Showing papers in "Educational Management & Administration in 2002"
TL;DR: The English National College for School Leadership organized a programme of study visits to several international leadership centres in 2001 and reported the findings of these visits and relates them to recent research on school leadership preparation as discussed by the authors.
Abstract: The English National College for School Leadership organized a programme of study visits to several international leadership centres in 2001. This article reports the findings of these visits and relates them to recent research on school leadership preparation. This shows a widespread commitment to training and preparation for headship but considerable diversity in the nature of such provision. There are many courses for aspiring, beginning and experienced principals but few examples of a coherent programme for all three stages. Preparation for leadership teams and middle managers is very limited. Learning modes include on-line provison, mentoring, coaching and internship as well as courses. The article recommends the establishment of an international network of leadership centres.
262 citations
TL;DR: In this article, the authors consider reasons for mapping the field of leadership studies in education and make some suggestions for what this might look like, and conclude with an outline of a mapping typology built around five knowledge domains (the conceptual, the critical, the humanist, the evaluative, the instrumental) and seven factors through which the domains can be further differentiated (purpose, focus, context, method, audience, communication and impact).
Abstract: This is the first of two linked articles, both reported in this edition of the journal. Taken together they consider reasons for mapping the field of leadership studies in education and make some suggestions for what this might look like. This article opens with a discussion of leadership and associated concepts, explains why and how the authors came to attempt to map the field, examines what is and what should be involved in the nature of the enterprise of mapping, and concludes with an outline of a mapping typology built around five knowledge domains (the conceptual, the critical, the humanist, the evaluative, the instrumental) and seven factors through which the domains can be further differentiated (purpose, focus, context, method, audience, communication and impact).
112 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors focus on mapping the field of leadership studies and producing maps of leadership practice, and they locate this in both the theory of knowledge and of knowledge production from which they develop two more mapping typologies: an approach to the what, why and how of leaders, leading and leadership; and second, the presentation of possible positions that knowledge workers can take when they use and produce knowledge about leadership practice.
Abstract: This is the second of two linked articles reported in this edition of the journal. Its focus is the process of mapping the field of leadership studies and producing maps of leadership practice. We locate this in both the theory of knowledge and of knowledge production from which we develop two more mapping typologies: first, an approach to the what, why and how of leaders, leading and leadership; and second, the presentation of possible positions that knowledge workers can take when they use and produce knowledge about leadership practice. We engage reflexively with these arguments and draw conclusions about the interplay between our own agency and the structures we inhabit, and how we both capture and make this real time activity transparent.
97 citations
TL;DR: The authors argued that headteachers are developing pragmatic response strategies to mandated change, and drawing eclectically on a range of management and leadership traditions to maintain institutional equilibrium and preserve valued educational philosophy and practice.
Abstract: This article argues that, at a time of extensive educational reform in England and Wales, some headteachers are developing pragmatic response strategies to mandated change, and drawing eclectically on a range of management and leadership traditions to maintain institutional equilibrium and preserve valued educational philosophy and practice. Of particular interest is evidence that heads’ efforts to incorporate imposed educational policies into their schools’ practices do not necessarily involve the abandonment of strongly held ideological positions, even when these appear to be threatened by such policy. The ideological and managerial positionings of headteachers are, it is argued, more complex and less ‘determined’ than is sometimes suggested in the literature.
69 citations
TL;DR: Using Bourdieu's theory of practice, the authors explored the contemporary histories of the field of education management in England and Wales, using the thinking tools of habitus and field to explore oral texts produced from interviews with current and past field members.
Abstract: Using Bourdieu’s theory of practice this article explores the contemporary histories of the field of education management in England and Wales. The thinking tools of habitus andfield are used to explore oral texts produced from interviews with current and past field members. These oral texts contain the professional biographies of field members in which the struggle for an academic–practitioner habitus, in context and over time, is revealed from withinthe stories of professional practice. While our engagement with sociological theories has been the target of political attack on educational research, it is argued that such inquiries enableus to gain new insights into the complexities and creativity of knowledge production within thechoices we make as a part of our lives and work. Thinking with habitus and field opens up possibilities for field development through conceptualizing position, and enables us to see the traps located in accepting positioning.
54 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors present the findings of questionnaire surveys of departmental heads in one chartered and one statutory university and make comparisons between the role in the two types of universities.
Abstract: This article presents the findings of questionnaire surveys of departmental heads in one chartered and one statutory university. Comparisons are made between the role in the two types of university...
54 citations
TL;DR: In this article, the evaluation of teachers' performance has been considered and the meaning, functions and processes of evaluation have been reviewed in a Third World country such as Kenya, where the need to provide quality education has been emphasized by several writers.
