Methods and modalities of effective school inspections

Abstract

A BOOK REVIEW Ehren, M. C. M. (Ed.). (2016). Methods and modalities of effective school inspections. London: Springer International Publishing. In many European educational systems, there has been a tendency to decentralize the authority of decision-making from the central government to the school level (Hopkins et al., 2016). Together with this increased autonomy in decision-making, central governments are holding schools accountable for monitoring and improving their own educational quality (OECD, 2013). From this perspective, it is not surprising that there is currently increased demand on education mechanisms to strengthen systems for school accountability. The importance of inspections has therefore intensified over the past decade, particularly in Europe (Ehren, 2016). The main purpose of school inspections is the goal of accountability (Glatterhorn, 2008). Inspectorates examine a school's compliance with legislative requirements, regulations, and duties and also provide information about the quality of teaching and the learning climate at the school. In relation to accountability, a school inspection leads to a judgement which may have punitive consequences or (financial) rewards for the school or its staff. In addition to this accountability perspective, growing evidence indicates that school inspections can be a key feature of school improvement as the identification of a school's strengths and weaknesses can be viewed as a lever for developing educational quality (Penninckx, Vanhoof, De Maeyer, & Van Petegem, 2016; van Bruggen, 2010). Despite this ambition, research indicates that school inspections only encourage effective school improvement under specific conditions (Ehren, Perryman, & Shackleton, 2014).

Accountability as The Professional Judgment Key Principle of School Inspectorate for School Inspection

“…School inspection serves as a mechanism for holding schools accountable for meeting educational standards and regulations. Professional judgment involves assessing schools' compliance with legislative requirements and providing feedback on the quality of teaching and learning (Quintelier 2017). Accountability serves as a quality assurance mechanism.…”