Kirkcudbright Academy Curriculum Flexibility Project: First Final Evaluation Report - Executive Summary
Executive Summary
Introduction
In January 2004, the Scottish Executive Education Department commissioned an external evaluation of the Kirkcudbright Academy Curriculum Flexibility Project through the Future Learning and Teaching Programme under the leadership of Professor J E Wilkinson in the Faculty of Education, University of Glasgow with Professor J McGonigal and Mr B Templeton as co-investigators. The evaluation is being concluded in two stages: stage one (February 2004 to October 2006) and stage two (November 2006 to October 2009). This report is the final report of stage one.
The Project is based in Kirkcudbright Academy which is a small rural comprehensive school (roll 504, Teacher FTE 45.6) in Dumfries and Galloway. In terms of pupil attainment the school is well above average for both Dumfries and Galloway and Scotland as a whole. Data on ‘staying on’ rates for S4 pupils also indicate that the school is well above local and national averages.
The key aims of the Kirkcudbright Academy Curriculum Flexibility Project are:
- to raise attainment in overall terms of all pupils;
- to provide more appropriate challenges for S1 pupils and at a more appropriate pace;
- to group S1 pupils in such a way as to raise levels of self-esteem and motivation using interests and enthusiasms as the basis for groupings;
- to develop new methodologies in the light of increased understanding of learning styles and intelligences;
- to expand opportunities for vocational learning within a remote rural setting.
Aims of the Evaluation
The overall aims of the evaluation have been located in the context of the different stakeholder groups involved in the Project and are as follows:
Pupils
- to track the progress of S1 pupils in Kirkcudbright Academy and compare it with the progress of all other pupils of the same age in schools in the same local authority from S1 to S4/S6, including their motivation, their attainment and their attendance.
- to ascertain the response of S1 pupils in Kirkcudbright Academy to the allocation to teaching and learning groups at the beginning of S1 in Kirkcudbright Academy for successive cohorts.
- to explore S1 pupils’ engagement with the learning process, their learning strategies and their self-confidence/esteem associated with such engagement.
- to assess the extent to which S1 pupils in Kirkcudbright Academy feel challenged by the new curriculum arrangements.
- to explore the operation of the choice of mechanisms at the end of S1 with regard to the certificate course choices in S2 and S3.
Teaching Staff
- to explore teacher understanding of the rationale for the Project and identify any tensions, mediating teacher attitudes towards innovation in four curriculum domains – numeracy, literacy, creativity and special awareness involving teachers in such subjects as English and Modern Languages, Maths, Science, Creative Education and Expressive Arts.
- to assess the nature and quality of the staff development programme associated with the Project, the response of the staff to the programme and the uptake of new pedagogic ideas learned from it.
- to examine the criteria and processes used to allocate S1 pupils to groups in the ‘foundation’ course.
- to ascertain the involvement in and the response to the operation of the Project at annual intervals (2004-2009).
- to track teachers’ perceptions of pupils’ response over time (2004-2009).
- to examine the role of pastoral support for S1 pupils.
Parents
- to examine the process if communication between the Academy and the parents (including the School Board) about the Project and how such communication impacts on parents.
- to examine parents’ understanding of the rationale for the Project.
- to explore the issues and concerns raised by parents, particularly those of S1 pupils.
- to ascertain the support and encouragement provided by parents to their children in the learning process and to track this longitudinally.
Senior Management Team
- to explore the management’ perspective on the rationale for the Project
- to examine the role of management personnel (particularly those specifically concerned with S1 pupils).
- to assess the time, commitment and priority given to managing the innovation and to track this longitudinally.
- to assess the process of internal evaluation of the operation of the Project and how such evaluation impacts on the refinement/revision to the Project’s operation.
Other Stakeholders
Primary School Headteachers:
to explore the process of preparation of P7 pupils for transfer to Kirkcudbright Academy and assess changes over time.
Local authority and other personnel
to explore the support provided by the local authority to the Project and track such support over time.
- to examine the opportunities provided for vocational learning and the difficulties encountered in providing these opportunities.
- to assess the degree of co-operation afforded by FE staff to the innovation in Kirkcudbright Academy.
- to assess the reactions of the local employers to the initiative.
Research Design and Methodology
Design
The design of the evaluation has two features. It is predominantly longitudinal (augmented by cross-sectional data) and is both qualitative and quantitative. It is longitudinal in the sense that two entire cohorts of pupils are being monitored throughout the duration of their school careers in Kirkcudbright Academy. In addition, an ‘experimental’ sub-group of S1 pupils who are participating in the Project and a sub-group of S3 pupils (2004/6) who are not involved in the Project have been selected as a ‘comparison’ group. The experimental group of approximately 30 pupils (that is, a 30% sample of the S1 intake in 2003/04) is being tracked in qualitative terms once per year from S1 to S6. The comparison group also of approximately 30 pupils in S3 (also a 30% sample) in 2004/5 is also being similarly tracked once per year from S3 to S6. Thus the design allows the experience of the two cohorts of pupils to be compared, one cohort ahead of the other, that is the last cohort to experience the old system and the first cohort to experience the new arrangement.