Abstract: In a Third World country such as Kenya, the need to provide quality education has been emphasized by several writers. A major factor associated with education quality relates to teacher quality. The quality of teachers is important in three main ways: it is key to the development of the principal attitudes towards learning and self-image of the learners; it determines the foundation on which subsequent learning will be built; and it is central to the improvement of the quality of schooling. In this article, the writer considers the evaluation of teachers’ performance. It has the following three main objectives: (a) to review the meaning, functions and processes of evaluation; (b) to examine current practices in Kenya, for evaluation of novice and veteran teachers; and (c) to present an alternative framework for the improvement of Kenya’s teacher evaluation system.
51 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors argue for greater balance in education and its administration; greater balance between continuity and constant change, dependence and independence, individualism and community, and homogeneity and heterogeneity.
Abstract: This article is a lightly edited version of the tenth William Walker Oration. In it, the author argues for greater balance in education and its administration; greater balance between continuity and constant change, dependence and independence, individualism and community, and homogeneity and heterogeneity. More specifically the article puts the case for greater emphasis on continuity, independence, community and heterogeneity to balance what is seen as the current overemphasis on constant change, dependence, individualism, and homogeneity. It concludes by offering a key, the key of a research-based approach to development or learning, to open the way to achieving greater balance in the increasing global challenge that is the future of educational administration.
35 citations
TL;DR: In this article, the authors report on the recent introduction of school development planning and whole-school evaluation in the Republic of Ireland and conclude that the approach taken to the introduction of both processes has been surprisingly successful given the lack of a tradition of collaborative planning and evaluation that characterizes the Irish education system.
Abstract: This article reports on the recent introduction of school development planning and whole-school evaluation in the Republic of Ireland. Although relatively common in other education systems, their introduction marked a significant shift in the culture of Irish education. The article seeks to provide an insight into the structures of both processes and into the context which shaped their development. The article concludes that the approach taken to the introduction of both processes has been surprisingly successful given the lack of a tradition of collaborative planning and evaluation that characterizes the Irish education system. Nonetheless significant problems, particularly concerning the credibility of the type of evaluation introduced, remain unresolved.
32 citations
TL;DR: Weber's contribution of the bureaucratic ideal type to administrative theory, and his delineation of the three authority types are well known as discussed by the authors, but these constructs are often not presented accurately as ideal-typical forms devised to study social institutions in theirhistorical development as Weber intended.
Abstract: Weber’s contribution of the bureaucratic ideal type to administrative theory, and his delineation of the three authority types are well known. However, these constructs are often not presented accurately as ideal-typical forms devised to study social institutions in theirhistorical development as Weber intended. More importantly, for education, his subjective and valuational approach to social action, necessary to his interpretive social analysis, is neglected. This article traces Weber’s discussion of education through a number of his texts notusually referenced in educational administration, along with the better known Economy and Society. Education, viewed from this broader perspective in Weber’s writings, is seen to beinextricably interconnected with the development of religious, economic and political institutions, most importantly as it contributes to the problem of the ‘iron cage’ of rationalization, or the bureaucratization, of modern society. The possibilities for leadership in education in a rat...
29 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors analyse Martin and Schumann's thesis that globalization is enhancing the power of corporations and undermining the sovereignty of nation states and in the process consuming social capital at an alarming rate, thus producing a loss of social cohesion.
Abstract: This article begins with an analysis of Martin and Schumann’s thesis that globalization is (a) enhancing the power of corporations and undermining the sovereignty of nation states and (b) in the process consuming social capital at an alarming rate, thus producing a loss of social cohesion. Globalization is then discussed in terms of the transformations of technology, finance, production and culture, and Gray’s account of differing relationships between markets and cultures in differing forms of capitalism is introduced. The Third Way is then analysed as a specific attempt to resolve cultural contradictions and its limitations are set out. As a possible way forward Amartya Sen’s account of ‘development as freedom’ is outlined and the implications for the role of educational leaders are discussed.
TL;DR: In this article, a philosophical and methodological analysis of educational organizations is presented to support research on social justice in educational organizations, and the implications of this revised metaphor are discussed with respect to a variety of key issues in educational administration and research.
Abstract: This paper provides a philosophical and methodological analysis which aims to support research on social justice in educational organizations. It traces a path from Thomas Greenfield’s ethical formulations to the moral philosophy of Jurgen Habermas and does so in order to query the ethical implications of following Greenfield in imagining educational organizations as ‘moral orders’. It argues that such a metaphor is problematic for guiding research with a social justice focus because it does not adequately conceive its own ethical basis, and thus cannot address (or redress) moral authority in organization. It claims that Greenfield’s metaphor requires substantial revision, such that organizations are better regarded as moral communities. The implications of this revised metaphor are discussed with respect to a variety of key issues in educational administration and research.
