Abstract
This paper will report on research that sought a new perspective on quality assurance by engaging pupils as assessors. The main purpose of the study was to understand how Maltese pupils judge schools and to provide knowledge on how better-quality schools could be designed. The research adopted a mixed methods approach. The quantitative research tool was a questionnaire survey with 1618 pupils. Qualitative data was collected through focus group sessions with pupils, group interviews with Student Councils and interviews with Heads of Schools and policymakers. Data was collected from a total of 42 state schools. One of the main findings was a pupil-generated list of the quality indicators of a good school. The study showed that pupils, Heads of Schools, and policymakers are all in favour of the concept of pupils as assessors of schools; however, there are a number of shortcomings that need to be addressed before the process can be effectively implemented in Maltese schools.
Reference65 articles.
1. Angus, L. (2006). Educational leadership and the imperative of including student voices, student interests, and students’ lives in the mainstream. International Journal of Leadership in Education: Theory and Practice, 9(4), 369–379.
2. Anselmi, D. L. (1998). Questions of gender: Perspectives and paradoxes. McGraw-Hill.
3. Aspin, D. N., Chapman, J. D., & Wilkinson, V. R. (1994). Quality schooling: A pragmatic approach to some current problems, topics and issues. London.
4. Bazeley, P. (2012). Integrative analysis strategies for mixed data sources. American Behavioral Scientist, 56(6), 814–828.
5. Blossing, U. (2005). Should pupils be able to make decisions about school change? Journal of Educational Change, 6(4), 387–393.