Hunter, Alison

Rodger, John

English

Digital Education Resource Archive

Determined to Succeed is the Scottish Executive’s enterprise in education strategy which aims to make a major contribution tothe creation of an enterprise culture and economic growth. Following the recommendations of the Review of Education for Workand Enterprise set up in September 2001 the Scottish Executive set out its Determined to Succeed (DtS): Enterprise in Education(EinE) strategy.  The results reported here are key findings from research carried out by York Consulting Limited (YCL) betweenJanuary 2005 and October 2005.  This Phase 2 study follows a Phase 1 study, which was commissioned and reported separatelyand which examined the views of key stakeholders on initial planning and early implementation of DtS, in Scotland. The Phase 2analysis contains both quantitative and qualitative elements, to examine and measure the effectiveness of DtS in bringing aboutattitudinal and cultural changes and to evaluate its success in delivering national recommendations. An important dimension ofthe study involved the development of a quantitative tool that could be used to measure DtS impact over time.  Ultimately, theevaluation is designed to inform policy, delivery and future commitment to the DtS strategy.Main Findingsn 88% of headteachers believe DtS is an excellent initiative and 78% believe that DtS provides a strong focus for the school.86% of teachers were confident that DtS is having a positive impact on pupils. 79% of headteachers have DtS plans andtargets detailed in their school development plans.n The majority of schools have experienced positive development in the way they are embracing DtS. This included an increasein activity, as well as teaching and learning which could be classified as DtS-oriented.n Headteachers – as strong ‘networkers’ – expose the school and its pupils to a wider range of experiences and insights thanmight otherwise be evident in school life. This fits well with the ethos behind DtS.n There was general agreement across schools that DtS had contributed to a changing school environment, with some showingthat DtS can act as a vehicle to address and facilitate the wider education policy agenda (such as A Curriculum for Excellence). n Developments in teaching and learning styles – influenced by DtS – are impacting upon pupils’ understanding of buildingcompetences and transferring strengths across different types of learning experiences.n Incentives for schools to engage with DtS were more obvious in primary, special and lower-attaining secondary schools. n Of the 7 DtS-related themes explored in the study, pupil confidence and communication were most readily identified by staffand pupils, as areas of learning focus. Personal effectiveness and approach to learning were least obvious. Problem solvingappeared to have a stronger focus in primary schools and life beyond school was a particular focus for special schools.n Local authorities (LAs) and schools felt that it was too early to directly attribute outcomes or impacts to the influence of DtSdue to other related ongoing strategies/ initiatives in schools.n A quantitative technique – the Index of Enterprising Attitudes and Behaviour (IOEAB) – has been developed to set a baselinefor the enterprise and behaviour of young people.National Evaluation of Determined to Succeed – Phase 2: Early Impact Across ScotlandJohn Rodger and Alison Hunter, York Consulting LimitedEnterprise and Lifelong Learning DepartmentResearch FindingsNo.49/2007n a strong ‘leap of faith’ mentality concerning therelationship between DtS and pupil achievement andattainmentn impacts on pupil enthusiasm, confidence and engagementwith schoolPartner PerspectivesThe term ‘Determined to Succeed’ was not well-knownamong school partners and stakeholders (including parentsand members of the local community). While ‘enterpriseeducation’ was more familiar, this tended to be restricted tothe ‘make and sell’ aspects and learning about business. DtShas opened up avenues for schools to engage with partnersmore frequently and across a wide range of areas (e.g.partners providing direct support to schools throughfacilitating lessons and working with groups of pupils).Pupil PerspectivesPupils in primary school settings – especially those schoolswith a strong DtS ethos – tended to be most enthusiasticabout their learning in the themes associated with DtS. Theywere also more articulate and insightful in their recognition ofhow these types of learning can be transferred from onecurricular area to another. Index of Enterprising Attitudes and Behaviour (IOEAB)The IOEAB technique assumes the enterprising attitudes andbehaviour of young people to be a function of sevenbehavioural traits which the study linked to the DtS overallstrategy:n working with othersn personal effectivenessn problem solving/creativityn communicationn approach to learningn confidencen life beyond school.The Index is a weighted average of the responses to surveyquestionnaires, which creates a score on a scale from -100(not very enterprising) to +100 (very enterprising). The analysis shows that the overall IOEAB is positive for allthree groups surveyed – parents, pupils and teachers. Whileall the scores are positive, there is still significant scope forimprovement and it will be important to monitor this overtime.It is important to note, that there are differences in the waysin which the information relating to the three groups wascollected; pupils complete the assessment in relation tothemselves, teachers in relation to the average youngperson they teach (in a specified year group) and parents inrelation to their son/daughter (in a specified year group). The biggest single area of disparity across the groups is inrelation to problem solving, where parents and pupils scoresignificantly higher than teachers.  