrace the complexity of the work of teaching.

AbstractThe curriculum is a complex concept central to educational debates. Over the years, the role of knowledge in the curriculum has, like a pendulum, shifted between two extremes, from highly visible to virtually invisible knowledge elements. In this chapter, we consider the lessons learned from both extremes, proposing a knowledge-rich curriculum as the soundest way forward to both effectively acquire knowledge and complex cognitive skills in school, but also as a crucial lever to achieve equitable opportunities for all students. In understanding how a knowledge-rich curriculum can enhance learning, three overarching principles are discussed: (1) content-richness, (2) coherence, and (3) clarity. These principles are illustrated through practical examples from schools and educators who have effectively implemented knowledge-rich curricula, and combined with insights from relevant research on curriculum studies.

The breadth and depth of students' knowledge play an important role in their learning. However, at the start of compulsory education individual differences in knowledge can be immense, particularly between learners from different socio-economic backgrounds. As knowledge acquisition is cumulative, achievement gaps between more and less advantaged students can quickly increase when these lacunae in knowledge are not explicitly and systematically remedied. In this article, we argue that knowledge-rich curricula in compulsory education can help promote deep thinking and complex skill acquisition for all students by systematically building their knowledge of the world. First, the importance of knowledge for deep, meaningful learning and complex skill acquisition is discussed. Subsequently, a selection of knowledge-rich curricula and their impact on achievement is addressed in detail. The article concludes with a discussion on the implications for curriculum building, and the adoption of knowledge-rich curricula with a view to improved learning for all students. Educational relevance Students' knowledge plays an important role in their learning. At the start of compulsory education individual differences in what students already know can be immense, particularly between students from different socio-economic backgrounds. Adopting knowledge-rich curricula in compulsory education can help improve learning for all students by systematically building their knowledge of the world, leading to deep, meaningful learning and a solid foundation for complex skill acquisition.

Recent decades have seen the emergence of new forms of governance in education. Market-oriented education policies have seen schools removed from local government oversight, and instead sees them run by independent school trusts. This begs the question of what effectiveness and quality in a trust framework mean. In this paper, we review the literature from four countries with relatively comparable trust structures: England, the Netherlands, Sweden, and the US, to look at the evidence base on trust quality, leadership, and effectiveness. We find that the evidence base itself is relatively limited in scope. It is strongest in relation to impact on the organisation, especially with regards to the importance of HR, relationships within the trust, and quality assurance mechanisms. There is evidence at the network level on the importance of knowledge and skills of governors, effective forms of collaboration, and a shared vision across the trust. Trusts can improve the quality of education through professional development of teachers, developing consistent approaches, and sharing knowledge. Evidence of how trusts can enhance their impact in the community is limited.

It is no secret to any of us that the world we live in is going through a great deal of turbulence, with the impact of COVID-19 lingering and social and political change occurring across continents [...]

Sometimes a small change can make a big difference [...]

Many education systems face declining levels of academic achievement. Consequently, educational policymakers and practitioners alike are seeking ways to improve academic performance. This study examines the effectiveness of a specific school leadership development programme in the Netherlands called the High Performing Schools (HPS) programme. The HPS programme is a continuing professional development (CPD) initiative focused on evidence-informed school and leadership improvement, targeting school personnel in two different versions: HPS for leadership teams (principals and middle-level leaders) and HPS for whole-school teams as professional learning communities (PLCs). Forty-seven primary schools participated in the HPS programmes between 2018 and 2021. A quasi-experimental design was implemented, and public academic attainment data were used to assess the effectiveness of the programme. The academic achievement at the school level in the academic year 2021 and 2022 was compared between the 47 participating schools and a comparison group of 6110 schools using ANCOVA with post-hoc tests. The analyses indicate that schools that participated in the HPS programme outperformed comparison schools. Moderate to large gains in achievement were found, equivalent to six to eight months of additional learning progress. Schools that participated in the PLC version of the programme performed best. The effects were statistically significant for math and writing, while no significant effects were found for reading. We conclude that the HPS programme shows promising results.

