1-2 page critique/summary of an article - Essay Example

Critique/Summary Dr. Deckard Module One a. Identify the type of literature. i. As the s, this is a review based on empirical evidence, which aims to enlighten the readers as to the merit of the mentioned methodology in place of relying on theories and ideologies (p. 465). b. A statement of the problem presented by the author i. For decades, policy makers have been closing down schools they have found to be ineffective and opening new ones to overcome the weaknesses and deficiencies of the old one (p. 464). The problem lies in the fact that policy makers really do not know if larger or smaller school population present better benefits.

They rely on “attractive theory and ideology” that show them larger schools are better, instead of basing their decisions on empirical evidence, which points to smaller schools (p. 465).c. A description of the subjects and or population studiedi. N/A this is a review of empirical studies that have been conducted between 1990 to 2007 (p. 265).d. A description of the instrument(s) used in the studyi. The review is conducted based on 57 empirical studies about school size and school roganization between the years 1990 to 2007 (p. 465). 38 of the studies were conducted in the United States, while the remaining 19 were conducted in Canada, England, Australia, Norway, Wales, Iceland, Northern Ireland, Israel, Scotland, and the Netherlands (p. 466). Two of the studies analyzed by the authors investigated on the effect of school size pre-1980s, while the other one tackled the period of 1981 to 1990 (p. 466).e.

A description of the methods and statistics used in the studyi. The authors used in-depth analysis of the 57 empirical studies and based their conclusions on the tallying and analysis of the data and results found on these 57 studies. For instance, the authors concluded that a smaller school size has a positive effect on student engagement based on the results of 6 studies (p. 475). The authors defended their conclusion that these studies were “of quite good quality and provide entirely consistent evidence in support of the claim that smaller schools are associated with greater student engagement conceived of in several different ways” (p. 475). This shows that although they tallied their results by measuring the number of studies they have found to be important, they also weighed what these studies say appropriately.f. A summary of the results i.

Based on the review of 57 studies, the authors have 6 major conclusions. First is that smaller school size has a positive effect on organizational outcomes (p. 484). Second, this is based on the stipulation that the term “small” means “relatively smaller” in that a school composed of 1,500 students is relatively smaller than what is normal for a particular state, while the number might be considered large by other states (p. 484). Third, a smaller school size works for most student and organizational outcomes, although it is not the answer to all positive student outcomes (p. 484). The authors’ fourth conclusion is that “students who traditionally struggle at school, students from disadvantaged social and economic backgrounds” can benefit greatly from smaller schools; but this does not mean that smaller schools present obstructions for privileged and high-achieving students (p. 484). Lastly, it was found that breadth of curriculum (fifth) and cost-efficiency (sixth) can no longer be used as a rationalization for larger schools in that it is now considered a “threat to the academic progress of most students” (p. 484). g.

A brief discussion of the implication of the research/article. i. Policy implications of this review recommend that school policy should enact a limit to school size, depending on the school description (p. 484). This does not mean that larger schools shoud be downsized as this may prove to be too expensive and impractical; rather, the authors suggest that the “the mechanisms accounting for student success” in smaller schools be replicated in bigger schools (p. 485). ReferenceLeithwood, K.

and Jantzi, D. (2009). A Review of Empirical Evidence About School Size Effects: A Policy Perspective. Review of Educational Research, 79(1), 463-490.