1. Introduction and context
1.1 The Schools of Ambition programme
Ambitious, Excellent Schools ( SEED, 2004) set out a modernisation agenda for comprehensive schools in Scotland. This was followed in February 2005 by an invitation to local authorities to nominate secondary schools to participate in the 'Schools of Ambition' programme. The stated aim of the programme is that Schools of Ambition 'will stand out in their locality, and nationally, as innovators and leaders, providing ambition and opportunity for young people, setting an example to the whole community' ( SEED, 2007). There are currently 52 Schools of Ambition distributed across the 32 local authorities of Scotland. According to SEED2, the current cohort of Schools of Ambition includes 'schools most in need of transformation - very often those contending with the most challenging local circumstances in Scotland - and schools that have strong ideas for transformation and can set new standards of excellence' ( SEED, 2007).
Each school is receiving additional funding (£100,000 per annum) over a three-year period to implement proposals contained within a locally negotiated 'transformational plan'. The schools are charged with identifying local priorities for 'transformational change', setting challenging targets for improvement and outlining appropriate strategies to achieve these goals. In contrast to 'outside-in' forms of evaluation, the Schools of Ambition hold responsibility for collecting and analysing evaluation information that will map 'distance travelled'. Teacher-evaluators in each school have taken responsibility for discrete evaluation strands and are collecting and analysing information to map progress toward the achievement of locally-defined goals. A commitment to self-evaluation and compliance with monitoring and review procedures is a condition of the award. Each school is supported by a designated HEI-based 'mentor' (or 'supporter') and an Advisor from the Schools of Ambition Support Team within the Scottish Government 3. In the second year of the programme, additional targeted support will be provided in some cases by HMIE.
Following a competitive tendering process, SEED commissioned a team of researchers from the Universities of Glasgow, Aberdeen and Strathclyde to provide research and evaluation support to the Schools of Ambition. The purpose of this report is to outline the range of activities undertaken in the first cycle of Research to Support Schools of Ambition (September 2006 - July 2007) (Appendix 1 provides a chronological account). Each school has developed a 'Transformational Plan' ( TP) which sets individual targets for the transformation period (three years). There are two related strands to the Research to Support Schools of Ambition. First, university-based researchers are working with teachers in each School of Ambition to design evaluation strategies to assess the effectiveness of interventions contained in each school's Transformational Plan. Second, the university-based research team will provide formative feedback to the schools and wider community on the process, progress and impact of initiatives undertaken through the Schools of Ambition programme. Thus the research aims to 'look both ways'; providing both evidence-based feedback to the participating schools through ongoing dialogue that aids the schools in their own reflection and providing feedback to the wider education community on the process of change implementation and adoption.
The report outlines the wide range of activities that have been undertaken in the first year of Research to Support Schools of Ambition, including the dual strands of mentor support and evaluation. The first section offers an introduction to Schools of Ambition programme and the place of the Research Support Team within this policy initiative. The four main phases of data collection on which this report is based are identified. The second section of the report outlines the mentoring strategy and action research model that has informed the development of school-university links across the network of Schools of Ambition. The key challenges in building a research and evaluation culture in schools undergoing a period of significant change are identified, drawing on the experiences and perceptions of participants in the first year. Interviews with members of the leadership groups in the first tranche of Schools of Ambition are used to identify the ways in which senior managers are working towards the achievement of transformational goals and the drivers and barriers to progress. The final section offers a series of key learning issues for schools and the support team, distilled from the range of experiences encountered in year one of this challenging programme.
This report has a focus on the perceptions and experiences of those charged with leading transformation efforts within the first tranche of schools. Attention is given to the arrangements for project management that have developed across the schools to facilitate the process of change. It is suggested that schools' engagement with research and evaluation activities may be considered to be at various points along a continuum from 'instrumental' to 'developmental' approaches. Attention is also afforded to the support strategy offered by the team of research mentors who have worked closely with the schools from September 2006.
A number of school 'case studies' are included at various points in the report. The purpose of including these, as well as a number of extracts for interview data gathered during the year is to seek to demonstrate how the general points that are being made in the report are experienced in a particular context and by particular colleagues in some of the schools.
1.2 Mentoring role and use of the VRE
Research to Support Schools of Ambition was launched at the 'One Year On' event held for the first 21 schools in Stirling on September 29 th 2006 ( Appendix 1). Following this event the research team contacted each of the Schools of Ambition and commenced a series of school visits from early October. The purpose of these initial visits was to establish the different support needs of participating schools and to start a conversation about how the university team might best support the evaluation activity in each school (Appendix 2 shows the list of reflective prompts that has been developed to promote these discussions; Appendix 3 consists of a list of questions that were collated at the end of the year on the basis of experience with the first 21 schools in helping school staff consider whether and how to establish a research and evaluation team within their school). This dialogue was supported by a round of interviews conducted with key personnel involved in leading 'transformation' within each of the schools ( Appendix 4).
