Attributes and qualities that make a school successful and ideal for learning
A good school opens up limitless opportunities for a student, gives exposure to newer kinds of learning experiences and boosts personal growth considerably. Often, while trying to identify the right school for their child, parents find themselves overwhelmed with the sheer number of reputed schools expanding in the metropolitan cities. So, what are the attributes and qualities that make for a successful school? Whether you are looking for top international schools in Kolkata, or in any other city in India, knowing and identifying the features of an ideal school will help you choose the best institute for your child. Here is a list of ten qualities of a successful school that sets it apart in terms of the quality of education and learning environment it provides to your child.
- Student centred approach to learning:
A good school that implements a student-centred curriculum encourages students to find their passions and follow them. Student-centred learning gives students the opportunity to decide what material they learn and how they learn it and help them not only with academic knowledge but also with the skills of self-direction, curiosity, creativity and collaboration they will need for future success.
- A supportive learning environment:
A supportive learning environment is characterised by relationships of trust and respect between students and teachers and among students. It creates a healthy space in which students are motivated, supportive and challenged and have a positive attitude towards their learning.
- A committed teaching faculty:
In order to provide high quality education, a successful school needs a dedicated teaching faculty who are committed to their own development and upgrading their instructional approaches according to global teaching standards. The best IGCSE schools in Kolkata offer a variety of pedagogical training to its teachers to familiarise them with a variety of teaching methods that can meet the various requirements of students and help them overcome their challenges that often come in the way of learning.
- High standards and expectations for all students:
Standards spell out what students are expected to learn in each grade and each subject. These standards become the basis for what the teachers teach, what is in the tests that students take and assessing their progress. Besides the high standards, holding high academic expectations of their students helps teachers to know their students well, value them as learners and motivate them and also understand how to upgrade their learning.
- A clear and shared aim or vision:
A good school has a shared set of goals/ aims and a direction. A common set of goals help the organization focus better and follow an effective direction. Only then do the success of the organization and student performance reach a significant height. An ideal school must have a strong passion and commitment to improving children’s learning experiences.
- Frequent monitoring of learning:
The top IGCSE schools are meticulous about frequent monitoring of student progress and offer support to students who need extra support. Another important benefit of monitoring student progress is that it allows the teachers to evaluate the effectiveness of their own teaching. Monitoring student progress on a regular basis also enables the teachers to analyze a student’s current performance level, as well as evaluate growth throughout a school year. Even teacher performance is monitored regularly by the Principal by taking feedback from the students.
- Safe learning environment for students:
A healthy, positive, respectful school environment is conducive to holistic growth and betterment of students. A healthy school environment does not tolerate negative and offensive behaviours such as bullying and harassment. Strict disciplinary actions are taken in such schools against students breaking school rules.
- Encourages effective communication and collaboration:
The top international schools in Kolkata encourage teamwork mentality among students and stresses on honing their communication skills by designing team activities, projects and programs. Doing more team activities and group work reduces unhealthy competition among students, stress and anxiety. It rather boosts their confidence and self esteem, improves their sense of ownership at work and solve critical problems through active collaboration.
- Stable Administration and reliable support staff:
A school cannot successfully run without an administration which is stable and oversees all administrative tasks, ensures that the organization runs smoothly and efficiently manages facilities and staff. The administrators of good schools need to be supportive and scrupulous about the requirements of the academic staff. Besides, good schools even have efficient support staff like councillors, ICT technicians, librarians, supervisors so that the student needs can be addressed within the school premises on time.
- Scope of parental involvement:
The best international schools create adequate opportunities for parental involvement. Research evidence suggests that the learning ability of students improves through organizing frequent teacher and parent meetings which increases communication and active collaboration so that optimal results for the child are achieved.