Administrator and Teachers' Perceptions of School Success in a Publicly Funded Catholic School in Ontario, Canada

Abstract

School success is a complex and abstract notion. Asking questions about what is meant by school success is important, since the ways in which educators and administrators define school success tends to guide their practice, and may have implications for current and future policy initiatives. This qualitative case study explores how one publicly funded Catholic school in Ontario, Canada, conceives of school success. First, a brief historical description of publicly funded Catholic schooling in Ontario is given, followed by a short introduction of the contemporary school success discourse. Next, the methodological approach is described, leading into a detailed account of the study's findings. Last, a comprehensive discussion follows around a particular publicly funded Catholic school's notions of success in their local context. This study pays particular attention to the question of whether or not narrow achievement priorities from the provincial government dominate local school discourse and practices.

Assessing Christian learning: Towards a practices-based approach to faith, vocation, and assessment

“…Many of these articles note that attention to the distinctive frame and mission of faith-based schools is lacking in the literature on assessing school effectiveness and climate. Van der Walt and Zecha (2004: 169, 174), for instance, did not find any studies “that were concerned with the effectiveness of Christian schools,” nor could they find any models for “assessing the effectiveness of Christian schools.” Pollock (2013) carried out research into perceptions of school success in a publicly funded, separate Catholic school in the Canadian province of Ontario. Separate Catholic schools in Ontario are constitutionally mandated and fully funded, with their own school boards and elected trustees who are accountable to the provincial authority.…”

The Assessment of Faith and Learning

“…She is levelling this critique both at the research field and at the policy level. Pollock (2013) notes that evaluating school effectiveness has become synonymous with performance on provincial and national standardised state testing. Ball (2007) would concur that this has become a norm in most majority world education systems.…”

Key factors associated with Asperger’s syndrome and implications for effective teaching to enhance student participation and engagement

“…Effective teaching instruction should emphasise: paying attention (Pollock, 2013); imitating (Scattone, 2008); comprehension of common words and instructions (Baker & Welkowitz, 2004); using language for social reasons and not just to have basic needs met (Hu, 2013); and communication goals should emphasise the functional use of language and communication in various settings (Klin, McPartland, & Volkmar, 2005a;Rao et al, 2008).…”