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors report the findings from interviews with six headteachers of Roman Catholic primary schools on the composition and responsibilities of their senior management teams in the light of the 1998 Green Paper Teachers: Meeting the Challenge of Change.
Abstract: This article reports the findings from interviews with six headteachers of Roman Catholic primary schools on the composition and responsibilities of their senior management teams in the light of the 1998 Green Paper Teachers: Meeting the Challenge of Change These heads were selected because their schools had figured well in the ‘Performance Tables 1999: Key Stage 2 Test Results’ and so should demonstrate exemplary practice The schools’ OFSTED Inspection Reports provide further contextual information to inform the research The findings explore the reasons for the schools’ success and, in particular, the centrality of the Catholic faith and the practice of the senior management teams
TL;DR: The authors argues that educational institutions and the world beyond them are increasingly characterized by greater control and, paradoxically, by greater fragmentation, and suggests that such trends are generated by a confluence of forces that may be summarized under four headings, the dominant motif of which is economic.
Abstract: This article argues that educational institutions and the world beyond them are increasingly characterized by greater control and, paradoxically, by greater fragmentation. It suggests that such trends are generated by a confluence of forces that may be summarized under four headings, the dominant motif of which is economic. The first is concerned with the globalization of capitalism, state-mediated responses to this phenomenon, and the educational consequences of such responses. The second is concerned with the nature of the emerging dominant form of capitalism, in particular the movement from the accumulation and control of property to the accumulation and control of information and knowledge. The third stems from the cultural consequences of capitalist practices, and in particular the repackaging of cultural and value experiences as items of consumption. The fourth and final change stems from the personal and social consequences of increased job flexibility and from the fragmentation of careers and life...
TL;DR: In this paper, a critical evaluation of how school leaders are using web-based conferencing is presented, and the benefits of such communities are those that were originally intended, and how future research can develop.
Abstract: This article offers a critical evaluation of how school leaders are using web-based conferencing. It asks if it is being used effectively, and how it could be developed. It takes an evaluation of the ICT component of the Leadership Programme for Serving Heads (LPSH), and looks at planned use, actual use and the views of the participants. It then discusses other research in online conferencing with school leaders and managers, and relates this to Wenger’s concept of a community of practice. The benefits of the community are discussed, and headteachers’ viewpoints are compared with research in this area. It asks whether the benefits of such communities are those that were originally intended, and how future research can develop.
TL;DR: This article explored employment equity policy as a text of transformation that provides a discursive site for mapping asymmetries of meaning that men and women bring to working together inorganizational settings.
Abstract: This study explores employment equity policy as a text of transformation that provides a discursive site for mapping asymmetries of meaning that men and women bring to working together inorganizational settings. Three modes for understanding social phenomena, outlined in Gadamer’s Truth and Method(1997), form a conceptual framework for understanding the lived experience of equity workers attempting to transform the gendered discursive space of their educational organizations in Ontario, Canada, during a period of political restructuring. Their experience offers the opportunity to draw connections between ‘ideologies, everyday practices, and official policies’ in educational organizations at the micro and macro-political level.
TL;DR: This article found that more parents are becoming dissatisfied with the failings of the new market system to allow them access to a school of their choosing, and significant geographical variations across the UK in the prevalence of appeals suggest further possible causes of market frustration.
Abstract: Parents in the UK now have the opportunity to express a preference for their child’s school. However, since there are limits to the number of students any school can admit, published criteria are used to prioritize students to school places. Consequently some parents do not get a school of their choosing. But legislation, such as the 1988 Education Reform Act, has also extended parents’ opportunity to appeal against their allocated placement. The number of parents appealing against rejection of their preference has risen considerably. This suggests that more parents are becoming dissatisfied with the failings of the new market system to allow them access to a school of their choosing. A potential explanation for this is a growing awareness by parents of their rights and the rise of a consumer culture in education. However, significant geographical variations across the UK in the prevalence of appeals suggest further possible causes of market frustration.
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors trace the emergence of management in India and the rationale for the influx ofmanagement concepts and techniques into education, and respond to the ambiguity that surrounds the use of "administration" and "management" by tracing the roots of the two terms.
Abstract: This article traces the emergence of management in India and the rationale for the influx ofmanagement concepts and techniques into education. It then responds to the ambiguity that surrounds the use of ‘administration’ and ‘management’ by tracing the roots of the two terms. Administration owes its origin to the institution of state, management to that of business. The terms, therefore, reflect the dominant culture and belief systems of, respectively, government and business organizations. From this discussion two models are set out and compared on selected criteria. Recent initiatives to apply management concepts to education, and their insignificant impact, are reviewed and suggestions offered to realize their potential.
