Katharina Maag Merki - Böcker

Despite the advances in educational effectiveness theory and methodology in the last 20 years, important questions and issues remain unresolved. In particular, existing theoretical frameworks of educational effectiveness are only able to describe the interrelationship among factors at the system, school, classroom, and student levels and their cross-level interdependency in a very general manner. Additionally, although a large number of studies provide empirical evidence of the impact of single factors and factor constellations on student learning, the embedding of the empirically identified results in theoretical models of educational effectiveness has to be carried out more systematically in order to develop more elaborated theories of educational effectiveness. The aim of this book is to contribute to the advancement of educational effectiveness theory by discussing different strategies: including alternative theoretical models to understand educational in/effectiveness, extending the methodology to analyze processes and mechanisms of educational in/effectiveness, analyzing differential effects of processes and instruments on educational in/effectiveness, carrying out complex multivariate analyses considering manifest and latent variables, and combining theory and practice in real school situations. Taken together, the strategies presented in this book make it clear that the advancement of educational effectiveness theory depends on the advancement of educational effectiveness methodology, or in other words: from theory to methodology and from empirical evidence back to theory. This book was originally published as a special issue of School Effectiveness and School Improvement.

Despite the advances in educational effectiveness theory and methodology in the last 20 years, important questions and issues remain unresolved. In particular, existing theoretical frameworks of educational effectiveness are only able to describe the interrelationship among factors at the system, school, classroom, and student levels and their cross-level interdependency in a very general manner. Additionally, although a large number of studies provide empirical evidence of the impact of single factors and factor constellations on student learning, the embedding of the empirically identified results in theoretical models of educational effectiveness has to be carried out more systematically in order to develop more elaborated theories of educational effectiveness. The aim of this book is to contribute to the advancement of educational effectiveness theory by discussing different strategies: including alternative theoretical models to understand educational in/effectiveness, extending the methodology to analyze processes and mechanisms of educational in/effectiveness, analyzing differential effects of processes and instruments on educational in/effectiveness, carrying out complex multivariate analyses considering manifest and latent variables, and combining theory and practice in real school situations. Taken together, the strategies presented in this book make it clear that the advancement of educational effectiveness theory depends on the advancement of educational effectiveness methodology, or in other words: from theory to methodology and from empirical evidence back to theory. This book was originally published as a special issue of School Effectiveness and School Improvement.

This open access book discusses challenges in school improvement research and different methodological approaches that have the potential to foster school improvement research.

This open access book discusses challenges in school improvement research and different methodological approaches that have the potential to foster school improvement research.

In den deutschsprachigen Ländern ist das Schulwesen gegenwärtig durch einen systematischen Umbau der administrativen Steuerungsmechanismen gekennzeichnet. Ein zentrales Motiv ist die Einführung zentraler Abiturprüfungen. Die in diesem Band publizierte mehrjährige Studie untersucht in zwei Bundesländern in Deutschland erstmals die mit dieser Einführung verbundenen Wirkungen auf Schüler/innen, Lehrpersonen, Unterricht und Schule. Sie stellt eine international einmalige und theoretisch fundierte Untersuchung dar, die über die beiden sich beteiligenden Bundesländer hinaus wertvolle Erkenntnisse über die Auswirkungen eines Wechsels im Steuerungssystem auf schulische Prozesse und Ergebnisse gibt.

Die Ergebnisse machen unterschiedliche theoretische, forschungsstrategische und methodologische Zugänge sichtbar und ermöglichen die Entwicklung von Perspektiven der Systemsteuerung im Schulwesen.

Während sich die Forschungsinhalte des Educational Governance-Ansatzes zunehmend präzisieren lassen, ergibt die Diskussion über forschungsmethodische Ansätze noch ein unklares Bild. Damit lassen sich Herausforderungen verschiedener Forschungsstrategien besser verstehen und Anforderungen an zukünftige Untersuchungen skizzieren.

Mit dem Ziel, die Vergleichbarkeit der Noten und damit der Abschlüsse zu erhöhen und eine Diskussion über gemeinsame Standards in Schulen anzuregen, wurden in einzelnen Schweizer Gymnasien ‚gemeinsame Prüfungen' eingeführt.