The Effect of a Holistic School Improvement Model in Enhancing School Effectiveness in Oman

Abstract

Purpose - This study examined the impact of a holistic school improvement model on overall school effectiveness, More specifically, it attempted to answer two questions: 1) Are there any significant differences in school performance between the control group and the experimental group before and after the experiment? 2) Is there any significant improvement in the experimental group school effectiveness before and after the experiment? Methodology - As a part of a four-year longitudinal research project, the study used a quasi experimental research design to examine the impact of a holistic school improvement model on enhancing overall school effectiveness in Oman. The sample consisted of 16 intact classes selected from 8 schools (4 experimental and 4 control groups), with a total of 2378 students (1157 from grade nine classes and 1221 from grade seven classes). The experimental group schools were exposed to a wide range of school improvement activities within a four-year period. A series of workshops on activating the 13 elements of the Innovation Sustainability Wheel (ISW) were delivered to all administrators and teachers at the target experimental group schools, in addition to empowering students through enrichment programs in five subject areas. Data was collected from the Omani Ministry of Education school performance indicators, which included five subject matter achievement tests aggregated over three years. Findings - The study revealed significant differences in overall school performance across the four years between the control and experimental schools, in favour of the experimental group. Moreover, a significant progression of school effectiveness was observed in the two grade levels of the experimental group. Significance - The findings are significant in terms of providing educational systems with a workable mechanism for identifying key areas of weaknesses and means of improvement; establishing a chain of actions for activating all interrelated elements that act as driving forces for sustainable change; ensuring that the indicators of school improvement should include both operational processes and students’ learning outcomes; and contributing to the knowledge base in the area of school improvement in terms of a research-based model that has potential implications for practitioners and policy makers.

Examining Interrelated Driving Forces for Sustainable School Improvement

“…The rank order of the factors (the ISW driving forces) was based on Al Farra's ( 2009) rating scale in terms of their degree of importance and contribution to sustainable school improvement as shown in Table 2. Overall, the conclusions drawn from this study appear to be in congruence with previous research on school effectiveness (Al Mekhlafi & Osman, 2019;Brunings, 2014;Creemers & Kyriakides, 2012;Cowell, N. 2013;Osman, M. & Abdo Al Mekhlafi, 2018), indicating that context-specific systemic approaches to educational reform have the potential to instigate favorable alterations in school operational procedures and result in substantial enhancements in school efficiency. Efficient leadership, which considers teacher involvement and active participation, has been identified as pivotal in improving the school atmosphere and, as a result, elevating student academic performance (Amin, Shah, & Tatlah, 2013;Jeyasushma Veeriah, et al, 2017).…”

Developing self-assessment instruments of affective domain on belief and morality (Aqidah Akhlak) subject in Madrasah Tsanawiyah

“…In the context of an institution, self-evaluation is an evaluation conducted by the institution to collect the data, data analysis, and interpretation of results used for planning, development, improvement, and improvement of the institution's performance (Nuchron et al, 2013). At this point, the institution's improvement relates to the theories and research regarding the strategies for the positive changes in the educational system to achieve the goals (Mekhlafi & Osman, 2019). Self-evaluation is used to explore, understand, and be well aware of the institution's profile, including quality and current institutional conditions to be used as a basis for the institution to determine the target or desired future conditions (Nuchron et al, 2013).…”

Factors Contributing to School Effectiveness: A Systematic Literature Review

“…Many authors agree that strong instructional, school, academic, collaborative and collegial leadership has a significant influence on the effectiveness of schools [32][33][34]36,39,[41][42][43][44]48,[56][57][58][59][60][61][62][63][64][65][66][67][68].…”