Abstract:
Recent preliminary research in secondary schools suggests that indicators other than the traditional performance outcome measures of school achievement can be used to differentiate between school performance. These indicators are student factors that have been associated with accepted notions of quality schooling outcomes, such as student attitude to school, their approaches to learning and their academic self-concept. This study examined student survey data collected from 30 schools in rural and metropolitan South Australia, including independent and public schools. The nature and strength of the relationships between student factors and selected school variables were tested against a range of school outcome measures such as school retention, academic results and SACE (certification) completion. The implications of these results for the kind of teaching and learning environment that promotes valued school outcomes is explicated and discussed.