Depth and Breadth of School Quality: A Systematic Review of School Improvement Research Amid Accountability

• In Event: School Leadership and Conditions That Support Effective Teaching

Abstract

This systematic review of school improvement research synthesizes and analyzes frameworks and methodological approaches that elicit school quality from a wide set of literature. First, we built a conceptual perspective based on 152 sources from an initial, interdisciplinary search to bound the content of research articles included in the systematic review. Next, we conducted a systematic review and analysis by applying rating criteria to a select set of quantitative and qualitative research articles (N=106) from 1984 to 2016 which investigated these multiple components of school quality. The findings suggest how future research on school quality measures and methods might better inform the next wave of accountability policy to promote an education system that offers more equitable school quality for students.

Authors

• Angela Urick, Baylor University

• Alison Wilson, South Dakota State University