Effective Strategies to Increase School Completion: Using the Guidebook

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Effective Strategies to Increase School
CompletionUsing the Guidebook
Suzanne Rice Centre for Post-compulsory Education
and Lifelong Learning University of Melbourne
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Context

• Phase 1 Research leading to Discussion Paper,
  focus groups, then Report

Positive response but, How can we do this?
Phase 2 Back to 10 successful schools to ask the
same question
Development of Guidebook for Schools
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Learning
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3. Teachers and teaching
Establish a process for change
Assess current position
Set goals
Select strategies
Plan implementation
Implement strategies
Evaluate impact
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Learning
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• Establishing a process for change

• Identify a group of people who will be
  responsible for guiding change and overseeing
  implementation.
• Establish agenda.

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Learning
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2. Assessing the schools current position

• List of data sources that may be useful
• Pro forma to document whats in place
• Checklist of strategies

Identifying student needs to be able to select
strategies

• Surveys Staff and student surveys (Toolbox 1)
• Focus groups How and with whom, sample focus
  group questions (Toolbox 1)

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Staff survey excerpt
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• 3. Setting goals
• Measurable
• Attainable
• Clear
• By 2010, the real student retention rate from
  Years 7 -12 will have reached X percent.

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4. Selecting strategies

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5. Planning implementation

• Strategies to be used
• Are you going to combine
• strategies? If so, how?
• Resources required
• Staff responsible
• Timeline
• Evaluation

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• 6. Implementing

Bringing people on board
Case studies
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7. Evaluating

• Revisit goals
• Sources of data schools
• may need to consider
• May also wish to use some of the initial
• survey and focus group instruments, conduct
• again 12-24 months later and compare
• results

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Learning
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Tools to help you

• Advice from schools
• Who can help?
• Other resources Listed
• by strategy
• Student mapping tool

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• Change is slow! All this began at least ten
  years ago, weve built on initiatives
  Everything has evolved over time, weve tried
  things that havent worked, we then either tweak
  it or get rid of it. Be prepared to try, be
  prepared to admit something doesnt work.

Centre for Post-compulsory Education and Lifelong
Learning