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CHAPTER SEVEN: CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS

Background

7.1 This evaluation study was commissioned to measure the effectiveness of DtS in bringing about attitudinal and cultural changes and to evaluate its success in delivering the 20 recommendations at national and local levels. The evaluation was also aiming to inform policy, delivery and future commitment to the strategy. An extensive survey and consultation programme - comprising both qualitative and quantitative elements - has taken place, involving schools (management, staff and pupils), LAs (through EDOs) and a wide range of school partners (such as parents, local businesses and other organisations).

Conclusions

The LA Environment

7.2 Clear structural changes have taken place in LAs with the development of the EDO role and function. A great deal of progress has been made in developing the EDO role and remit across LAs. Further embedding of the role is necessary such that DtS becomes an integrated component of the wider 'education package' for schools. The 'position' of the EDO role (in terms of status and within departmental structures) influences how well received the role is across other LA education functions ( e.g.QIOs and CPD co-ordinators). There appears to be different levels of awareness and support for the EDO role from one LA area to another. Where EDOs are strongly 'networked' into the wider work of the LA education department, this impacts positively upon how DtS 'messages' are communicated and received both in the LA and in schools.

The School Environment

7.3 There are clear signs within schools of new and increased activity which have a strong DtS orientation. This includes increased pupil involvement in tasks and events relating to school 'management', concerts and fund-raising activities. Pupil councils and planning committees are more evident and teachers are adopting more reflective approaches to teaching and learning. Moreover, headteachers have strong faith in the DtS concept. In the absence of current robust evidence of the impact of DtS, headteachers expect that the strategy will support pupils to achieve success in school and beyond.

7.4 This has impacted upon the way in which pupils are learning and in their attitudes and motivations towards school. Some staff noted improvements in pupil-teacher relations, which was felt to be influenced by involving pupils in the life and day-to-day 'management' of the school. Examples were also provided by schools to demonstrate that DtS had impacted on pupil confidence, behaviour and general interest and motivation in school. While these offer strong signals of pupil success, in its widest sense, schools feel that it is too early to be able to demonstrate how this might translate to impacts on pupil attainment.

7.5 Headteachers believe that progress has been made in the skills, attitudes and behaviours related to the 7 enterprise themes. In primary schools, this was especially the case for 'working with others' and 'problem solving / creativity'. Special schools placed emphasis on the concept and ethos of DtS, as the key catalyst for change in their school, and the need for continued focus on the 'life beyond school theme'. Secondary schools have perhaps made the most recent progress in working with DtS. This demonstrates how the meaning of DtS differs across the school sectors, and is adapted to pupil needs.

7.6 The challenge remains to ensure that all pupils serve to benefit from engaging with DtS. It is not a strategy which should be aimed solely at either those pupils who 'self-select' to take part in the life of the school, nor is it tied to the needs of only those pupils who have become / are becoming disengaged from school.

7.7 There is evidence that - in those schools which promote a strong DtS ethos - pupils are exhibiting an understanding of the transferability of their learning to other areas, both inside and outside of school. This was more evident in the primary school sector. This offers a strong signal of pupils engaging in learning which is less about 'knowledge transmission' and more about the development of skills and behaviours which support learning in other areas, and through life.

7.8 The study demonstrated that 3 'models' of DtS application are evident across schools. These could be described as a fully embedded model, a partially embedded one and an 'activity only' model. The last of these is the most vulnerable to a diminishing presence of DtS due to lack of priority within the school, with a limited focus on isolated activities, with little or no connection to the wider school curriculum. However, only a few schools fell into this category.

7.9 School management - and, in particular, headteachers - have a clear role to play in providing direction, commitment and support for DtS. This seems especially important in secondary schools which have tended to engage with DtS later than primary and special schools, and where barriers such as a 'subject silo' make DtS prioritisation and commitment challenging. There is evidence that headteachers as strong 'networkers' within their local communities are forging new and innovative partnerships with organisations and other local stakeholders. DtS has encouraged the development of this networking role.

7.10 There is a need to sustain efforts in raising awareness about the essence of DtS, such that parents and other stakeholders come to view the agenda as more than 'enterprise education' and projects dedicated to 'make and sell'. DtS has shown its potential as a vehicle for schools to enhance their relationships with the local community (residents, parents, businesses and other organisations). Some schools made the connection between this and the policy drive behind integrated community schools.

7.11 The further embedding of the DtS strategy, within the wider national education context, is likely to provide further impetus for schools and LAs to consider their longer-term approaches to planning for DtS. There was evidence that some schools are approaching DtS from this perspective, with a view to laying the 'groundwork' for ACfE. This offers a strong signal of the sustainability of DtS within these school environments, due to the compatibility of the DtS ethos, the school's culture and a strong focus on delivering pupil-centred approaches to teaching and learning.

Index of Enterprising Attitudes and Behaviour

7.12 The Index of Enterprising Attitudes and Behaviour (the Index or IOEAB) appears to offer one route to quantify the elusive 'enterprising attitudes and behaviour' traits within young people central to Determined to Succeed ( DtS).

