68 Effective Schools Defined
The Importance of Effective Schools and How America Can Make Their Schools More Effective
1. Students should know the reasons why effectiveness in education is important.
2. Students should be able to understand the characteristics which make a school effective.
3. Given a list of characteristics, students should be able to identify whether they are effective or ineffective.
People often talk about the importance of education and how schools need to improve. However, that is usually as far as the idea goes. This is because everyone has different definitions for what an effective school is and how to improve ineffective schools. Just because a student goes to school every day, it does not mean the school is doing the best job they can. There is always room for improvement, even in the best of schools.
Essentially, an effective school is one which is conducted in a safe environment by qualified teachers (Ashley, 2006). Everyone in the education field should have goals and high expectations for the school and its students (Ashley, 2006). Students should not only be taught academics, but also life skills (Ashley, 2006). There are many schools which are not at this level of effectiveness, though. Ineffective schools are most commonly found in high poverty areas (NEA, 2001). They typically are not well funded, do not have enough technology, and do not have highly qualified leaders (NEA, 2001).
Improving ineffective schools should be one of America’s top priorities. A good education is the foundation of every qualified professional in this country. There have been many studies done to find out what makes high performing schools effective (Sadker, Zittleman, 2006). These studies show that there are six top factors which make a school effective, among other characteristics.
The classroom environment is a very important aspect of an effective school. If a student does not feel safe or comfortable while in their classroom, they will not be able to focus on what is being taught.
It is essential that students feel safe while in school (Sadker, Zittleman, 2006). Even though 98% of teachers and 93% of students say they feel safe in their school, safety is still a topic of debate (Sadker, Zittleman, 2006). Making schools safe begins with teaching students respect, for themselves and others (Sadker, Zittleman, 2006). Another key step in safety is to identify student problems early, before the student turns to violence to solve them (Sadker, Zittleman, 2006).
Aside from safety, it is also valuable for students to feel at ease while at school (Ashley, 2006). They should feel able to approach their teacher and other students (Ashley, 2006). The learning environment should also be open, clean, colorful, and inviting (Armstrong, 2002).
Having qualified leaders in the field of education is essential for success. These are the people who are around the children for approximately 35 hours each week. They are the people who will teach, inspire