In this chapter we look at the role of leadership in Large-Scale International Assessment studies, such as PISA, TIMSS/PIRLS and TALIS. The most common aspects studied are instructional and distributed leadership, though in the PISA and TIMSS/PIRLS studies the emphasis on leadership has decreased in recent administrations to make place for newer concerns, but may also reflect difficulties in achieving cross-national invariance. It is also the case that studies into the relationship between the leadership variables in PISA/TIMSS/PIRLS and pupil attainment show mixed and unclear results, this in. contrast to most non-LISA studies. Implications of this are discussed.

Background Bullying is widely acknowledged as one of the most harmful events in a child's life, leading to negative life experiences and outcomes. However, 'school effects of bullying' are rarely studied from an international perspective, especially with international large-scale data. Purpose In this study, we aim to look at bullying through an international comparative approach, focusing on the contribution of the school, the education system and culture, and pupil level factors such as socio-economic status (SES) and gender. Our key question is whether school factors can affect bullying prevalence. Methods We used data from six countries (USA, Finland, England, Romania, Korea and Italy) from the Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS), a large-scale international study. We used multilevel modelling to analyse the dataset. Findings We find little evidence of a relation between country policies and levels of bullying, though there are differences in the extent to which school and pupil factors are related to bullying. The most consistent relationship was between gender and bullying, with prevalence higher among boys, while school factors were not significant. Conclusion The findings indicate that 'one size fits all' school policies might not be the best course of action, and individual support might be a more fruitful avenue.

This analysis plan proposes the specifications for analysis for various studies using the third cycle of the Teaching and Learning International Survey (TALIS 2018) data.It serves as a link between the TALIS 2018 Conceptual Framework and the reporting plan.After a brief introduction in Section 1, Sections 2 and 3 suggest analyses for the eleven focal themes collected in the 2018 dataset.The analyses are grounded in literature discussed in detail in the conceptual framework and questions of interest based on the priorities set forth by the Board of Participating Countries (BPC) and later in subsequent TALIS Governing Board (TGB) meetings.Section 2 highlights, by theme, new items, items measured across TALIS cycles, scale constructs (when applicable), and within-theme multivariate analyses.Section 3 provides recommendations for research questions to test between thematic indicators and includes a reference look-up table that identifies the most appropriate aggregation unit for analysis (teacher-, school-, or system-level) based on the item construction and the policy questions of interest.Section 4 outlines the reporting standards for the TALIS 2018 data with subsections that discuss: defining the participants, estimation statistics, displaying statistical information, specifications for scales and specifications for statistical models.The target audience for this analysis plan are internal analysts working on the project, such as those at the OECD and, by extension, analysts in national centres.

ABSTRACT Earlier studies of educational effectiveness in resource-constrained countries tended to focus on fiscal and material resources. However, the impact thereof can be limited where effective processes at the school and classroom levels are not present. Using hierarchical linear modelling, this study draws on SACMEQ data to generate an effective education model for resource-constrained countries, using Uganda as a case study. Rasch modelling was used to construct the educational process indicators, and the dynamic model of educational effectiveness provided the basis for the conceptual framework used. On adjusting for confounding variables, the factors that significantly predicted both mathematics and reading outcomes included opportunity to learn (OTL), school management competences, school–community relationships, and school-based HIV/AIDS support. The effect of teacher academic and professional capital (TAPC) was mediated by OTL. The study argues for refocused attention on the school and teaching processes as key to enhancing educational effectiveness in resource-constrained countries.

Policy changes in the higher education landscape have given way to increased interest in the way students perceive engagement in UK higher education. This paper examines whether we can reliably distinguish between institutions and disciplines, and what key student and institutional variables are a predictor of engagement of undergraduate students. Using data from two waves of the United Kingdom Engagement Survey (UKES), a national survey of undergraduate student engagement, we constructed multilevel models for different aspects of student engagement. The results show that the vast majority of the variance of the models is at the student level, indicating that demographic characteristics seem to contribute most to differential aspects of engagement. Some variance at student level could be explained: females, distance learners, part-time students, and disabled student indicators were negative predictors of engagement, while indicators for Black and minority ethnic (BME) students and for students from Africa and Asia were positive predictors of engagement.