The primary aim of this research was to gain deeper insight into the processes of self-evaluation and self-improvement in Slovenian schools through the lens of school effectiveness. In the theoretical part of the dissertation, we set school effectiveness as a specific level of effectiveness in a multilevel model of educational effectiveness. We established the process of institutional self-evaluation as an instrument for quality assurance, which is at work in a broader context of school culture. The school culture is then theoretically further stratified into the levels of basic assumptions, expressed values and climate, and artifacts, which are crossed by transversal dimensions of the quality of the learning environment, professional orientation, and organizational structure. These cognitive learning outcomes partly explain the concept of school effectiveness. To broaden the concept, we also propose a possible set of non-cognitive indicators of school learning outcomes.
In the empirical work, we investigated the differences between effective and ineffective schools in self-evaluation processes and dimensions of school culture. The study included 4 technical upper secondary schools based on non-probability purposive sampling according to the criterion of added value at the vocational matura examination. 2 schools with high added value and 2 schools with low added value were included to allow for comparison. The research was carried out using various methods: quantitative - questionnaires for teachers and students - and qualitative - semi-structured interviews and analysis of school documents reflecting school quality assurance processes. We included 4 school heads and 12 members of education staff from the participating schools in semi-structured interviews, 113 professionals and 527 students from all four participating schools were included in the questionnaire survey. From the obtained data, we created individual case studies, and by cross-comparing the case studies, we extracted the key differences between effective and ineffective schools in self-evaluation processes and school cultures. We have shown the connection between the fundamental assumptions of school culture and the content, as well as the placement of the self-evaluation process in the operation of the school. Based on the results, we created a cultural model of school effectiveness and highlighted the place of school self-evaluation in it. We formulated recommendations for further development and support of self-evaluation processes in Slovenia.
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