Teacher Density and Student Achievement (LÆREEFFEKT)

Framework for the research initiative on the impact of more teachers in the schools 2 Table of contents

Background ...... 5 Objectives...... 5 Research tasks ...... 5 Thematic area and research questions...... 5 Data and use of methods ...... 6 Recruitment and competence-building...... 7 International research cooperation ...... 7 User involvement ...... 7 Dissemination and communication ...... 8 Coordination and implementation...... 8 Framework conditions for implementation ...... 8 Finances...... 8 Legislation and regulatory framework ...... 8 Selection of municipalities and schools ...... 9 Funding for the municipalities ...... 10 Hiring of new teachers ...... 10 Management and organisation ...... 10 Role of the actors...... 12 Milestones and progress plan ...... 13 Attachment: List of municipalities that have received funding to increase teacher density in 2015...... 14

3 4 Background

Research has been carried out on the significance of class size and teacher density for pupils’ learning and learning environment, but the results are ambiguous, and there is a need for more studies that explore these issues in a Norwegian context. In particular, there is a need for studies that investigate the effects of different ways of increasing teacher density in lower primary school and how possible effects may occur.

In the budget for 2015, the Storting decided to allocate NOK 480 million in funding per year for more teachers for the youngest pupils in primary school.1 The aim of increased teacher density in grades 1–4 is to strengthen efforts on early intervention, and the initiative is expected to enhance pupils’ learning.

Seventy-five per cent of the funding has been earmarked for 100 municipalities where the number of pupils per teacher in grades 1–4 exceeds the national average, which now lies at about 16 pupils per teacher. A list of the municipalities receiving funding to increase teacher density in 2015 is attached to this document. About 700 more teachers can be hired in these municipalities as a result of the funding.

Twenty-five per cent of the funding will be allocated over a four-year period to conduct research on the impact of increased teacher density. The objective is to generate new knowledge about the effects of different ways of increasing teacher density in grades 1–4. The Research Council has been charged with the task of administering the initiative, which has an overall financial framework of NOK 490.5 million for the period 2016–2020. The allocation will be used to fund research on interventions that systematically test out various models of increasing teacher density in primary school, including funding for new teaching positions. As a result of the interventions, about 150 additional teachers per academic year may be hired over a four-year period.

Objectives The objective of the initiative is to generate new knowledge about the effects of increased teacher density in the lowest grades in primary school. The initiative will develop knowledge about the effects of different ways of applying more teaching staff in schools on the youngest pupils’ learning and learning environment. The initiative will also shed light on potential ways in which more teaching staff may have an impact on pupils’ learning outcomes and learning environment.

Research tasks

Thematic area and research questions The initiative will provide funding for interventions that test out various ways of increasing teacher density. This may involve class size or changes in the student-teacher ratio, as well as teachers’ work methods and ways of organising pupils in classes and groups. For instance, it may be relevant to study the impact of interventions using a two-teacher system, one-on-one teaching, teaching in small groups, increased teacher density for special groups of pupils, etc.

1 Recommendation S 12 (2014–2015) to the Storting (in Norwegian only): https://www.stortinget.no/no/Saker-og- publikasjoner/Publikasjoner/Innstillinger/Stortinget/2014-2015/Inns-201415-012/

5 It may also be relevant to study the impact of specific teaching methods or teaching competency related to increased teacher density, and compare this with groups that are not offered a similar arrangement. The interventions must be based on existing research and seek to contribute to the research front in this field.

The studies must investigate the impact of the interventions on pupils’ learning outcomes and learning environment. In this connection, it may be relevant to study the impact of teacher density on pupils’ reading, writing and numerical skills, as well as on the learning environment and pupils’ psychosocial adjustment in classes/groups. The studies will preferably be designed to measure effects in both the short and long term. The studies should also be designed to analyse and manage systematic withdrawal of participation.

The research questions to be answered will require participation from multiple subject areas. There is a need for research expertise on resource utilisation and achievement of results in the schools, teachers’ work methods and ways of teaching, pupils’ learning processes and learning outcomes, as well as learning environment, pupils’ well-being and mental health. Disciplines such as economics, sociology, education and psychology may be important as contributors to research, but other disciplines and research fields may be relevant as well.

Data and Methodology The research design must take into account that knowledge is needed about how teacher density affects pupils’ learning outcomes and learning environment. Randomised controlled trials will be prioritised. Studies with a quasi-experimental design are also relevant, for instance in connection with municipalities that have already received funding to increase teacher density. Other research methods that supplement experimental studies, for instance observational studies, may also be relevant. The design of research projects must incorporate adequate emphasis on how implementation of the interventions will be monitored.

