Title: Innovation on the margins of the external evaluation of Portuguese schools

Authors: Lídia Serra; José Matias Alves; Diana Soares

Addresses: Research Centre for Human Development of the Faculty of Education and Psychology, Portuguese Catholic University, Oporto, Portugal ' Research Centre for Human Development of the Faculty of Education and Psychology, Portuguese Catholic University, Oporto, Portugal ' Research Centre for Human Development of the Faculty of Education and Psychology, Portuguese Catholic University, Oporto, Portugal

Abstract: Accountability is a tool to support school cultures focused on continuous improvement and promoting education quality. This article presents a study developed in Portugal regarding the external evaluation of schools operated between 2018 and 2021. The study, supported by documentary analysis of 60 external evaluation reports, combines qualitative and quantitative methods to understand whether there is an effect between the strengths and improvement areas and the evaluation assigned by the Inspectorate. The results suggest that a robust strategic vision and mobilising leadership are transversal predictors of all the schools' evaluation domains. Other predictors are academic outcomes, teaching and learning-focused self-assessment, deepening self-evaluation practices, active teaching and learning methodologies, and commitment to inclusion. Some correlations presented problematic levels of consistency. No relationships were found between school evaluation and the factors regarding innovation. Thus, innovation appears as a marginal dimension of the school's reality with no relevant impact on the external review.

Keywords: external evaluation; innovation; school improvement; accountability; leadership; school autonomy; school self-evaluation; trust evaluation; mobilising middle leadership; school vision.

DOI: 10.1504/IJIL.2025.143000

International Journal of Innovation and Learning, 2025 Vol.37 No.1, pp.60 - 84

Received: 16 Sep 2023
Accepted: 09 Dec 2023
Published online: 02 Dec 2024 *