7.13 Following from the above, the Index should not be regarded as a measure of DtS impact. While it can be used in this way, with several caveats, the Index is probably best used in a wider context as a barometer of behavioural and attitudinal change in young people over time.

7.14 The Index has the potential to be used as a performance indicator for a number of initiatives seeking to change the behaviour of young people; including DtS. It should be remembered, however, that it is 'indicative' of performance, rather than necessarily 'performance' itself. It can, however, help identify patterns of performance that were previously obscure. It can help test hypotheses and explore conventional wisdoms.

7.15 The Index tool has been used to construct a score of young people's enterprising attitudes and behaviour. The analysis suggests that young people are relatively enterprising, but there is scope for improvement.

7.16 At this point, the Index has been used primarily to establish a behavioural baseline and also to contrast relative 'enterprising attitudes and behaviour' across young people with different characteristics. This has revealed a number of interesting findings.

7.17 In some respects, the components of enterprising attitudes and behaviour are more revealing than the overall Index score. The analysis suggests that future enterprise activity should place much stronger emphasis, particularly on aspects of communication.

7.18 The Index analysis has displayed sufficient internal consistency ( i.e. results not random) to place confidence in the findings. At this stage, however, we have more faith in the concept than the tool. From the experience we have now gained, we believe that the methodology can be improved upon in the areas of questionnaire design and potential weighting of behavioural components.

7.19 We have experimented with an approach which assesses enterprising attitudes and behaviour from different perspectives; parent, teachers and pupils. This has revealed interesting variations in relative observation, worthy of further investigation. In order to square the circle, there may be merit in adding an employer dimension.

7.20 From a methodological point of view, at present, the most robust of the three Index measures is the pupil Index. This can be explained by the significantly higher sample size and the fact that they are assessing themselves, rather than a third party.

7.21 In order to assess the true potential of the Index approach, there is a need to conduct further survey activity at a future date to assess progress from the established baseline.

7.22 The findings from the more qualitative elements of this study have shown that the DtS strategy is being implemented with enthusiasm and commitment across LAs and in schools. The agenda has focused the attention of LAs and schools on the structures, mechanisms and roles which are necessary for effective implementation of DtS. These are still evolving but show clear signals of progress and development.

Study Recommendations

7.23 The following recommendations are proposed, in further developing and supporting the DtS agenda, within the wider national policy context:

• Positioning DtS as a lever for Scotland's education policy agenda - there is scope for DtS to act as a conduit in supporting schools to 'gear up' for the wider national policy agenda, particularly ACfE.
• Improve school staff awareness of DtS within the wider education policy agenda - school staff need a better understanding of the relative 'positioning' of DtS within the wider agenda for 'Ambitious, Excellent Schools'. In the absence of this, staff are unlikely to understand the relative importance and longevity of DtS.
• National level support in the development of monitoring and evaluation mechanisms - this is necessary to provide LAs and their EDOs with the guidance and direction to devise tools, for school use. The role of the existing HMIe enterprise in education performance indicators should be considered within this context.
• DtS and pupil accessibility - further emphasis is required of the 'appeal' of DtS to all pupil groups, regardless of academic ability, interest or disability.
• Further examine the effectiveness of different styles and approaches adopted by EDOs -there is a need for a 'watching brief' on how the EDO role evolves. This would include: factors which influence the role; relative 'positioning' within LA departmental structures; and the effectiveness of different techniques which have been applied across LA sectors.
• Continued support for EDO networking - continued national support is necessary to facilitate and enhance good practice sharing and different models of school support.
• Further support for embedding DtS across schools - those schools that are 'ready' to embed DtS require guidance beyond implementing DtS through isolated lessons and topic work.
• Further promotion of the school cluster model - more mileage could be gained in promoting DtS through this medium and across different school settings.
• Reviewing secondary school support for vocational education / work placements, in line with DtS - further support is necessary for secondary schools, in ensuring that this aspect of education is valued as much as the non-vocational curriculum.
• Facilitating transfer of DtS practice from the primary to secondary setting - schools require support to ensure that early gains are not diminished once pupils transfer to secondary schools.
• Review purpose and effectiveness of mechanisms for local authority 'challenge funding' to schools - transparency of objectives and criteria for LA funding are required in order to ensure that a 'level playing field' is created across schools
• School-level self-evaluation of DtS progress - the 7 enterprise-related themes could be adapted and applied in school settings to encourage discussions with individuals and groups of pupils about the types of learning they engage in and the transferability of such learning.
• Promoting how to overcome potential disincentives to engage with DtS - there is a need to appeal to those schools (mainly secondary schools) who perceive that DtS presents a risk to their academic attainment focus.
• Enhanced efforts to promote DtS to parents - there is a need to ensure that parents view DtS as more than 'enterprise education' and 'make and sell' projects.
• Identifying and promoting the work of special schools - secondary and primary sectors would benefit from a stronger awareness of the special school sector's approach to education and linkages with the DtS ethos.
• The IOEAB tool and concept - further work is required to develop the tool, through engagement with policy makers.
• Additional application of IOEAB methodology - there is scope for applying the IOEAB methodology at a school level and preparing a tool kit for use by schools.

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