St. Mary's College evaluation : a two fold longitudinal study incorporating students' perception of school and quality of school life

This 18 point dissertation is one small part of a larger St Mary's College school improvement project which began in 1986 as a two fold longitudinal study incorporating students' perceptions of school and quality of school life. The initial design of the project was a collaborative effort of Dr William Ramsay of the University of Tasmania and the staff of St Mary's College where the writer was Deputy Principal. In its neophyte stages, the project was solely concerned with conducting a school evaluation which would take into account both the formal and informal aspects of the curriculum. However, as the St Mary's Project progressed it became apparent that a school evaluation, in and of itself, would not result in school improvement. Accordingly, the writer in addition to conducting a literature survey of school evaluation (chapter 3) has extended the original project to explore the broader context of school improvement (chapter 5). The latter search led to the further exploration of such concepts as educational vision, leadership, school culture, social capital, school management and the successful implementation of change. Presently the writer is working with Dr Ramsay to chronicle in a longitudinal study one school's efforts to bring about effective school improvement. In this way, the whole context of school improvement may be considered with a view to bridging the frequent gulf between research and practice, ie between conducting a school evaluation and ensuring that the evaluation outcomes actually result in school improvement. In this way, we may also be able to discover some of the ways an educational vision can be made into school reality. The theoretical framework for the larger story of school improvement is discussed in Chapter 4. Finally, because the St Mary's Project is ongoing and data from parents and staff is yet to be analysed, the findings and conclusions discussed herein are only tentative. Thus this 18 point dissertation but sets the stage for the larger work to follow.