7/3/2023 0 Comments Myschool works![]() ![]() Needs-based school funding – as recommended in the first Gonski review – goes some way towards combating the downward pressure student disadvantage places on school performance. Extra funding matters and must be put to good use This meant more students came to school motivated and ready to learn, and teachers could do their jobs more effectively. This may include small-group and individual tutoring, self-paced interventions using technology, one-on-one academic advising and coaching, homework support, and additional assessment time.Įvaluations of school reforms and intervention programs for schools with high concentrations of disadvantaged students have revealed the importance of establishing a shared understanding around teaching and learning, and school goals.įor example, one school established playgroups and a parent café to work with parents as partners in the learning process. High-performing lower socio-economic status schools routinely provide targeted support for students within and outside the traditional school day. Students from more advantaged households typically inherit understanding about how to learn, and why, from their parents. Students from disadvantaged backgrounds rely more heavily on schools to build their skills for learning, and to help them to see themselves as capable and motivated learners. ![]() Students from advantaged backgrounds typically inherit knowledge about how to learn, and why. Students need to learn how to learnĮffective teaching practice will have little impact if students are not equipped to learn. ![]() Schools themselves often point to the value of their work in shaping student aspirations, behaviours, and values – not just academic achievement.ĭisadvantaged schools may succeed in these areas, even more highly than schools whose focus is academic achievement. Some Australian governments actually include measures of student well-being and sense of connectedness to school in assessments of school performance. Should we change the way we measure student progress in schools? These include social and emotional development, creativity and innovation, positive attitudes to learning, and citizenship. This draws on established research about schools’ value-add – their success in lifting student outcomes.Ī successful school fosters broader dimensions of learning critical to students’ overall success. Measures of school performance, including MySchool, typically take into account the socio-economic profile of the student community for this reason. ![]() They are schools that yield better-than-anticipated results, bringing the best out of every student regardless of background. The most effective schools aren’t necessarily the highest academic performers. There are three key ways that schools in disadvantaged contexts achieve success that other schools can learn from. And lifting outcomes for disadvantaged students can transform lives and communities, across generations. Schools in poorer areas can make a significant impact on their students’ lives. Many disadvantaged schools across Australia achieve results more than one year behind the national average.īack to school – understanding challenges faced by Indigenous childrenīut just because schools in poorer areas may achieve lower results, it doesn’t mean these schools are “unsuccessful”, and schools in wealthier suburbs with higher average scores are “successful”. It is harder for a school to achieve high academic performance with large numbers of students facing risk factors such as low family income, or parents with limited education who may struggle to provide support for learning. The socio-economic status of students is a major factor in school performance. This strategy may lift performance in one school, but risks “ residualising” neighbouring schools, leaving them to cope with increasing concentrations of disadvantage. Some schools improve their performance by attracting more affluent and/or high achieving students. Teachers themselves may vary in their effectiveness depending on the students they teach. What works for one group of students and teachers might not work for another. One of the more elusive goals of education research is answering the question: what makes one school perform better than another? The evidence base is growing, but so far the answer is: it depends. ![]()
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