Each school was assigned a 'mentor' or 'supporter' who acts as the principal point of contact with the school. The role of the mentor is to support the schools' self-evaluation activities throughout the period of School of Ambition status (three years). During Year One of the project each school was entitled to request a minimum of three on-site research skills workshops, supplemented by online mentoring using a bespoke Virtual Research Environment ( VRE) (created within the Applied Educational Research Scheme ( AERS) VRE). The detail of the programme of support in each school was negotiated on a case-by-case basis to ensure that each session explicitly addressed the specific requirements of the school as it works towards the achievement of its unique Transformational Plan. Rather than offer a formulaic 'one-size-fits-all' model of support, the mentors are developing a flexible model of engagement in order to meet the diverse needs of the participating schools.
The architecture of the VRE was developed with colleagues from Strathclyde University in September 2006. All members of the mentoring team received training in the use of this tool in October 2006 and populated the site with resources and web links to support practitioner enquiry during the autumn term. The VRE was launched with the schools in February 2007, when each school was invited to share evaluation activities using a template provided by the mentor team. Teacher researchers and university-based research mentors worked collaboratively to co-author these plans. In addition the mentor team compiled a matrix of the full range of proposed evaluation strands in each school and shared these with the team of Advisors.
A key aspect of the supporter's role is the development of relations of trust. It is acknowledged that this process takes time and consequently pressure for short term gains may threaten the establishment of cooperative and collegial relations in the longer term. The research team made the decision to proceed at the schools' pace in the early stages of the project. Care was taken to ensure that meetings were non-threatening and had a clear developmental focus and cooperative ethos. The investment of time in building durable relations of trust and reciprocity has been integral feature of the model of partnership. To this end, in the first year mentors provided additional visits to build confidence in the developing partnership work.
All twenty-one Schools of Ambition were visited at least once between October 25 th and December 4 th 2006. Six schools had two meetings with the supporter/mentor. Mentors had access to the schools' Transformational Plans in advance of each meeting and used this information, supplemented with discussions with the Senior Advisors from the Scottish Government, as the basis for dialogue about the direction and management of change in each context. Support meetings focused on identifying existing sources of data referenced in the evaluation plans and moved on to identify any gaps within the proposed strategies; especially important aspects of the story of 'transformation' that might be 'missing'. In considering success criteria, schools were actively encouraged to consider both quantitative and qualitative indicators. Across the cohort of Schools of Ambition there was considerable diversity in terms of the comprehensiveness of evaluation plans and the state of preparedness to carry these plans forward. This reflects the range of experiences that the schools bring to the programme and the rich variety of contexts in which the schools operate.
Throughout the year the programme of support visits has continued. All twenty-one schools in the first tranche received up to three support visits between October 2006 and July 2007. Several schools received additional visits, including support with data collection in school. One school received nine visits. Several of the schools have drawn on mentors' advice in refining school-generated evaluation tools (especially questionnaires) and some schools have worked directly with the mentor to co-design appropriate instruments and analyse data.
In March 2007, the original team of six research mentors from the Universities of Aberdeen and Glasgow, including The SCRE Centre, was expanded to accommodate seven tranche two schools joining the programme. An induction event was held at Aberdeen University on March 8 th 2007 for these schools. An initial meeting was also held with a further twenty-four schools in a third tranche, followed by an induction event at the University of Glasgow on September 12th. A positive feature of the September 12 th event was the involvement of staff from tranche one schools in leading presentations and sharing their experiences. The involvement of experienced colleagues and peers from other Schools of Ambition was valued highly by participants. There are currently ten experienced mentors positioned to support 52 Schools of Ambition from September 2007. From March, where it was possible, the mentor team conducted the first visit to the tranche two schools with members of the Scottish Government Senior Advisor team. The Research Support Team welcomed this opportunity for shared meetings and looks forward to developing this aspect of partnership work in the future.
1.3 Evaluation role
The data gathering for this research was conducted in four phases. (1) Between October 2006 and January 2007, semi-structured interviews were conducted with 42 members of the leadership group with overall responsibility for the School of Ambition in fifteen of the first twenty-one schools. (2) In addition, a telephone survey was conducted with 30 external partners working with the Schools of Ambition (January-February 2007). (3) A second round of interviews was conducted in early June 2007 with 34 teacher researchers who are leading evaluation strands within the schools. (4) Finally, an electronic questionnaire was distributed to all participants (n=62) in the programme - school leaders, project managers and teacher researchers in late June 2007. Each of these phases of activity produced summary documents that were shared with the Research Advisory Group in February and June 2007. Although the 'cases' used in the report are based on the experiences of individual Schools of Ambition, the examples selected are chosen because they illustrate 'typical' patterns of engagement i.e. they have a wider applicability. In line with our statement of ethical practice, all personal identifiers have been removed from questionnaire data and interview responses.
