Reforming Education Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 4250 words

Reforming Education - Essay Example Because of this, students under-perform, and inefficiency sets in. This is precisely what happened to Duckwin Middle School. During the annual school inspection, a critical report about its assessment policies and practices, especially its failure to use assessment to enhance teaching and learning was revealed. The school was asked to document new sets of rules and policies that would enhance performance through proper assessment policies and practices. Development of leadership qualities, vision and a strong sense of purpose within the school was paramount to its success. Professionalism instigates effective delegation of responsibilities and strategies to ensure accountability among the support staff to bring good governance effective teaching. While there has been considerable progress in the administrative functioning of schools, a lot is desired on the teaching front. Student retention has not been strong, with many schools registering high percentage of failures and absenteeism. HMCI Annual Report for 1994/95 reported a weakness in middle management in schools leading to frustration. The role of middle managers becomes crucial in the functioning and management of school affairs. The role of middle managers include and is not limited to good planning and promotion of better teaching, to ensure and sustain high standards of leadership in subjects, but also in personality development (Leadership and Management, 1998)1. 1.0 Overview In order to understand the gravity of this thesis, it can be safely said that many educational institutions in the UK have been found to be operating without proper direction, or planning, leading to inconsistency in teaching and learning. It is precisely this that happened to Duckwin Middle School, which during the annual school inspection was reported to have failed in enhancing the teaching and learning skills of its teachers and students. Schools that failed to perform their duty should be made accountable, and teachers should be imparted proper training to develop the all-round skills to its pupils. In order to do so, educational institutes can take a leaf out of the professional approach that industries make, to improve their quality and productivity. Hypothesis: What combination of schooling conditions and practices holds the greatest promise for improving student learning While there is no scientifically provable or globally agreed-upon answer, small class sizes in an elementary setting can be viewed as being positive. The positive effects of reduced class sizes are that they greatly enhance the possibilities of delivering increased academic achievement, and help identify the strengths and weaknesses of each child through direct one-to-one interaction between the child and the teacher. Changing theories and methods of assessment have been the focus of significant attention not just in the United Kingdom, but in other countries as well. Curriculum developers have realized the need to exert a constraining influence on teachers and pupils to bring about a refreshing change to the existing curricula. This, then needs to be followed by a more valid and authentic way of