CUR R ENT LITERA TUR E RE V IE W IN EDUCA TION

(1)

n°

Nov. 2011

CUR R ENT LITERA TUR E RE V IE W IN EDUCA TION

You are reading a litterature review compiled by members of Veille & Analyses , a department of the French Institute of Education within the higher education institution ENS Lyon. We analyse research litterature and activities throughout scientific and institutional productions in educa- tion in order to map out key research trends on current topics and produce states of the art in the educational research field.

School inspections have changed si- gnificantly since the 1980s. Despite relatively limited staff numbers, ins- pection services have played a key role in the policies that have been in- troduced over the last thirty years to assess the quality of education. Inter- national comparisons have shown that the aims and organization of educa- tion vary widely in different countries.

Unlike other educational systems, the French system uses individual inspec- tions. By contrast, education systems in other countries increasingly use a range of different inspection methods.

Plans are currently being made to redefine the role of inspectors in the French education system by trans- ferring part of their powers to head- teachers (particularly in the area of pedagogical assessment). The aim is to align the French inspection sys- tem with prevailing practices in other countries.

This study is a comparative assess- ment of national inspection systems, providing an overview of recent trends and developments in this area.

IS A COMMON DEFINITION OF

INSPECTION POSSIBLE ?

- Inspectorates of Edu- cation in Europe: a descriptive study

-

‘the role of inspectors has always been to con- trol teachers and, above all, to regulate how

By Thibert Rémi

Research associate French Institute of Education (IFÉ)

SCHOOL INSPECTIONS: FROM CONTROL AND REGULATION TO SUPPORT AND COUNSELING ?

‘ Standing International Conference of Inspectorates of Education in Europe

(2)

they implement the ministry’s instructions - -

-

and -

-

(‘Evaluation of Schools Providing Com- pulsory Education in Europe

-

assessed on an

an

‘The role of inspectors is to en- sure that teaching complies with institutional expectations and to provide support to teachers (...) To what extent can inspectors achieve these seemingly incom- patible goals? Are teachers able to carry out their own self-as- sessment, and to make it their own? Are they able to turn a constraint (control and regula- tion) into a resource (support and accompaniment)?’

Albanel, 2009

(3)

STRUCTURE OF THE FIELD

- - -

- -

- - - -

Länder

THE ORGANIZATION OF INSPECTION IN FRANCE

- recteurs

INSPECTION

- - - collèges and lycées généraux

and lycées professionnels

- -

- - controlling and assessing education and providing advice and rec- ommendations about the organization and effectiveness of the education system

teaching, education policies, services and schools -

thematic assessments and studies in the various areas of education - IGEN ‘coordinates the activities of peda- gogical inspection bodies in collaboration with local education authorities

IEN : Inspecteur de l’Éducation nationale IA-IPR : Inspecteur d’académie – inspecteur pédagogique régional

IGEN : Inspection gé- nérale de l’Éducation nationale

IGAENR : Inspection générale de l’administration de l’Éducation nationale et de la recherche

(4)

loi d’orientation

-

As part of their duties, IA-IPRs

‘contribute to managing the education system at a regional level, oversee the implemen- tation of education policy in classes and schools, assess teachers and schools, inspect and advise teaching staff at secondary level, contribute to the management of teaching staff as part of their career de- velopment, and design, lead or assess the continuing training system for teaching and edu- cation staff, in close collabora- tion with universities’

Source : http://www.education.

gouv.fr/cid1139/inspecteur-d- academie-inspecteur-pedago- gique-regional.html

neither one of the three [...] is ever met. The form of the assessment procedure is widely seen as a factor of failure. The length and frequency of inspections, and the fact that the grading system

almost nonexistent, mean that control and regulation are futile and the management of personnel marginal and support and accompaniment inadequate

the aim is essentially to manage promotions using a grading system, in a largely automated system.

As a result, [staff assessments] have very little impact on progress, particularly in secondary education, where there is no regulation or consultation in this area

Académie

ASSESSMENT

I

(5)

four components: systematic assessments of students of all ages [...]; regular assessments of teachers based on student progress and results, rather than teaching methods [...];

in-depth assessments of schools, made and independent assessments of the education system as a whole

IEA

no

essential mechanism for both controlling and improving the quality of the system at all levels

the general inspection service as a body of assessors performing systematic audits (...), [and] helping to design indicators and tables applicable at a local level (...) and at a national level

communes local

oversight

(6)

SOME EUROPEAN COMPARISONS

CURRENT TRENDS

SIMILAR TRENDS IN MOST EUROPEAN COUNTRIES...

are

- Reforms aimed at improving the

-

‘The state would lose its educating role to the bene- fit of other actors (families, independent schools, pri- vate funders, etc.) driven by the need to satisfy multiple interests’ (Buisson-Fenet &

Pons, 2011, p.9).

These are ‘forms of regulation in which state organizations (departments and ministries, state administrations and bodies, government agencies, mandated organizations, etc.) intend to control as far as possible (we assume they are unable to do so) the structure, content and objectives of education based on a range of instruments (development of standards, education curricula, provision of management resources, etc)’

(Buisson-Fenet & Pons, 2011).

