Research project The purpose of this project is to explore consequences of evaluation and evaluation systems for compulsory schools in Sweden. Special attention is paid to the relation between governance and evaluation and results-based monitoring and evaluation systems.
The project explores three questions: What characterizes prevailing evaluation systems and what knowledge and information do the systems (not) provide? How are evaluations and evaluation systems used, and what functions do they have in governance, accountability and organisational change? What are the consequences of evaluation and evaluation systems for school praxis and the main actors (decision-makers, headmasters, teachers, parents and pupils)? The project examines the programme theories on which the evaluation systems are based, and analyse them in terms of consistency and against governance, accountability and knowledge utilization theories. Documents, interviews, focus-group interviews and questionnaires are used to explore the research questions. All 7-9 schools in four municipalities, with different business and school structure, are studied from 2010 to 2012. In addition eight schools with different experiences of national and local evaluation systems are studied in depth. The project develops new knowledge on local consequences of evaluation and evaluation systems, and what conditions promote use of evaluation for local school development.
