How is the organisational success of a school assessed by students, parents, staff and educational administration?: A case study of a high school in the Western Cape

Abstract

This study examines how the various stakeholder groups assess the degree of school organisational success. A review of the literature relating to organisational success and school administrative theory provides a theoretical framework for the study. An examination of the research on school success? school quality and school improvement is used in conjunction with interviews to develop criteria which could be used by the various constituencies to assess school success. The criteria identified were divided into eight categories which related to academic results, characteristics of students, resources and facilities, teachers, the principal, ex-students, ethos and school organisation. A framework which uses ethos, student-teacher relationships, and traditional output measures is proposed. These measures reflect the complexity of the assessment of school success. The criteria were used in the development of a questionnaire which was applied to sample so each of the stakeholder groups at the selected school. Respondents were asked to rate fun portance of the criteria to their assessment of school success. Respondents were also asked to rank the factors which they considered most important when they assessed school success. Analysis of the data collected by the questionnaires revealed the complexity and interactional nature of the factors which affect the assessment of school success by the various stakeholder groups. Interviews were then conducted with samples of each of the groups. A high degree of agreement was found to exist between the various groups with regard to the factors which they considered most important. The factors identified as contributing to school success focused on the interpersonal and interactional aspects of the school rather than those factors which related to inputs and resources. Although a basic level of these inputs and resources were required increases in the quantity and quality of these resources did not necessarily result in increased levels of school success.