Typologies of Secondary Schools' Improvement

• In Event: Why School Improvement in Secondary Education Is So Difficult? Learning About Improvement From Chilean High Schools

Abstract

A central idea to understand the complexities involved in the management and improvement of high schools is that secondary education is more diverse than primary education. The secondary schools differ significantly from each other, not only because they have different performances, but also because they are diverse in their institutional objectives (academic - vocational), as well as social and territorial contexts. In addition, the social and territorial context in which secondary schools are located and the relationship they develop with "their environment" (also more extensive than in primary schools) vary enormously. Therefore, this study aimed to understand if there are certain typologies that account for differential processes and strategies for improvement in secondary schools. For these, the data from the 12 depth case studies already explained above were reanalyzed, searching to some common and differentiated characteristics that will cluster these schools.

Our analysis identified what we have called institutional profiles of secondary schools, which tend to produce institutional seals, certain collective identities that, at the same time, allow positioning in the challenging "Chilean school market"; those institutional seals are also useful to motivate and align the educational communities. Once integrated into the educational community, these identity seals act as motivators, cohesive and articulators of a story about the personal and collective project, a sense of belonging that maintains the prestige or local positioning. We identified four institutional profiles that can be understood as typical organizational configurations in relation to their institutional educational project and their relationship with their environment: the traditional academically oriented public schools; the public schools of small communities; urban- at risk metropolitan schools; and the vocational schools. These different profiles tend to be manifested in key dimensions of the educational work, including the teachers’ professional culture, the organizational culture, and the form of relationship with students and the more global approach to student learning. Certainly, these configurations are not monochromatic, but nuanced; however it is possible to synthesize these four profiles by organizing them schematically around two axes, one referring ultimately to the curriculum and the type of learning they seek to produce (comprehensive versus focused) and the other referring at the level of selectivity in the conformation and maintenance of their students body (selective versus inclusive), which ultimately refers to their role in the local school community.

We will discuss this typology as a complex interplay between school improvement policies, market oriented dynamics, and school management challenges. These findings are important among other reasons because suggested that highly differentiated improvement approaches to secondary school improvement are needed.

Authors

• Cristian Bellei, Universidad de Chile

• Mariana Contreras, Universidad de Chile

• Juan Pablo Valenzuela, Universidad de Chile

• Xavier Vanni, Universidad de Chile