Factual survey Perceptual rating survey

Survey Methodology
The objective of this research was to rank the top schools in each zone in Mumbai. The study had two major modules i.e. 
Factual survey Perceptual rating survey

In the perceptual survey module, a structured questionnaire was administered with target respondents to arrive at a ranking of schools in Mumbai. The sample selection was done using purposive sampling method though the sample was spread out geographically to get better representation. The initial list of schools had over 410 schools of Mumbai, though each respondent was asked to give ratings for only those schools that he/she is aware of and known. Each person could rate maximum of 25 schools based on their perception/ experience to ensure that there was neither interviewer nor respondent fatigue and thus ensured better quality data. Teachers were asked to rate the schools (except the school that they were associate with) to avoid any biasedness.


A sample survey of more than 1000 was conducted in (All 7 zones)

South Mumbai + Midtown Bandra West, Khar, Santacruz, Vileparle , Andheri W Goregaon E, Bandra East, Andheri E, Powai, Chembur, Ghatkopar, Goregoan W, Malad, Kandivali, Borivali, Jogeswari, Thane and Surrounding, Dombivalli-Kalyan Navi Mumbai, Dahisar – Virar The category of respondents who were intervened rated each of the schools based on their experience with the current school and their perception with respect to other schools. Only Parents of aspiring students (who are currently searching and aspiring to get admissions for their ward) evaluated the schools based on their perception alone. The respondent categories included:

• Experiential School teachers & Perceptual

• Alumni

• Parents of existing students

• Students

• Perceptual Parents of aspiring students Extensive Fieldwork was conducted for 5 weeks, starting from 15th Aug 2018

Module 1

Desk Research

A comprehensive list of schools was generated with the help of secondary sources, magazines and other publications. The various sources used for generation of school list included:

• CBSE approved list of schools

• List of school from previous surveys

• Newspapers/ parents’, teachers’ blogs As it is not possible to get a completely exhaustive list of schools and include them in the survey, we had option of adding any new school name in the survey form if any respondent mentioned any school name outside our list. Effectively, every school had a chance of getting covered in the survey if their name was mentioned by the respondents.

Module 2

Data Collection

Factual data collection

More than 450 schools were sent the factual data questionnaire and then were rigorously followed up telephonically to share their factual data.

The factual data sheet focuses on the following information areas:

• General information of the School

• Establishment

• Affiliation

• Total number of students

• Board toppers

• Infrastructure & facilities

• Total campus area

• Laboratories/ other facilities

• Teaching methodology

• Sports facility

• Extra-curricular activity

• Medical facility

• Teachers facility

• Total number of teachers

• Student teacher ratio

• Experience of teachers

• Network

• Exchange programs and global exposure

• Disaster Management

• Awards

• Fee structure

•

Perceptual data collection

A perception questionnaire was administered with respondents. Respondents were asked to give rating for only those schools which they were aware and knew about. Respondents were provided a list of parameters to evaluate the schools & rate on a scale of 1-10 where 1 meant poor & 10 meant excellent. The list of parameters covered in the survey was arrived at based on past surveys as well as from secondary sources. As mentioned the 5 different stakeholders were taken into consideration for the perceptual survey viz. Teachers, Alumni, Parents of aspiring students, Parents of existing students & Students.

The questionnaire was so designed that both experiential & perceptual target respondents could be exposed to the same set of parameters – this ensured that the scores of different stakeholders could be correlated and collated to arrive at a single final score.

Module 3

Analysis of Data & Final Ranking

A robust approach is followed to arrive at the final rankings. The step by step process is given below:

• Perceptual Ratings on Score various parameters for each school

• Calculating importance of various parameters by interacting with key stakeholders the teachers and parents to arrive at weights for each parameter

• Calculation of raw scores and weighted scores for each parameter

• Calculation of overall score for each school using importance weightages.

• Factual The information Score collected corresponding to similar parameters as in the perceptual survey

• A detailed scoring system has been developed for each parameter

• After assigning scores to each parameter, raw scores are calculated

• The raw scores are weighted by their importance to arrive at weighted scores

• The final score for a school are a weighted average of Perception Score and Factual Score - equal weight age given to both

• Schools who have participated in the factual survey were only considered for the final ranking.

CATEGORIES IN FINAL RANKING

There are 4 broad categories of schools shown in the ranking viz;

• International (Offer only International Curriculums)

• National (Offer only National Curriculums)

• Both (Offer both International & National Curriculums)

• State Board (Offer only State Board Curriculums)

Some caveats/assumptions:

Any school that did not send complete “Fact-Sheet” within the allotted time was not considered for the overall ranking Any school who communicated expressly (via written mail) that they did not wish to participate in the survey was excluded from the survey