School effectiveness in secondary education in Zimbabwe : a multilevel analysis

Survey data was collected in 1985 covering information on\ud 3,1100 Form IV students in Zimbabwe, their teachers, their\ud classes and the 32 schools from which they were drawn - spread across six different school types. This data is analysed using a multilevel regression programme to evaluate the effectiveness of different schools in terms of '0' level results in English Language, English Literature and Mathematics. In Chapter One, the historical background to education in Zimbabwe is presented, together with an overview of the main policy changes since Independence. The study itself is situated in Chapter Two against the backdrop of a review of the literature and a discussion of the methodology which distinguishes this study as part of the third wave of research into school effectiveness. Chapter Three describes the study itself, the sample, the variables, and an overview of the school type differences. Chapter Four details the construction of the index variables at the student, the class and the school level. In Chapter Five the results of the progression of linear models are presented, substantiating the choice of 'final' models for each eub3ect. Chapter Six presents an analysis of the different costs at different types of schools, and Chapter Seven draws the threads through the arguments presented in Chapters Two. Five and Six, presenting\ud the implications for Zimbabwe of the stud y 's findings as well as the implications for further research in this field.\ud Whereas much of the literature on school effectiveness has\ud assumed that family background influences on educational\ud achievement operate differently in Third World countries\ud relative to industrialised countries and that school-based\ud factors predominate, this study demonstrates the inadequacy of the models on which such conclusions have been based and\ud concludes that such a distinct pattern of educational\ud achievement for the Third World may indeed be a fallacy.\u