This was the only themewhere one group (teachers) came close to a negative score. While improvement can be achieved across all of thebehavioural themes, the priorities for future attention appearto be ‘Communication’, ‘Approach to Learning’ and ‘PersonalEffectiveness’.BackgroundA key aspect of the Scottish Executive’s enterprise policyagenda – characterised by the vision set out in ‘Ambitious,Excellent Schools’ – has been the Determined to Succeed(DtS): enterprise in education strategy.  The strategy aims toinstil a ‘can-do, will-do’ attitude in school pupils, to supportachievement and attainment in school and in preparation forlife beyond school. The DtS strategy is based on a £86million investment programme over five years (2003-2008)and comprises of four key themes: enterprising teaching andlearning, entrepreneurial learning, work-based vocationallearning and appropriately focused career education.About the StudyThe research and consultation exercise was based on aprogramme of surveys involving pupils, teachers, parentsand headteachers, plus a series of qualitative case studyvisits to schools. In order to structure the study’s quantitativedimension, DtS was broken down into 7 broad components,or themes – working with others; personal effectiveness;problem solving and creativity; communication; approach tolearning; confidence; life beyond school. A new technique –the Index of Enterprising Attitudes and Behaviour (IOEAB)was developed to generate a relative measure or score ofdetermination across the individual 7 themes and at anaggregated level. Key Findings of the ResearchLocal Authority Progress in Planning and DeliveringDtSEnterprise Development Officers (EDOs) indicated that themajority of their schools had experienced positivedevelopment in the way they embrace DtS. This was mainly related to an increase in activity, as well asteaching and learning which could be classified as DtS-oriented. The EDO function is showing clear signs of development,through a range of different styles and processes beingimplemented at LA level, and with the aim of providingsupport and direction to schools. At this stage, EDOs wereunable to conclude that this was having a direct impact uponpupil skills, attitudes and behaviours, although there wasgeneral confidence that this would be realised in the future.  School Perspectives of DtSSchool management and staff views of DtS wereoverwhelmingly positive – it was referred to as ‘placing thepupil at the heart of the curriculum and not the subject’. DtSwas felt to promote teaching and learning, which focuses onbuilding competencies and transferring strengths.Headteachers noted positive developments in the followingareas: n strong school awareness of DtS and significant schoolactivityn an increase in CPD activity related to DtSn evidence of heightened stakeholder engagementn a shared staff understanding of what DtS is about (with anemphasis on pupil-centred approaches to education)2Conclusions andRecommendationsConclusionsFurther embedding of the EDO role is necessary in order thatDtS becomes an integrated component of the wider‘education package’ for schools. Where EDOs are strongly‘networked’ into the wider work of the LA educationdepartment, this impacts positively upon how DtS‘messages’ are communicated and received in the LA and inschools.The School Environment There are clear signs within schools of new and increasedactivity which has a strong DtS orientation. Headteachershave strong faith in the DtS concept and expect that thestrategy will support pupils to achieve success in school andbeyond.This has impacted upon the way in which pupils are learningand in their attitudes and motivations towards school.Schools feel that it is too early to be able to demonstratehow positive changes in attitudes and motivations mighttranslate to impacts on pupil attainment.Headteachers believe that progress has been made in theskills, attitudes and behaviours related to the 7 enterprisethemes. In primary schools, this was especially the case for‘working with others’ and ‘problem solving / creativity’.Special schools placed emphasis on the concept and ethosof DtS, as the key catalyst for change in their school, and theneed for continued focus on the ‘life beyond school’ theme.Secondary schools have perhaps made the most recentprogress in working with DtS. The study demonstrated that 3 ‘models’ of DtS applicationare evident across schools. These could be described as afully embedded model, a partially embedded one and an‘activity only’ model. The last of these is the most vulnerableto a diminishing ‘presence’ of DtS, due to lack of prioritywithin the school, and little or no connection to the widerschool curriculum.School management has a clear role to play in providingdirection, commitment and support for DtS. This seemsespecially important in secondary schools which have tendedto engage with DtS later than primary and special schools,and where barriers such as a ‘subject silo’ make DtSprioritisation and commitment challenging. There is evidence that headteachers as strong ‘networkers’within their local communities are forging new and innovativepartnerships with organisations and other local stakeholders.DtS has encouraged the development of this networkingrole.There was evidence that some schools are approaching DtSwith a view to laying the ‘groundwork’ for A Curriculum forExcellence (ACfE). This offers a strong signal of thecompatibility of the DtS ethos, positive school culture and astrong focus on delivering pupil-centred approaches toteaching and learning.The Index of Enterprising Attitudes and BehaviourThe Index of Enterprising Attitudes and Behaviour (IOEAB)appears to offer a route to quantify the previously elusive‘enterprising attitudes and behaviour’ trait within young3people, which is central to DtS. The IOEAB should not beregarded as a measure of DtS impact.  While it can be usedin this way, with several caveats, the Index is probably bestused in a wider context as a barometer of behavioural andattitudinal change in young people over time.The IOEAB is ‘indicative’ of performance, rather thannecessarily ‘performance’ itself.  It can, however, helpidentify patterns of performance that were previouslyobscure.  It can help test hypotheses and exploreconventional wisdoms.  