School Effectiveness in Developing Countries - A Summary of the Research Evidence

particular school factor boosts achievement. Almost always outcomes are measured by
tests, often in reading, maths or science, but sometimes by a comprehensive
examination. A table summarising Fuller's (1987) findings is reproduced in Lewin with
Ross (1992, p 1 87). Some of Fuller's specific conclusions are worth quoting here. Based
on the percentage of studies showing positive effects, he found that effective parameters
influencing school achievement are length of the instructional programme, pupil feeding
programmes, school library activity, years of teacher training, textbooks and
instructional materials. Ineffective parameters are pupil grade repetition, reduced class
size, teachers' salaries, and science laboratories. For example, "in most situations,
lowering class size with the intent of raising achievement is not an efficient strategy".

In the area of materials, Fuller concludes that

A good deal of evidence now suggests that material factors in schools -
such as more textbooks or writing materials - exercise more influence on
achievement in the Third World than in industrialized countries.

(Fuller, 1987, p287)

He finds that the influence of textbooks appears to be stronger within rural schools and
among students from lower income families, but that very little research has been
conducted on how. and the conditions under which, textbooks shape achievement.

These findings are consistent with those of the earlier review by Schiefelbein &
Simmons (1981). They argued that there is a small number of main determinants of
school achievement, but also that

it is important to experiment with the suggested changes before policies
are endorsed and implemented on a national scale.

Their results relating to teacher characteristics have been stated in section 4. Under the
heading of "school resources and processes", Schiefelbein & Simmons (1981, pp 10-12)
found that

i) Larger class size was associated with higher performance, or did not
affect it, in 9 out of 14 studies.

ii) Higher expenditure per student was not associated with higher student
achievement in 5 out of 8 studies.

iii) Availability of textbooks was associated with student achievement in 7
out of 10 studies.

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