School Effectiveness of Senior Secondary Schools in Sri Lanka

Abstract

It is widely accepted that, in spite of the availability of a national policy, common educational objectives, curricular, text books, evaluation and examination systems to guide the general education process in Sri Lanka, there are clear inequalities within the system in terms of quality and effectiveness. The main reason for this diversity is that there are various factors affecting school effectiveness. There is a need for a mission for each school and a systematic plan to achieve it. Both mission and the plan should be known to all the stakeholders concerned. Moreover, all stakeholders should work together with dedication to implement the plan. There should also be an instructional leader in the school with a vision and positive personality traits capable of directing the stakeholders towards that goal. It is difficult to provide a precise definition of, or statistical data, on school effectiveness based on the findings of studies done in different countries on the subject. Yet, it is possible to identify factors that determine effectiveness of schools in a particular country or area