(1) In preparation for the leadership interviews referred to above, a topic guide based on the evaluation questions contained in the tender document was generated collaboratively by the mentor team based at Glasgow and Aberdeen Universities ( see Appendix 4). Constructing the guide was an iterative process, which involved consultation with teachers as well as university-based researchers. A draft topic guide was shared with school leaders in three schools to check the appropriateness of language, structure and the length of the guide. The project team members were sensitive to the need to balance breadth and rigour with the opportunity costs of teachers' involvement. The topic guide included prompts and neutral probes to elicit full responses from participants. A plain language statement was used to help share the purposes of the interview and to offer clarification on ethical considerations. All participants were invited to ask questions about the interview process and how the data would be managed. Written consent was requested. In keeping with the collaborative focus of the partnership work between the schools and the universities, the role of the interviews in providing formative feedback to the schools was emphasised.
On average the interviews lasted for fifty minutes. The shortest interview was thirty-five minutes duration and the longest interview one hour and twenty-five minutes duration. All interviews were audio-recorded. In most cases the participants were Headteachers/Rectors or Deputes with responsibility for School of Ambition developments. In some schools the Headteacher and Depute elected to be interviewed together; and in some cases Principal Teachers with specific responsibilities for strands within the Transformational Plan were also invited to participate. One school requested a small group interview with the team of staff involved in leading School of Ambition work. The involvement of a wider range of colleagues was encouraged by the mentoring team. The interviews were approached by mentors as valuable opportunities to learn more about the specific objectives, progress and outcomes anticipated in each school and acted as a catalyst for further developmental work. The core themes from this extensive round of interviews were presented in the revised Interim Report to the Research Advisory Group submitted on February 14 th 2007.
(2) In January and February 2007, a telephone survey of partner organisations working with the Schools of Ambition to deliver aspects of the Transformational Plan was also conducted ( see Appendix 5). The purpose of this was to extend consideration of factors that inhibit or facilitate transformation beyond the boundaries of the school. Audio files and transcripts from thirty telephone interviews with key informants in the partner organisations were analysed to identify factors that act as 'accelerators' or 'brakes' on progress.
(3) During June 2007, interviews with thirty-four teacher researchers within the Schools of Ambition were carried out ( see Appendix 6). The data from initial interviews were analysed and presented in a report to the June meeting of the Research Advisory Group.
(4) At the end of the school year, and the first annual cycle of activity in Research to Support Schools of Ambition, it was important to revisit the formative evaluation themes that underpin this project. An electronic survey was constructed, piloted and distributed to all teachers and school leaders who had participated in evaluation activities in the first tranche of schools. Questionnaires were distributed to sixty-two participants in late June ( Appendix 7). The analysis of the responses indicates that schools have certainly found the programme challenging, but worthwhile. Teachers noted how the programme appears to promote a 'way of thinking', a 'change in mindset', a new 'language'; promoting 'approved risk taking' that supports innovation and breaks down 'traditional barriers' to improvement. A short separate analysis of responses relating to the VRE was also written ( Appendix 8).
1. 4 Evaluation Conference
Following a strong response from the schools to a call for proposals, the inaugural Schools of Ambition Evaluation Conference was held in Stirling on May 14 th 2007. Nineteen sessions involving twenty-five teachers and eleven pupils were presented in a full and varied one-day programme (Appendix 9). The Research Support Team also offered three workshops on working with data, investigating distributed leadership and the collaborative potential of the VRE. Eighty-eight delegates attended the conference and valued the opportunity to share ideas and work in progress and to network. The Research Support Team hopes to build on the success of this event with a strongly focused evaluation conference including all the Schools of Ambition next year. Even greater emphasis on research (as distinct from development) activity will be encouraged.
1.5 North Atlantic Conference
The Research Support Team also contributed to the evaluation of an innovative networking event organised by Anderson High School, Shetland Islands. In May 2007 one member of the Research Support Team (Fran Payne, University of Aberdeen) attended a North Atlantic Conference which brought together seven Schools of Ambition for a residential programme. The evaluation of this conference ( see Appendix 10) has identified some key principles for consideration when planning school-initiated networking events that will prove useful in the encouragement of 'neighbourhood' activity in years two and three.
As well as the internal communication activities the Research Support Team has been identifying a number of opportunities for wider dissemination, during recent and future months ( see Appendix 11). There remain significant challenges as we approach year two of this project and an expansion in the number of schools. This report identifies some of these challenges and reflects on a ten-month process of engagement in which we have sought to work closely with schools and encompass a range of perspectives. The Research Support Team looks forward to following the progress of the schools and to supporting evaluation activities in all the Schools of Ambition.
1.6 Limitations and scope
This report is primarily based on accounts offered by participants who are involved in delivering the objectives of the Transformational Plan ( TP) in their school. This carries its own limitations. The Research Support Team acknowledges that data are produced rather than 'gathered' or 'collected' from 'out there' (Law, 2004). Accounts generated in interview represent the interaction of the interviewer and interviewee. Participants may lack objectivity in accounts of their own practice and are constrained by the context in which the interview takes place.
It should be noted that this report focuses on activity within the first ten months of a three-year programme. The report is essentially formative and any 'findings' are indicative of developments at this stage in the evolution of an ambitious and challenging programme for change. The diverse range of circumstances in which the schools operate makes generalisation problematic. The schools are very different and 'what works' in one context, within a particular set of circumstances at a particular point in time, may be inappropriate elsewhere.