School decline : predictors, process and intervention : a thesis presented in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Education at Massey University, Auckland, New Zealand
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Date
2008
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Massey University
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Abstract
The ramifications of school decline are profoundly serious for the students, staff and
community of a school. School decline is the steady downwards spiral that some schools
experience when a complex set of influences interact with negative and unresolved
outcomes. This study explored the largely unresearched area of school decline and
developed a set of potential predictors of decline that could assist in understanding,
preventing or dealing effectively with school decline in the future. Grounded theory,
selected as a methodology appropriate for exploratory research, was used to guide the
process of data collection and theory development. Three schools, labeled by agencies and
the media as being in serious decline or “failing”, were selected for the study. Adults who
were in significant roles in the schools during the decline periods were interviewed about
their experiences. As part of the data analysis and interpretation a set of propositions was
drafted and was sent to these interviewees and to fourteen educational advisors who work
with schools at risk and in decline. The advisors’ feedback on the propositions, analysis of
school related documents, Education Review Office reports and Ministry of Education file
documents provided rich additional data. The factors associated with the lead up to school
decline, and the process of decline, are multilayered, contextual and complex. Each study
school’s experience of decline involved a unique combination and order of occurrence of
common factors and influences. Many of the issues that predispose schools towards
decline are associated with, and are exacerbated by, unethical or unprofessional attitudes or
behaviour by individuals, and unprofessional practices within the schools and between
neighbouring schools. Once decline begins it escalates and is difficult to stop. This thesis
contributes towards the development of a theory of school decline by identifying potential
predictors of school decline and by describing how decline begins and escalates. It also
identifies factors that are associated with interventions being insufficient or ineffective. The
theory of school decline provides insights for school leaders and educational agencies that
may assist in the prediction and prevention of school decline in the future.
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Keywords
Failing schools, Unprofessional practices