International evaluation studies reveal that in Europe approximately 20% of the young generation is not equipped with the basic skills in mathematics. The latest PISA study revealed that 22% of European students were low achievers in mathematics and the great majority of them can be found in socially disadvantaged areas. This study also reports that 40% of the variation in student performance in mathematics is found between schools within a country. This implies that interventions targeting students’ basic skills in mathematics at the school level are needed. Moreover, research shows that interventions at primary schools supporting children who are at risk have stronger effects. In this context, this project aims to support primary schools in socially disadvantaged areas to use an evidence-based and theory-driven approach to promote students’ basic skills in mathematics. Schools in four countries are supported to develop their own strategies and actions by using a dynamic approach to school improvement, taking into account their context and the specific problems/challenges they face. The proposed approach draws on a dynamic theory on educational effectiveness which has been systematically tested through national and international studies. This theory draws attention to the actions taken at the school and classroom level in order to improve the school learning environment and the quality of teaching. It also refers to quantitative and qualitative characteristics of these factors by giving special attention to the differentiation dimension. Differentiation is not only seen as an aspect of effective teaching, but also as a dimension that should be taken into account in defining school policy for teaching and school policy for improving the school learning environment. Thus, this project draws on experiences of previous studies which show that these factors are associated with student learning and their learning outcomes and aims to promote quality and equity at school level. Schools in socially disadvantaged areas are, therefore, encouraged to identify intermediate objectives concerned with the improvement of school learning environment and school policy for teaching that can contribute to the improvement of learning outcomes in mathematics. Specifically, academic institutions in four countries with an expertise in research on school effectiveness and school improvement will collaborate with about 70 primary schools in socially disadvantaged areas to use the dynamic approach to promote student learning and learning outcomes in mathematics. Schools are supported to establish school evaluation mechanisms to measure school factors and students basic skills in numeracy and identify their improvement priorities. Schools also receive training on the dynamic theory and its use for promoting quality and equity in education. Support to design their improvement strategies and action plans will be provided. In addition, attention will be given to the development of internal mechanisms to monitor the implementation of the intervention in order to continuously adapt their action plans. Finally, a value-added approach will be used to evaluate the impact of the dynamic approach on: a) improving the school learning environment, b) improving school policy for teaching, c) developing students’ basic skills in mathematics, and d) reducing unjustifiable differences in student achievement. Beyond measuring the impact of each strategy, we also investigate the conditions under which the use of an evidence-based and theory-driven approach to promote quality and equity will be effective, in relation to the achievement of basic skills in mathematics in socially disadvantaged areas. Finally, the project will draw implications for improving regional and national policy on promoting equity in education and search for possibilities to expand this approach in other areas in education and other countries.
Τhis project aimed to support primary schools in socially disadvantaged areas to use an evidence-based and theory-driven approach to promote students’ basic skills in mathematics. Primary schools in four European countries (Cyprus, England, Greece and Ireland) were supported to develop their own strategies and actions by using the dynamic approach to school improvement (DASI). The proposed approach draws on a dynamic theory on educational effectiveness which has been systematically tested through national and international studies. This theory draws attention to the actions taken at the school and classroom level in order to improve the school learning environment and the quality of teaching. It also refers to quantitative and qualitative characteristics of these factors by giving special attention to the differentiation dimension. Differentiation is not only seen as an aspect of effective teaching, but also as a dimension that should be taken into account in defining school policy for teaching and school policy for improving the school learning environment. Thus, this project has drawn on experiences of previous studies which show that these factors are associated with student learning outcomes and aimed to promote quality and equity at school level. Specifically, 7 institutions (University of Cyprus, University of Athens, University of Cambridge, University College Dublin, Cyprus International Institute of Management, Eparchiako Grafeio Paideias Lemesou, and Dimotiko Scholio Agiu Dometiu III) in the 4 countries with an expertise in research on school effectiveness and improvement collaborated to help children in socially disadvantaged areas who had not benefited from schooling in terms of acquiring basic skills in mathematics. Αt the beginning of school year 2015-2016, a sample of 72 primary schools in the four countries was selected and randomly split into the experimental and control groups. The experimental group made use of DASI, whereas support was offered to the control group in developing their improvement strategies and action plans. By following this design, we were able to conduct summative evaluation of DASI and to seek its impact on: a) Student achievement gains in mathematics; b) Reducing the gaps in learning outcomes in mathematics among students with differences in their background characteristics, such as SES, gender, and ethnicity; c) Improving the school learning environment; and d) Improving the school policy on teaching. To achieve these aims, the country teams measured student achievement in mathematics in grades 4, 5 and 6 at the beginning and at the end of the intervention by using criterion-reference tests. Also, information was collected on student background factors through a student questionnaire at the end of the intervention. Finally, by using a teacher questionnaire the country teams managed to measure the school level factors of the dynamic model which refer to the school policy for teaching and for creating a learning environment at school. Schools of the experimental group received training on the dynamic theory and its use for promoting quality and equity in education. Support to design their improvement strategies and action plans was also provided on a systematic basis and though a specific handbook. In addition, attention was given to the development of internal mechanisms to monitor the implementation of the intervention in order to continuously adapt their action plans. Finally, a value-added approach was used to evaluate the impact of DASI. Cross-countries analysis revealed that students of schools implementing DASI managed to achieve better results in mathematics than schools in the control group. Within-country analyses revealed positive effects of DASI on student achievement gains in each country. These findings revealed that DASI had an impact on the quality dimension. With regard to the effect of DASI on the equity dimension, the impact of SES on student achievement was similar at the beginning of the intervention in both the experimental and the control schools. However, at the end of the intervention, the direct impact of SES on student achievement was smaller in schools implementing DASI. In addition, the total effect of SES on achievement gradually increased in the control group, whereas in the experimental group remained the same. This means that the initial gap in achievement based on SES increased in the control schools but no further increase was observed in the experimental schools. DASI was found to have an impact not only on the quality, but also on the equity dimension of effectiveness. Additionally, only the schools in the experimental group managed to improve the functioning of their school factors and it was also demonstrated that DASI had an impact on student achievement through improvement of the school factors. This project draws implications for research, policy and practice on how to promote both quality and equity in education.