To measure the impact of the interventions, it may be possible to use results from national testing of pupils in grade 5. It will also be relevant to use other types of testing instruments to measure pupils’ learning outcomes and learning environment. Data collected through various sub-projects in the initiative may be made available for analysis across the projects. It may be relevant to establish a joint database. The Research Council’s principles for open access to scientific publications and research data must also be incorporated and adhered to.2 This means that, as a general rule, scientific publications and data generated from the research activity must be made publicly available. However, this does not apply to data that may pose a threat to individuals’ security or national security or that conflict with current regulations on personal privacy or other legal provisions.

In order for the studies to measure effects in the long term, it will be preferable to collect individual data that may be linked to registry data. This will require the informed consent of parents/guardians. Projects that contain personal information must be reported to the Data Protection Official for Research at the Norwegian Social Science Data Services.3 It is critical that the projects maintain a high ethical standard and do not conflict with fundamental principles of research ethics. Please see the ethical guidelines prepared by the National

2 The Research Council’s Policy on Open Access to Research Data: http://www.forskningsradet.no/en/Open_access/1254008537671 3 Data Protection Official for Research at the Norwegian Social Science Data Services: http://www.nsd.uib.no/personvern/en/index.html

6 Committee for Research Ethics in the Social Sciences and the Humanities.4The document emphasises that the interventions should not result in a loss of resources or undermine the rights of pupils taking part in the project.

Recruitment and competence-building The Research Council is seeing a growing interest in intervention studies and studies with an experimental design in the educational sciences. The Programme on Research and Innovation in the Education Sector (FINNUT) provides funding for a number of studies with this type of research design, and the Ministry of Education and Research has recently launched a programme for systematically testing interventions to improve the completion rate of pupils in upper secondary education and training. These measures, together with the LÆREEFFEKT initiative, will help to develop research groups and networks with expertise in intervention studies and studies with an experimental design in .

The LÆREEFFEKT initiative will make an important contribution in this regard, and the initiative will encourage the research projects to incorporate competence-building elements and recruitment into the research projects.

International research cooperation The initiative will preferably draw on the experience of similar studies in other countries. This will help to ensure the quality of the research being conducted, and may help to strengthen international research cooperation in educational research. Research projects under the LÆREEFFEKT initiative must be based on cutting-edge research in the field and study the impact of interventions that are well grounded in existing research. It is anticipated that the initiative will produce new knowledge of international interest. As a consequence, the projects must have a well-thought-out strategy for international research cooperation, mobility and international publication. The steering group will also assess whether there is a need to establish a scientific advisory board comprised of leading international researchers who can provide qualified advice and recommendations to the research groups and steering group.

User involvement If the research initiative is to succeed, it is critical that the interventions can be implemented at the local level. This will require close, productive cooperation between the research groups, government authorities, public administration, school owners and schools. Thus, the research groups responsible for implementation of the projects must enter into binding cooperation with school owners and emphasise user involvement in all phases of the research process.

In the introductory phase, it will be especially important to draw on the competency of the public administration to ensure that the interventions are designed in accordance with legislation and regulations and that they can be implemented at the local level. Cooperation with school owners and schools is vital when implementing the interventions, as well as for follow-up and control. The need for local adaptation must be taken into account when designing and implementing the research projects.

4 Guidelines for research ethics in the social sciences, law and the humanities: https://www.etikkom.no/Aktuelt/publikasjoner/Guidelines- for-research-ethics-in-the-social-sciences-law-and-the-humanities/

7 Dissemination and communication There is great interest in the initiative from the school sector, and the results may lead to change at the central and local levels. It is therefore vital that the various actors in the initiative prioritise activities related to communication, user-oriented dissemination and publicly oriented dissemination. The projects must establish good communication with the parents/guardians and pupils affected by the interventions. The relevant target groups must be made aware of the initiative, information about the process should be provided throughout the process, and efforts must be made to facilitate utilisation of the research results. Responsibility for dissemination and communication will be shared by the projects funded under the initiative and the Research Council administration, and will be carried out in cooperation with the research news portal forskning.no, the Knowledge Centre for Education, the Norwegian Directorate for Education and Training, the Norwegian Association of Local and Regional Authorities, and other stakeholders in the R&D system for the educational sector.

Coordination and implementation It is preferable to study the effects of multiple interventions. The objective is that the initiative will provide funding for a portfolio of intervention studies, which as a whole will help to answer many of the relevant research questions in the field. It will be beneficial for the research groups to cooperate in larger, interdisciplinary research consortia and seek funding to implement interventions that are well coordinated. To ensure a wide-ranging portfolio of interventions, it may be beneficial to provide funding for multiple research projects. Importance will be attached to developing coordinating mechanisms among the various research projects to avoid overlap and ensure that knowledge is shared among the projects.