Also involved in this longitudinal aspect of the design are the parents of the S1 ‘experimental’ group. The parents of this group have been contacted annually for interviews in their own homes or for interviews over the telephone to ascertain their response to the effects of the Project on their child as it progresses.
The longitudinal feature of this study also allows a comparison to be made between the progress of the S1 pupils in Kirkcudbright Academy and that of the S1 pupils in all other secondary schools in Dumfries and Galloway.
The cross-sectional element of the design focuses on the other main stakeholder group, that is teachers. Teachers from four curriculum areas and Guidance were selected: Mathematics, English, Modern Languages, Science, Expressive Arts, PE and Guidance teachers, as a cross section of the secondary school curriculum. 1:1 interviews were conducted at annual intervals. Successive cohorts of S1 pupils were also monitored by issuing a questionnaire to all pupils at the end of S1 each year to chart choice mechanisms for subsequent certificate courses.
Using a mix of both longitudinal and cross-sectional procedures the other stakeholders were involved in providing data for the evaluation. With an emphasis on the longitudinal dimension, members of the Senior Management Team of the Academy have been interviewed on an annual basis. In addition the head teachers of the Academy’s six associated primary schools have been interviewed, as have senior education managers in Dumfries and Galloway Council.
Methodology
The evaluation methods being used in this longitudinal study are as follows:
Primary data:
- Questionnaires for pupils
- 1:1 interviews with teachers, senior school managers and parents
- Focus groups
- Observation of parents’ evenings
Secondary data:
- Official data on attainment, attendance and staying on rates.
1.1 Conclusions at the end of Stage 1
The Curriculum Flexibility Project initiated by staff of Kirkcudbright Academy and supported by the SEED/FLaT initiative and Dumfries & Galloway Council is an ambitious attempt to provide young people between the ages of 11 and 18 with more challenging and appropriate learning experiences that will better equip them for the future. In the initial stages the Academy offered a revised S1 curriculum by taking account of pupils’ interest choices and by re-locating work for Standard Grade examinations into S2 and S3. This Report presents the findings of the evaluation of the first stage of the Project, principally in terms of the responses of the various stakeholder groups – pupils, parents, teachers and administrators. Based on the findings as provided in Chapters 3 to 6, a number of conclusions have been drawn.
Teachers’ response
With a number of exceptions, teachers’ reactions to the Project at the outset were largely positive, more so by the end of the second year. Teachers commented on the greater challenge and sharper focus, with more effort demanded of brighter pupils. There were some concerns that the lack of maturity in other pupil groups might lead to greater polarisation of attainment but this view varied across departments with variation in the levels of understanding of the Project’s aims. The emerging effect on teacher morale was also mentioned quite frequently. The initiative had generally created a sense of shared direction and higher expectations among staff. Another positive effect had been that the Project had made staff discuss learning, teaching and course content with a heightened professional awareness.
There were, nevertheless, a number of individual teachers who were sceptical. There was significant initial disengagement by one or two departments and concern about the number of staff who had not embraced the Project. Concerns largely focused on the restrictions imposed at the end of S1. Some subjects, previously studied for two years in the secondary school before pupils’ choice of more specialist pathways, are only studied for one year under the new arrangements, and concerns centred on skills development, conceptual depth and problem-solving. Within the new arrangements in the Academy, there will be further opportunities to take up subjects again at a later and more mature stage in S4-S6, but the impact of this on retention and on multi-level teaching remains to be seen.
The possibility of pupils sitting national examinations a year early because of the increase in pace was generally seen as a positive feature of the Project, although a sizeable minority expressed concern about the early decision-making involved, and the potential problems that pupils might experience in handling course content or achieving craft skills. This concern appeared to have been decreased by the actual experience of taking S3 pupils through national assessment, particularly as direct professional comparison could be made with the concurrent performance of the traditional S4 cohort. Many staff expressed caution, especially as academic results were not available by the time of the final interviews recorded here: it was a little too early to make great claims for the initiative, in their view, and they were content that the system of allocation to interest groups be refined with experience, and that pupil achievement in national examinations be monitored.
Staff mainly reserved judgement, then, on how the changes would impact on examination performance in S3 and S4, but there was a general sense of keenness to see the outcomes of this initiative unfolding in terms of pupils’ enhanced achievements and more positive attitude to themselves as learners.
Pupils’ response
On the whole, those pupils who have been involved in the Project to date, that is, pupils admitted to S1 in August 2003, have responded well to the initiative. The only issue causing some concern was the choices the children are required to make, that is the choice of ‘interest’ group in P7 and the choice of subjects at the end of S1. Whilst most S1 pupils were satisfied with their interest group as they had experienced it in their first year at the Academy, there was some concern about the choices offered. Similarly when the same pupils were required to make subject choices for S2 and S3, a number of pupils were unable to choose the subjects they most enjoyed. However, it is inevitable that providing each and every pupil with exactly the choices they prefer is unrealistic in the context of a relatively small secondary school. Once again, the use of a second or even third round of option choices in S4, S5 and S6, and additional vocational subject options across the ability spectrum, offer a means of redressing the balance at a point where career aspirations and self-awareness will be clearer.
