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The influence of school size, principal characteristics and school management practices on educational performance: An efficiency analysis of Italian students attending middle schools

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  • Masci, Chiara
  • De Witte, Kristof
  • Agasisti, Tommaso

Abstract

The aim of the paper is to identify which among the aspects that relate to the composition of the student body, school (district) size, management practices and the school principals' own characteristics are associated with the performance of Italian students at grade 8, measured through standardised test scores in reading and mathematics. The analysis makes use of a student-level efficiency model, and several school level variables are included as explanators for efficiency scores. The results show that, especially for reading, the most influential variables relate to the composition of the student body, while the students' performance in mathematics is partly correlated with the management practices adopted by the school principal/head teacher. Schools and schooling can only explain a minor part of the variance in achievement scores, however, and the characteristics of the students themselves play the most significant role.

Suggested Citation

  • Masci, Chiara & De Witte, Kristof & Agasisti, Tommaso, 2018. "The influence of school size, principal characteristics and school management practices on educational performance: An efficiency analysis of Italian students attending middle schools," Socio-Economic Planning Sciences, Elsevier, vol. 61(C), pages 52-69.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:soceps:v:61:y:2018:i:c:p:52-69
    DOI: 10.1016/j.seps.2016.09.009
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    Cited by:

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    2. Marina Cavalieri & Massimo Finocchiaro Castro & Calogero Guccio, 2020. "Does the Fish Rot from the Head? Organised Crime and Educational Outcomes in Southern Italy," Working papers 97, Società Italiana di Economia Pubblica.
    3. Camanho, Ana S. & Varriale, Luisa & Barbosa, Flávia & Sobral, Thiago, 2021. "Performance assessment of upper secondary schools in Italian regions using a circular pseudo-Malmquist index," European Journal of Operational Research, Elsevier, vol. 289(3), pages 1188-1208.
    4. Oana Borcan & James Merewood, 2022. "Positive Disruption? Meritocratic Principal Selection and Student Achievement," University of East Anglia School of Economics Working Paper Series 2022-11, School of Economics, University of East Anglia, Norwich, UK..
    5. Cavalieri, Marina & Finocchiaro Castro, Massimo & Guccio, Calogero, 2023. "Organised crime and educational outcomes in Southern Italy: An empirical investigation," Socio-Economic Planning Sciences, Elsevier, vol. 89(C).
    6. Mayerle, Sérgio F. & Rodrigues, Hidelbrando F. & Neiva de Figueiredo, João & De Genaro Chiroli, Daiane M., 2022. "Optimal student/school/class/teacher/classroom matching to support efficient public school system resource allocation," Socio-Economic Planning Sciences, Elsevier, vol. 83(C).
    7. K. Kounetas & G. Androulakis & M. Kaisari & G. Manousakis, 2023. "Educational reforms and secondary school's efficiency performance in Greece: a bootstrap DEA and multilevel approach," Operational Research, Springer, vol. 23(1), pages 1-29, March.
    8. Queiroz, Marcelo Victor Alves Bila & Sampaio, Raquel Menezes Bezerra & Sampaio, Luciano Menezes Bezerra, 2020. "Dynamic efficiency of primary education in Brazil: Socioeconomic and infrastructure influence on school performance," Socio-Economic Planning Sciences, Elsevier, vol. 70(C).
    9. Vittadini, Giorgio & Sturaro, Caterina & Folloni, Giuseppe, 2022. "Non-Cognitive Skills and Cognitive Skills to measure school efficiency," Socio-Economic Planning Sciences, Elsevier, vol. 81(C).

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Pupils achievement; Schools efficiency; Management practices; Principal characteristics;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • I21 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Education - - - Analysis of Education
    • C14 - Mathematical and Quantitative Methods - - Econometric and Statistical Methods and Methodology: General - - - Semiparametric and Nonparametric Methods: General

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