But perhaps ‘we’ is an overstatement. I would be flattered to think than of more than one person read my blog (I of course include myself in this count). As such, I guess I will follow CS Lewis’s lead who purportedly wrote the Chronicles of Narnia because the stories were ones he wished he could have read as a child.  Please don’t expect any profound or wise insights!

Which brings me to topic #1. ‘Why’ is the quality of schooling important? This week I was reading a summary of research into the affects of the quality of schooling and—get this—there is conflicting research in this area. But various researchers have ‘answers’. So how much of an effect does can a ‘high quality’ school have on student achievement? Here are some of the results:

10% (Coleman, 1966)
10% (Jencks, 1972)
23% (Rosenthal, 1991)

I have two concurrent reactions when I read these numbers. The first is to laugh. We really like our numbers don’t we! This reminds me Douglas Adams reporting in a Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy that the meaning of life is “42”. The influence of a school can be, depending upon the research, between 10-23%. I guess it’s your call.

The second thought is one of admiration for the research. While any exact metric—especially when grappling with a concept like quality—must be impossible to ascertain given the complex sociological soup which contextualizes schools, the research question itself and the chosen methodology have great importance to educators. As we move into the 21^st, it’s generally accepted that schools will need to seriously evolve to meet the needs of today’s (and tomorrow’s) learners. There is probably no better time to look at the quality of schooling and attempt to inch closer to a fuller understanding of influence that school organizations have children and learning. Learning more about how we can influence student development should then translate into ensuring the focus of the schooling processes maximizes its positive influence.