SCHOOL ADMINISTRATORS’ AND STAKEHOLDERS’ ATTITUDES TOWARD, AND PERSPECTIVES ON, SCHOOL IMPROVEMENT PLANNING

Oct 15, 2026

This study examines the attitudes and perspectives of school administrators and other stakeholders toward the school improvement planning process. Using convenience sampling, it gathered data from 15 schools and 91 respondents. Findings identify four principal factors—stakeholder involvement, accountability, plan implementation and efficacy—that together explain 68.83% of variation. Involvement alone accounts for 47.82%, highlighting it as the most critical issue shaping how the process is perceived.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

FormatPDF

Pages20

Reading Time50 min

AccessFree to download

Abstract

Introduction

Background and policy context

Regional challenges and Jamaica’s situation

Statement of the Problem

Planning culture and training gaps

Support mechanisms and evidence limitations

`SCHOOL ADMINISTRATORS’ AND STAKEHOLDERS’ATTITUDES TOWARD, AND PERSPECTIVES ON, SCHOOL IMPROVEMENT PLANNING CANUTE S. THOMPSON The University of the West Indies ABSTRACT This study explores the attitudes and perspectives of school administrators and other stakeholders on the school improvement planning process. A convenience sampling technique was employed with a sample of 15 schools and 91 respondents. The findings of the study indicated four principal factors, involvement, accountability, plan implementation and efficacy, defined the perspectives of the respondents. These factors were also responsible for 68.83% of the variation in the data. The factor ‘involvement’ accounted for 47.82% of the variation and suggests that the most critical issue affecting how the school improvement planning process is seen is the degree of stakeholder involvement. INTRODUCTION Huber and Conway (2015) indicated that under the “No Child Left Behind”(NCLB) Act of 2001, schools which had been assessed as not making adequate progress, particularly in relation to student achievement, were required to submit a school improvement plan (SIP) to the relevant State body. Huber and Conway cited White (2009) who also explained that SIPs were designed to close achievement gaps and raise levels of student achievement. Huber and Conway (2015) called people’s attention to the fact that school improvement efforts have been documented since the 1970s, but they lamented that despite over four decades of discussion and documentation there is still no clear agreement on exactly how to carry out the improvement efforts. They found the absence of a clear blue print for school improvement puzzling based on their review of the literature which shows that there are a number of key areas in which school improvement efforts must focus. These key areas include: frequent monitoring of student data, identification of persons responsible for implementation of each strategy, leadership strategies, and an evaluation of a school’s readiness to change, among others (Beach & Lindahl, 2004). The seeming puzzlement of how to act on school improvement is not only confined to the United States of America. Many countries around the world, includingthe United Kingdom, and those in the Caribbean, have been struggling with this issue. In the United Kingdom, the issue of school improvement planning is a termly priority and the importance of the contribution of all stakeholders is emphasized (Arnold, 2017). Jamaica and other Caribbean countries have been grappling with poor school performance for decades (Parry, 2004; Thwaites, 2015). This study examines the situation in Jamaica. Following there-organization of the Ministry of Education in the early 2000’s, the National Education Inspectorate (NEI) was established and since 2010 it has conducted inspection of schools. Educational Planning 7 Vol. 25, No. 4 Every inspection has resulted in about 55% of schools found to be performing unsatisfactorily. The inspection of the 953 public secondary and primary schools was completed in 2015 and the findings produced by the NEI showed that 55% of schools were performing unsatisfactorily when measured against the eight (8) indicators used by the NEI. The NEI has reported that one of the recurring features in its inspections is the absence of, or poorly written, School Improvement Plans. Given the unsatisfactory performance of most schools, on the one hand, and the reported weaknesses on the planning processes and products of many schools, this research seeks to ascertain the attitudes of school administrators in selected Jamaican schools, toward the school improvement planning process. While the data on the attitudes of school administrators, used in this study, are from Jamaica, the findings resonate with some of the concerns of that have been documented from other jurisdictions including the United States. One of the key issues in the attitudes of school administrators in

FAQs

What does the study investigate about school improvement planning?

It explores how school administrators and other stakeholders view and understand the school improvement planning process, including key influencing factors.

How was the data collected in the study?

The study used convenience sampling with participation from 15 schools and 91 respondents.

What four principal factors were found to shape stakeholders’ perspectives?

The findings identify involvement, accountability, plan implementation and efficacy as the four main factors influencing respondents’ perspectives.

Oct 15, 2026

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