School factors that have contributed to successfully reducing the achievement gap in low socioeconomic status primary schools

This study provides an investigative and analytical view of the processes occurring in low SES schools that contribute to above expected student achievement in literacy and numeracy. The study addresses the central research question of what school factors contributed to the phenomenon of above expected NAPLAN performance of low SES Catholic primary schools in the Archdiocese of Sydney. Additionally, the study develops a richer understanding of how the school factors contributed to the phenomenon.

The research emerges from a global environment of educational reform which focusses on improvement of student achievement outcomes. At a national level, government and educational leaders have attempted for over 30 years to improve the fairness of educational outcomes by reducing the achievement gap between low and high socioeconomic status school communities. The purpose of this study is to gain knowledge and understanding of school factors that have contributed to successfully reducing the achievement gap in low socioeconomic status primary school communities, by identifying schools in the local context that successfully reduced the achievement gap either sporadically or maintained over time.

In addressing the central research question, a theoretical framework is used which is the foundation of the interpretive framework. The first lens in the interpretive framework is the broad ontological position of realism. The second lens is the epistemological paradigm of social constructionism. The third lens is the theoretical perspective of symbolic interactionism. The methodological framework created is congruent with the underpinning interpretive framework. Designing the sample is achieved using quantitative methods consisting of measures of central tendency and regression analysis. A mixed methods case study methodology is then utilised in addressing the central research question. This multiple site case study uses individual, semi-structured interviews to gather the participants’ perspectives on the reasons for the phenomenon of above expected NAPLAN performance.

The most important finding is that whilst all five schools in the study are high performing schools, a dichotomy is evident in terms of the number of above expected performances achieved. Two schools exhibited long term and consistent above expected performance. These schools are labelled long-run schools. The remaining three high performing schools had lower occurrences of the phenomenon of above expected performance and are labelled short-run schools. Differences in the emergent factors are apparent between long-run and short-run schools. So, the demarcation is justified.

This research adds new knowledge to current thinking in three areas: the use of data, community consultation, and the classification and differences between long-run schools and short-run schools. The first two areas offer new knowledge with a different perspective to the current literature, the third area offers ground-breaking new knowledge in that it has not previously been conceived.