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STOCKHOLM SCHOOL
OF ECONOMICS

New Publication: Beyond the silver bullet: unveiling multiple pathways to school turnaround

30 maj, 2024
Research on school improvement shows multiple factors aid turnarounds at underperforming schools. Using qualitative comparative analysis of 77 Swedish schools over 12 years, no single solution was found. Instead, different factor combinations work, depending on the local context. This has implications for school improvement research and education policy.

In a new research study by CELE researchers Stefan Arora-Jonsson, Ema Kristina Demir, Axel Norgren and Karl Wennberg, we present an alternative to universal solutions and checklists for school improvement. We examined all secondary schools (högstadium) in Sweden from 2008 to 2019 to identify strategies that can help the weakest schools improve.

The study focuses on the bottom quarter (369 schools), where many students finish their education without the qualifications needed for upper secondary school (gymnasium). Of these, 42 schools successfully turned their performance around.

The study identifies three main pathways to school turnaround, demonstrating that schools do not need to improve everything at once. Meanwhile, the results emphasise the need for careful analysis before implementing changes. Despite the absence of a “silver bullet,” this research offers hope that tailored strategies can effectively revitalise struggling schools.

Want to know more? Read the full research paper here.

Opinion piece in the Swedish newspaper Göteborgs-Posten: "No 'one size fits all' when improving schools".

 

CELE GAPP Education Equality Article Publication