Success or failure? Presenting a case selection strategy for studies of school improvement

ABSTRACT

In this article we propose a case selection strategy for comparative studies of school improvement. The strategy is based on two assumptions. First, we emphasize the importance of a strategic selection of cases (schools), which allows systematic comparisons between successful and failing schools. We claim that cases should be selected on the dependent variable, and, more specifically, on the variation in the dependent variable (i.e. school success or no school success). Second, we recognize the importance of a longitudinal perspective in the case selection process. We argue that quantitative longitudinal data should be used to identify consistently succeeding and consistently failing schools. Furthermore, we demonstrate the fruitfulness of the strategy by using it in a case selection process of successful and failing schools in Sweden. In sum, the strategy addresses the demand for research designs, which allow causal inference, in school improvement and school effectiveness studies. Systematic comparisons between successful and failing schools are essential to elaborate our insights of the mechanisms behind school success.

KEYWORDS:

• Qualitative studies
• successful schools
• student outcomes
• longitudinal data
• causal inference

Notes

1. As one of the matching schools could not be found among the five most successful schools in the metropolitan stratum, we repeated step 1 of the validation process among the 6^th to 10^th most successful schools in the metropolitan stratum which resulted in the selection of School D.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Maria Jarl

Ph.D. Maria Jarl, assistant professor at the Department of Education and Special Education, University of Gothenburg. Her research interests include educational politics and policy, new public management reforms and its impact on the educational system, especially on the professionalization of school principals. She has consulted on educational policy for the Swedish government.

Klas Andersson

Ph.D. Klas Andersson, assistant professor at the Department of Education and Special Education, University of Gothenburg, does research on school improvement and on different aspects of effects of education including political behavior and attitudes towards sustainable development among students.

Ulf Blossing

Ph.D. Ulf Blossing, associate professor in education, Department of Education and Special Education, University of Gothenburg. His research interest is school improvement, organizational development and school leadership on which he has published numerous books and articles. He is involved in principal master programs, action research with municipalities and gives lectures in schools and for the Swedish National Agency for Education.