摘要：A conceptual issue is raised about the limits of what may legitimately be counted as school improvement. The extent to which large scale reorganisation initiatives in two LEAs embody elements of a school improvement intervention is critically assessed. While several areas of activity promoted improvement in conditions surrounding reaching and learning, they were each subject to constraints and did not impact directly on the teaching and learning process. It is argued that policymakers and practitioners could maximise the potential of such initiatives to promote school improvement by incorporating a school improvement focus into their reorganisation strategy. The notion of school improvement could valuably be conceived more broadly to encompass an initiative like reorganisation where a concerted attempt is made to realise its potential for promoting improvement.

摘要：Site-based management (SBM) has received decidedly mixed reviews as a reform strategy. Although most scholars who have studied it note that this form of governance can be linked to some positive changes in culture or parent or teacher satisfaction, only a few have observed clear changes in student achievement that can be tied to site-level autonomy and shared decision-making within the school. The absence of learning effects may be due to problems in theories undergirding SBM, to weak or uneven implementation,, or to methodological problems in evaluative studies. In this study, researchers set out, not to evaluate SBM, but rather to understand how it worked in a school that, by many criteria, could be considered a success. After engaging in a year long, intensive case study at one urban elementary school, the authors concluded that four commitments, deeply embedded in the minds of educators and, to a lesser extent, parents, drove successful reform at this site. The central and organizing commitment was a kind of "learning imperative." Administrators and teachers were passionate and knowledgeable about learning and determined to do whatever it took to see that students and their families had optimal educational experiences. This imperative was buttressed and supported by three other "imperatives." Educators viewed themselves as members of a community and felt an imperative to interact in supportive and respectful ways. Most teachers, all administrators, and a number of parents, responding to a leadership imperative, willingly and actively took responsibility for life at the school, and administrators and teachers were determined to be guided by a capacity-building imperative which required that resources be aimed at promoting learning. Site-based management facilitated the ability of persons at this site to act on these imperatives. It did not, however, influence the quality of decisions to any great degree.

摘要：Recent educational research has demonstrated rural/urban differences in achievement and success in higher education. However, in order to assess the rural school's impact on student outcomes, rural/urban comparisons must be made after accounting for student background variables. Researchers have begun to question the generalisability of the effective school model for urban, suburban, and rural schools, given substantial differences in their social and organisational environments (Hannaway & Talbert, 1993). The purpose of this research study was to examine differences in student achievement between rural and urban schools in Western Australia, after controlling for student background variables. By using multilevel modelling techniques, this study demonstrated that the location of the school had a significant effect upon student achievement, with students attending rural schools not performing as well as students from ur ban schools.

摘要：This article argues that the paradigm within which educational effectiveness has been studied has reached the end of its 'use-by date' and that a new paradigm is beginning to emerge that fully integrates research into educational effectiveness with ongoing processes of school improvement and reform. Examples are given of the kind of studies that have been carried out or are beginning to be undertaken using the new paradigm. Through this re-conceptualisation of the field, it is argued that the potential exists to achieve research-driven reforms that will shake the foundations of schooling.

摘要：Results from school effectiveness studies that took into account differences among teachers or departments within schools indicate that these teacher or department differences outweigh the differences between schools. The present study shows that differences in student achievement between parallel classes taught by different teachers may be very smell. Coordination efforts among teachers relate primarily to the content and goals of instruction. With respect to classroom instruction large differences between teachers may still be detected. School effectiveness differences usually found across grades and subjects may be: due only in part to loose internal coordination. The fact that it is extremely difficult for teachers to compare the results of teaching across grades and subjects may be equally important.