Framework conditions for implementation

Finances A total of NOK 490.5 million has been set aside for the research initiative. NOK 52.5 million of this is earmarked for research. The remaining sum will be used to fund the interventions and cover the municipalities’ costs for increasing teacher density, i.e. teacher work-years. About NOK 109.5 million per year over a period of four academic years may be used for teaching positions. As the average cost of a full-time teaching position is NOK 700 000, this will enable the allocation of funding to the municipalities corresponding to roughly 150 teacher work-years for interventions per academic year. The funding may not be transferred between fiscal years, but it may be possible to adjust the scope and duration of the interventions between fiscal years.

Legislation and regulatory framework The Act relating to primary and secondary education (the Education Act) sets out provisions for a number of conditions in primary school which place restrictions on the design of the interventions to be tested. However, the regulatory framework provides considerable latitude for action which allows the research projects and municipalities to test out various ways of increasing teacher density in grades 1–4.

The initiative includes funding for teacher work-years, and the aim is to establish teaching positions. The municipalities are not allowed to hire assistants and other support staff as part of the initiative. The Education Act stipulates specific requirements regarding qualifications

8 for individuals hired in teaching positions.5 The Ministry of Education and Research has stated that it is possible to use the teacher work-years on special education teaching by hiring special education teachers, but not on e.g. public health nurses, psychologists or others who advise the teachers, etc., i.e. non-teaching personnel. The municipalities may grant an exemption from the minimum educational requirements for those hired in teaching positions.6

The interventions will test out various models of increasing teacher density, which will affect class and group size, and the organisation of pupils in groups. As a general rule, the interventions must be designed in accordance with the provisions of Section 8-2 of the Education Act, which states that the pupils are to spend as much of the school day in classes/foundational groups as necessary to safeguard their need for social belonging and stability. For parts of the school day they may also be divided into other groups as needed. Pupils must not normally be organised according to level of ability, gender or ethnic affiliation, but it is possible to make an exception to this rule.7

The interventions must also take into account the pupils’ right to special education, cf. Section 5, and be viewed in relation to Section 1-3 on adapted education in the Education Act.

In cases when a research project, in cooperation with the school owner, wishes to study the impact of an intervention that involves a deviation from the current legislation and regulations, the municipalities must apply for permission to implement a time-limited educational and organisational trial in accordance with applicable guidelines.8 In such cases, the Norwegian Directorate of Education and Training may assist researchers by establishing criteria for municipalities/schools that plan to participate in the trial, as well as help with clarification of the regulatory framework.

Selection of municipalities and schools The research projects will decide which municipalities and schools will participate in the initiative and implement the interventions. It is critical for the research results that municipalities and school are selected in a manner that avoids systematic biases. As mentioned previously, several municipalities and schools have already received funding to increase teacher density in grades 1–4 through the ordinary grant scheme. The research projects should take this into account when selecting municipalities and schools and developing the research design. Please refer to the list of municipalities that have received funding in 2015.

It is important that the research groups contact the cooperating municipalities early in the project development phase, and the municipalities must verify their cooperation and participation in the project in the grant application to the Research Council. Municipalities that wish to take part in the research initiative may convey their interest to the Norwegian

5 Section 10-1 and the regulations regarding Section 14 of the Act relating to primary and secondary education: http://app.uio.no/ub/ujur/oversatte-lover/cgi-bin/sok.cgi?dato=&nummer=&tittel=education&type=LOV&S%F8k=Search

6 Regulations regarding Section 14-2 of the Act relating to primary and secondary education (in Norwegian only): https://lovdata.no/dokument/SF/forskrift/2006-06-23-724

7 Guidelines for organisation of pupils from the Ministry of Education and Research (in Norwegian only): https://www.regjeringen.no/globalassets/upload/kd/vedlegg/grunnskole/veiledning_om_organisering_elevene.pdf?id=2222218

8 Circular F-058-99 Trials and development activity in primary and secondary education (in Norwegian only): https://www.regjeringen.no/no/dokumenter/Rundskriv-F-058-99/id108577/

9 Association of Local and Regional Authorities, which will communicate this to the Research Council and the research institutions that plan to seek funding. If the project is awarded funding, the research institution serving as the Project Owner and the school owner/school must enter into a collaboration agreement that sets out the parties’ rights and obligations during the project.

Funding for the municipalities In cooperation with the research institutions, the municipalities must calculate the cost of the interventions in the grant applications to the Research Council. In this calculation, the municipalities must normally use a rate corresponding to the average cost of a teacher work- year, but it is possible to deviate from this if necessary.

The Norwegian Directorate for Education and Training will disburse the grants to the municipalities, and this will be done at the same time that other earmarked funding is disbursed to the municipalities in March.