In this study, the Index has been used primarily to establisha behavioural baseline and to contrast relative ‘enterprisingattitudes and behaviour’ across young people with differentcharacteristics.  Findings indicate an observable decline inenterprising attitudes and behaviour in the transition fromprimary to secondary education.  There is also correlationbetween enterprising attitudes and behaviour andeducational achievement, although not as strong as thelatter.RecommendationsPositioning DtS as a lever for Scotland’s educationpolicy agenda – there is scope for DtS to act as a conduitin supporting schools to ‘gear up’ for the wider nationalpolicy agenda, particularly ACfE.Improve school staff awareness of DtS within the widereducation policy agenda – school staff need a betterunderstanding of the relative ‘positioning’ of DtS within thewider agenda for ‘Ambitious, Excellent Schools’. In theabsence of this, staff are unlikely to understand the relativeimportance and longevity of DtS.National level support in the development ofmonitoring and evaluation mechanisms – this isnecessary to provide LAs and their EDOs with the guidanceand direction to devise tools, for school use. The role of theexisting HMIe enterprise in education performance indicatorsshould be considered within this context DtS and pupil accessibility – further emphasis is requiredof the ‘appeal’ of DtS to all pupil groups, regardless ofacademic ability, interest or disability.Further examine the effectiveness of different stylesand approaches adopted by EDOs –there is a need for a‘watching brief’ on how the EDO role evolves. This wouldinclude: factors which influence the role; relative ‘positioning’within LA departmental structures; and the effectiveness ofdifferent techniques which have been applied across LAsectors. Continued support for EDO networking - continuednational support is necessary to facilitate and enhance goodpractice sharing and different models of school support. Further support for embedding DtS across schools –those schools that are ‘ready’ to embed DtS require guidancebeyond implementing DtS through isolated lessons and topicwork.Further promotion of the school cluster model - moremileage could be gained in promoting DtS through thismedium and across different school settings.Reviewing secondary school support for vocationaleducation / work placements, in line with DtS – furtherIf you wish further copies of this Research Findings orhave any enquiries about social research, pleasecontact us at:Scottish Executive Social ResearchEnterprise, Transport and Lifelong LearningDepartment3rd FloorMeridian Court3 Cadogan StreetGLASGOW  G2 6ATTel: 0141 2420262Fax: 0141 242-5455Email: socialresearch@scotland.gsi.gov.ukWebsite: www.scotland.gov.uk/socialresearchIf you wish a copy of “Determined to Succeed –Phase 2: Early Impact Across Scotland June 2005 –October 2005” the research report which issummarised in this research findings, please send acheque for £5.00 made payable to:Blackwell’s Bookshop53 South BridgeEdinburghEH1 1YSTel: 0131 622 8283 / 0131 622 8258Fax: 0131 622 8258Email: business.edinburgh@blackwell.co.ukAstron  B50102 02/07This document (and other Research Findings and Reports) and information about social research in the ScottishExecutive may be viewed on the Internet at: http://www.scotland.gov.uk/socialresearchThe site carries up-to-date information about social and policy research commissioned and published on behalf ofthe Scottish Executive.  Subjects covered include transport, housing, social inclusion, rural affairs, children andyoung people, education, social work, community care, local government, civil justice, crime and criminal justice,regeneration, planning and equalities issues.  The site also allows access to information about the ScottishHousehold Survey.4support is necessary for secondary schools, in ensuring thatthis aspect of education is valued as much as the non-vocational curriculum.Facilitating the transfer and development of DtSpractice from the primary to secondary setting - moreemphasis is needed on how EDOs support schools to ensurethat early gains and benefits are not ‘lost’ once pupilstransfer to secondary schools.Review purpose and effectiveness of mechanisms forlocal authority  ‘challenge funding’ to schools -transparency of objectives and criteria for LA funding arerequired in order to ensure that a ‘level playing field’ iscreated across schools.School-level self-evaluation of DtS progress – the 7enterprise-related themes could be adapted and applied inschool settings to encourage discussions with individualsand groups of pupils about the types of learning they engagein and the transferability of such learning. Promoting moreexamples of school practice which show how toovercome potential disincentives to engage with DtS –there is a need to appeal to those schools (mainly secondaryschools) who perceive that DtS presents a risk to theiracademic attainment focus. Higher attaining schools thatare actively committed to DtS are likely to act as powerfuladvocates for this.Enhanced efforts to promote DtS to parents – thiswill be required to ensure that parents view DtS as beingmore than ‘enterprise education’ and ‘make and sell’projects in school. Identifying and promoting the work of specialschools - secondary and primary sectors would benefitfrom a stronger awareness of the special school sector’sapproach to education and linkages with the DtS ethos.The IOEAB tool and concept – further work is requiredto develop the IOEAB tool and also to engage policymakers in the debate on how it might best be used toinform DtS development.Additional application of IOEAB methodology – atpresent, the IOEAB technique has been used essentiallyat macro, i.e. all-Scotland, level.  There is, however,scope for considering application at a more micro orindividual school level.  In this context, there is potentialfor developing an IOEAB toolkit for use by schools. 

National evaluation of Determined to Succeed, phase 2 : early impact across Scotland

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