(7)

-

- -

- - -

-

based on the French model

-

- - - -

-

- -

Education at a Glance 2011

-

choose

...BUT ALSO DISPARITIES

-

ser-

- -

- ‘that has become more decentralized, though without supplementing this transfer of responsibility with new tools.

a neo-corporatist state that delegates the design and implementation of public policies to the professional groups composing it

‘The term “res- ponsibilization” (or empowerment”) is used when those who have been assigned a power or authority are accountable for the actions they take by virtue of their power or authority’ (OECD, 2011)

(8)

-

educating state responsible for ensuring the quality of the public education service and the effectiveness and coherence of the national education policy

-

are

-

ASSESSMENTS

a

and

When

it always corresponds to a

and some

and

SCHOOL INSPECTIONS: A

MAJOR TREND

(9)

-

and

(‘stimulating function or

accountability function Van Bruggen

-

- A

-

- and

change

–

(10)

OTHER TYPES OF INSPECTIONS

When

In some

Self-assessments or internal assessments

-

and are car- conseil

d’administration -

- conseil des maîtres

-

- -

-

- - - - and some German

-

reddition de comptes

Self-assessment and external assessment: the winning combi- nation?

(11)

-

Risk-based inspections

INTERVAL BETWEEN INSPECTIONS

THE IMPACT OF INSPECTIONS

VERY LIMITED IMPACT

(12)

CONDITIONS REQUIRED FOR INSPECTIONS TO HAVE A POSITIVE IMPACT

assessed

and

‘Inspecting schools without follow-up and monitoring activities is probably not very effective’. (Ehren & Visscher, 2008)

does

A

(13)

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Links refer to our collaborative bibliography.

Le travail d’évaluation : L’inspection dans l’enseignement secondaire

Connaître et reconnaître les inspecteurs de l’éducation nationale -

Revue française de péda- gogie

Les pratiques d’évaluation externe des établis- sements scolaires en France, au Royaume- Uni et en Suisse : Vers des figures de l’État éducateur contemporain en Europe

Evalua- tion et qualité de l’école

- - Research in Higher Education Journal

Synthèse nationale des visites d’E.P.L.E. effectuées en 2004-2005 : Une ana- lyse des facteurs de la performance scolaire

L’Etat et l’inspection scolaire : Analyse des relations et modèles

d’action -

- Dictionnaire de l’éducation

Oxford Review of Educa- tion

- Les cahiers de recherche en éducation et forma- tion

- British Journal of Educational Studies

Twelve outstanding secon- dary schools - Excelling against the odds

L’évaluation des collège et des lycées en France : Bilan critique et perspectives en

2004 -

Evaluation of Schools provi-

ding Compulsory Education -

Régulation in- terne des établissements scolaires : Les chefs d’établissement et la régulation des activités des enseignants

- - Education Finance and Policy

- Educational Eva- luation and Policy Analysis

(14)

- L’inspection générale à l’heure des changements

L’inspection générale à l’heure des changements

Gouverner l’école : Une comparaison France / Etats-Unis

- Revue française de pédagogie

Les stan- dards en éducation dans le monde franco- phone : Une analyse comparative

Framework for the inspection of maintained schools in England from Septem- ber 2009

Twelve outstanding secondary schools - Excelling against the odds

L’Europe de l’éducation : entre management et politique

-

Évaluer l’action éducative

L’évaluation des politiques éducatives

- Beyond Lisbon 2010:

Perspectives from Research and Development for Education Policy in Europe

Dossier d’actualité Veille et Analyses

L’inspection pédago- gique aux risques de l’évaluation -

Internatio- nal Electronic Journal of Elementary Education

Inspectorates of edu- cation in Europe : A critical analysis

- - Beyond Lisbon 2010 : perspectives from research and development for education policy in Europe

Les politiques de l’éducation

Sociologie et sociétés

(15)

(16)

n° 65

Sept.2011

Agence Qualité Éducation – Veille et Analyses 15 parvis René-Descartes BP 7000 – 69342 Lyon cedex 07

[email protected] Standard : +33 (04) 26 73 11 24 Télécopie : +33 (04) 26 73 11 45

To cite us :

Rémi Thibert (2011). « School inspections: from control and regulation to support and counselling ? ».Current Literature Review in Education, n° 67, november.

On line : http://ife.ens-lyon.fr/vst/DA/detailsDossier.php?parent=accu eil&dossier=67&lang=en

Our last reviews :

Annie Feyfant (2011). « The effects of pedagogical practices on learning ». Current Literature Review in Education, n° 65, September.

Olivier Rey (2011). « PISA: knowledge and uses ». Current Literature Review in Education, n° 66, October.

Subscribe to our newsletter :

https://listes.ens-lyon.fr/sympa/info/veille.analyses

CUR R ENT LITERA TUR E RE V IE W IN EDUCA TION

Contents

n°

Nov. 2011