It is important that the municipalities/schools make a binding commitment to implement the interventions as planned. Therefore, clear guidelines regarding the funding must be drawn up, and control routines and the opportunity to impose sanctions must be established to ensure that the interventions are implemented in keeping with research protocol. This will also be regulated in the collaboration agreement between the research institution serving as the Project Owner and the school owner/school taking part in the project as a partner.

Hiring of new teachers The municipalities are the teachers’ employer. When recruiting new teachers, the municipalities must be aware that the funding made available to the municipalities as part of the research project is temporary.

Management and organisation The LÆREEFFEKT initiative has been established as a specific activity at the Research Council, with the Division for Society and Health given the overall responsibility for the initiative. The division research board has drawn up the mandate and appointed a steering group for the initiative. The steering group will ensure that the initiative achieves the stated objectives in cooperation and dialogue with the Norwegian Directorate of Education and Training and other actors in the education sector. The tasks of the division research board are primarily scientific/strategic in nature, and more operational tasks will be carried out in dialogue with the administration and the research groups involved in the activities. The steering group is organised under and reports to the division research board through the lines of authority in the Research Council administration, which is responsible for the day-to-day activities of the initiative and for preparing cases to bring before the steering group for review.

The steering group has been appointed from 29 May 2015 to 1 June 2019, and consists of the following persons:

 Knut-Inge Klepp, Division Director, Norwegian Institute of Public Health  Helena Skyt Nielsen, Professor, Aarhus University  Lars Wichstrøm, Professor, Norwegian University of Science and Technology

10  Vibeke Grøver, Professor, University of  Ann Helen Elgsæther, Deputy Director General, Ministry of Education and Research  Frode Nyhamn, Senior Adviser, Norwegian Directorate for Education and Training

The initiative will prioritise dialogue with the parties involved, and it may be relevant to establish an advisory committee with representatives of key user groups. To ensure that the research conducted is of high quality and based on the international research front, it may also be useful to establish a scientific advisory board comprised of leading international researchers.

11 Role of the actors

The Research Council administers the initiative and ensures that the research conducted maintains a high level of scientific quality and is carried out according to sound research standards. The Research Council appoints the steering group, and the scientific advisory board if needed, and helps to establish the research consortia in the initiative. The administration coordinates other actors in the project, assists the research groups, and prepares cases to bring before the steering group for descision.

The Ministry of Education and Research is the commissioning body and funder, as well as a member of the steering group, and a key actor in ensuring that the interventions are relevant for policy development.

The Norwegian Directorate of Education and Training is a member of the steering group and plays a key role in the implementation of the interventions. The directorate disburses funding to the municipalities participating in the initiative, and will give advice to the research groups and municipalities regarding the development of the interventions in keeping with legislation and regulations. The directorate will also review grant applications for locally initiated trials if relevant.

The research institutions whose projects receive funding are responsible for ensuring that the research projects are carried out in accordance with the contract signed with the Research Council. The research institutions develop and implement the interventions in cooperation with school owners/schools and enter into a collaboration agreement with school owners which regulates the rights and obligations of the parties in the project.

School owners/schools are partners in the research projects and enter into a separate agreement with the research institutions serving as the Project Owner which regulates the rights and obligations of the parties. The agreements should address conditions related to the recruitment and hiring of teachers, grants to the municipalities, and implementation of the interventions. School owners must report on their use of the funding for teaching positions to the Norwegian Directorate of Education and Research, which will inform the Research Council and the steering group for the initiative.

12 Milestones and progress plan

The interventions will begin in the 2016–2017 academic year. The final year for the interventions is the 2019–2020 academic year. The scope and duration may vary within this timeframe, but the research groups must take into account that the funding for the municipalities may normally not be transferred between fiscal years. The following progress plan and milestones apply to interventions beginning in the 2016–2017 academic year:

Milestones

June 2015: Announcement of funding, marketing and mobilisation of applicants.

August–September 2015: The research groups develop project proposals in cooperation with municipalities/schools. The Norwegian Directorate of Education and Training and the Research Council provide advice to applicants about development of the interventions.

14 October 2015: Deadline for submitting grant applications to the Research Council.

October–November 2015: Application assessment at the Research Council.

December 2015–January 2016: Revision of grant applications, signing of collaboration agreements with the parties in the project and the Research Council.

January–February 2016: Planning of the implementation of the interventions, and preparation of the start-up of the research projects.

March 2016: Disbursement of grants to the municipalities.

April–May 2016: The municipalities participating in the projects recruit for the teaching positions. The research projects plan their start-up.

August 2016: Start-up of the interventions.

13 Attachment: List of municipalities that have received funding to increase teacher density in 2015

See next page.

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