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ABSTRACT
This paper forms part of a research project that aims to characterise best practices in highly effective schools in the Autonomous Region of the Basque Country (ARBC). The aim is for the best practices identified to serve as points of reference when designing improvement plans to be implemented in all schools in the ARBC, with the advice and support of the education inspectorate. Highly effective schools are identified through the results of the Diagnostic Assessments carried out by the Basque Institute for Research and Evaluation in Education (ISEI-IVEI) of all primary and secondary schools in the ARBC. Multilevel statistical modelling and Hierarchical Linear Models were used to select 32 highly effective schools, with highly effective being taken to mean any school with higher-than-expected student results after adjusting for the effect of contextual factors. Eighty-three interviews were conducted with management teams, educational advisors and inspectors at each of the selected schools. This paper presents the results obtained in relation to how attention to diversity is organised. The practices identified included, among others, inclusive actions such as support teaching in ordinary classrooms, the splitting up of classroom groups, the formation of heterogeneous groups and the conceptualisation of the support provided as a shared teaching responsibility.
Disclosure statement
No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.
Funding Information
This study forms part of the project entitled ‘Characterisation and best practices in high added value schools’ directed by Luis Lizasoain Hernández. It was supported by Ministerio de Economía y Competitividad (Spain) within the National R&D&i Plan [EDU2011-24366]. The project has continuity under the project entitled ‘Longitudinal and contextualized study of schools with very high and very low effectiveness: school improvement programs design’ directed by Luis Lizasoain Hernández and supported by Ministerio de Economía y Competitividad (Spain) [EDU2014-53511]. This study is also supported by Euskal Herriko Unibertsitatea (UPV-EHU) [GIU15/14] within the research group entitled Gender socialization and educational contexts.
Notes on contributors
Nahia Intxausti is Lecturer, Department of Didactics and school organization at University of Basque Country (UPV-EHU). Her research focuses primarily on issues of inclusive education, school organization and school effectiveness and improvement.
Feli Etxeberria is Professor, Department of Methods of Research and Diagnosis in Education at University of Basque Country (UPV-EHU). She is a researcher in the field of bilingualism and education, and language and culture in multicultural educational settings.
Isabel Bartau is Professor of the Department of Research Methods and Diagnosis in Education at the University of the Basque Country (UPV-EHU). She has participated in several research projects on improvement and school effectiveness, parental training group methodology and online development of parenting skills in contexts of serious social vulnerability, relationships, family–school–community and equality and family co-responsibility.
Notes
1 This Autonomous Region of Spain is a bilingual community with two co-official languages: Basque and Spanish. Since the Basque Statute of Autonomy was signed, the ARBC has full authority to manage its own education system, from infant school right up to university level, although it does have the obligation to comply with basic Spanish legislation.
2 These are projects designed by schools to define the educational action taken with first and second-year secondary school students from disadvantaged social or cultural environments and/or those with serious school adaptation difficulties.
3 Programmes targeted at students who require a special kind of content and practical activity organisation and curricular materials that are different from those generally used at the school, in order to achieve the basic aims and acquire the basic competences of compulsory secondary education.