Nevertheless, pupils as a whole have responded well to the increased demands on them. The vast majority of pupils accepted the challenge the Project offered and applied themselves with due purpose throughout each of the three years in the ‘junior’ school. There was no evidence of pupils becoming de-motivated as is prone to happen with a number of pupils in secondary schools, particularly in S2. As far as taking external examinations in third year is concerned, most pupils coped perfectly well with the experience, though a number felt aggrieved that the two weeks study time afforded to their peers in fourth year had not been extended to them.
With regard to the comparison between the experimental group (that is, those pupils experiencing the first year of the Project) and the comparison group (that is, those pupils experiencing the last year of the old arrangements) the findings of the evaluation clearly show a significant difference between the two groups. The experimental cohort of pupils was better motivated, more engaged with learning, more focussed and more responsive. Whether this is due in part to the halo-effect remains to be seen. The pupils themselves were aware of their special circumstances and the teachers were also fully aware of their situation. Nevertheless, at this stage of the Project, the findings from the point of view of the pupils are extremely positive.
Parents’ response
Most parents were well aware of the Curriculum Flexibility Project in Kirkcudbright Academy, though only half of the parents had any understanding of the reasons for the Project, possibly due to the fact that only half of the parents interviewed had attended a meeting about it at their local primary school. Despite this, a majority of parents saw the Project as worthwhile and were appreciative of its aims. However, continuing efforts need to be made to reach out to those parents who have little understanding of the reasons for and the aims of the initiative.
Most parents reported that their child had coped well with their early years in the Academy, though the issue of homework expectations was somewhat problematic. Some parents also voiced concerns about the subject choices at the end of S1, in particular subjects such as Maths and French.
Many parents spoke warmly, and in some cases very warmly, of the school, particularly the support the staff had given to their child. With one or two notable exceptions, the overwhelming parental voice at this midway stage of the initiative is positive.
In terms of the research questions posed in Chapter 2 for this key stakeholder group, it is clear that the vast majority of parents supported the Project, though by no means all fully understood its purpose. Whilst the school made sterling efforts to inform parents about the Project through letters and parents’ meetings, there remained a significant number of parents who neither studied the correspondence nor attended the meetings. It is difficult to see what more can be done other than by specific targeting of individual families for direct personal contact.
With regard to the parents’ response to their child’s experience of sitting national examinations a year earlier than is normal in Scottish secondary schools, most parents were of the view that their child had coped perfectly well. Overwhelmingly the parents were delighted when the examinations results were published. Parents commonly felt that their child had done much better than expected. However, there was a small number of parents whose child had unequivocally decided to leave school at the end of fourth year who, once the examinations had been taken, saw no point in their child continuing to attend school after third year.
Primary Headteachers’ response
Without exception, the headteachers of the Academy’s associated primary schools were supportive of the Project. However, most of them did not see the Project as having direct implications for teaching and learning in the primary school. This is a matter of some concern. The Project affords the opportunity for improving the P7-S1 transition process. It would be regrettable if this opportunity was not maximised, particularly as it accords with national developments in the emerging national Curriculum for Excellence. To some extent this concern has been addressed since the First Interim Report through the policy of clustering schools by Dumfries and Galloway Council. More opportunities are now available for discussion and negotiation between schools in a given cluster.
1.1.1 Final Comment
The evaluators are in no doubt that, at the end of this first stage, the Project has been remarkably successful. The vision of the headteacher, the support of his two deputes, the dedication of the majority of the staff, the enthusiastic response of the pupils and the support of the parents have all contributed to this overwhelming success. The Curriculum Flexibility Project in Kirkcudbright Academy is a prime example of organic innovation in Scottish education. The ideas were generated at school level and, inspired by the vision of the headteacher, and the collaboration within the Senior Management Team supported by the management skills of his Deputes, the initiative has taken root and flourished. The majority of teachers, pupils and parents are enthusiastic in their response, resulting in improved motivation and behaviour in pupils, particularly during their second year at the Academy. The task now facing the school, however, is to take the Project forward into the next stage, that is, the re-shaping of the senior school and the consequent impact on young people’s opportunities, both within their local community and beyond. To do this successfully depends not only on sustaining the vision and the commitment of staff, but also on the school continuing to enjoy the flexibility to facilitate innovation within national curriculum and assessment developments that will alter the parameters within which this Project has successfully evolved.
In time, one of the crucial indicators of the success of the Project will be the impact on young people’s level of qualifications on leaving school, the breadth of their schooling experience and their subsequent career choices. A start has been made on applying modern statistical techniques to analysing data from external examinations for all schools in Dumfries and Galloway. The next report will identify whether school leavers from Kirkcudbright Academy fare any differently from their peers in all other schools in the region. Nevertheless, even at this stage, the outcome of the Project in Kirkcudbright Academy offers a substantial contribution to those planning the reform of secondary schooling in Scotland.
The findings from the first stage of the Kirkcudbright Project provide a challenging opportunity to take Scottish Education forward into the future.
Kirkcudbright Curriculum Flexibility Project - First Final Evaluation Report (604 KB)