Strategic action plans for school improvement: An exploratory study about quality indicators for schools’ plan evaluation.

Abstract

Strategic planning and strategic school plans are considered relevant tools for school improvement. This study aimed to identify quality indicators for school plans and test usage in the Portuguese context. A grid with quality indicators for schools' plans analysis was designed (e.g. preliminary content analysis of the plans of Portuguese schools, national guidelines, and educational literature). Nine quality indicators guided the content analyses of 663 strategic action plans of Portuguese schools. Results indicated that plans lack relevant quality dimensions being more a description or a list of actions than a document that supports the strategic action of a given school. These results can derive implications for policies, practice, and research related to school improvement.