Methods
A mixed methods design will be used and data will be collected from four lower secondary schools in each country. Two schools will be characterized as high-performing and two as low-performing based on national tests and information about the sociocultural composition of the student population.
Interviews will be undertaken with principals, deputies, teachers and students in the schools. In addition, key actors in the municipalities will be interviewed, with a focus on the interactions between schools and municipalities in enacting national policy in order to raise standards.
Surveys will be conducted among teachers and students in the participating schools and among all principals in the selected municipalities. The development of surveys will draw upon instruments developed within the international network of the “Successful School Principalship Project.