TL;DR: This paper used a case study of two school boards in Alberta to examine how financially driven policy reforms have been translated into practice at the level of school districts and schools, drawing primarily on institutional and resource dependent theories.
Abstract: This article uses a case study of two school boards in Alberta to examine how financially driven policy reforms have been translated into practice at the level of school districts and schools. Drawing primarily on institutional and resource dependent theories, we provide a thematic analysis of interview data. Findings describe the policy games adopted by district and school level administrators as well as the consequences of policy directives.
TL;DR: In this article, influential groups understand the purposes and forms of assessment in primary education in the Republic of Ireland and the implications of this for official policy at the level of primary education.
Abstract: This article is about the way influential groups understand the purposes and forms of assessment in primary education in the Republic of Ireland and the implications of this for official policy at ...
TL;DR: In this paper, a study of school funding in a local education authority, which captured headteachers' perceptions of the funding issues for their schools, and analysed published financial data.
Abstract: This article investigates contemporary resourcing issues for schools, and in particular explores the concept of linking resources to learning. The article is based on a study of school funding in a local education authority, which captured headteachers’ perceptions of the funding issues for their schools, and analysed published financial data. This material is used to identify a number of practical and conceptual difficulties to linking resources to learning. Delegation of financial decision-making has resulted in a general shift of funding towards staffing and away from other categories of spending, but delegation has made it harder to obtain impartial analyses of the effectiveness of resource deployment decisions. The interest of headteachers and others in ‘needs led’ models of school funding raises a number of conceptual difficulties. The article concludes that linking resources to learning requires a shift in emphasis away from the language of apportionment and towards the language of outcomes.
TL;DR: In this article, a case study of a single community and its school is presented, where the authors argue that these characteristics are becoming the first victims of an everincreasing technological rationality of educational institutions, but that the process may be reversed by practices of communicative discourse, and by a revitalization of critical participation in the practical and performing arts.
Abstract: Drawing on the views of a wide range of theorists, including in particular Greene, Greenfield and Habermas, the author argues for the need, if we are to conceive of new possibilities for ourselves and for society, for imagination. In this context, a persistent theme of rural communities, once heavily dependent on a single economic resource, surrounds the need for innovative leaders who are capable of imagining new options and willing to take considered risks. Based ona case study of a single community and its school, the author argues that these characteristicsare becoming the first victims of an everincreasing technological rationality of educational institutions, but that the process may be reversed by practices of communicative discourse, and by a revitalization of critical participation in the practical and performing arts. An underlying assumption is that successful school leaders consider the interests of adults as well as those of students, and that they, together with other community members, enga...
TL;DR: This article charted the field of leadership with respect to English Educational Psychological Services within the context of unprecedented and externally imposed change within local education authorities, including Best Value legislation and increasing market forces, and concluded that the adapted framework provided a valid and reliable tool that could be used to support service improvement initiatives.
Abstract: This article begins charting the field of leadership with respect to English Educational Psychological Services within the context of unprecedented and externally imposed change within local education authorities, including Best Value legislation and increasing market forces. It draws upon the work of Brighouse and Woods (on shared leadership and school improvement) and reports on the outcomes of a service improvement framework utilized in three Educational Psychology Services (City, Shire County and Metropolitan Borough). The data were triangulated with results from LEA OFSTED inspections and a short Business Excellence questionnaire. It was concluded that the adapted framework provided a valid and reliable tool that could be used to support service improvement initiatives. The study also enabled an initial exploration of leadership and psychology within modern Educational Psychology Services.
TL;DR: In this paper, the As If Faculty/Student Advocate is described in terms of demographic, emotional, behavioural and interpersonal characteristics, underscoring this individual's less than fully authentic concern for others.
Abstract: The ‘As If Faculty/Student Advocate’ is, fortunately, an infrequently encountered type of educational administrator, but one whose presence can be disconcerting and befuddling. S/he is described in terms of demographic, emotional, behavioural and interpersonal characteristics, underscoring this individual’s less than fully authentic concern for others. This administrative personality type is then related to psychological theories of narcissism, obsessive-compulsive personality, and aggression. Key constructs of self-psychology—the self, mirroring and maintenance of self-esteem—are employed to understand the underlying fears and motivations of the As If Faculty/Student Advocate.
TL;DR: In this article, the authors were involved in establishing a college-level educational institute to serve charaidi (ultra-Orthodox Jewish) women in Jerusalem, where cultural and social norms had to be incorporated into the curriculum and administration of the college.
Abstract: The authors were involved in establishing a college-level educational institute to serve charaidi (ultra-Orthodox Jewish) women in Jerusalem. To meet the needs of this community, cultural and social norms had to be incorporated into the curriculum and administration of the college. While preserving the distinctive cultural difference of this community, a more widely accepted level of academic excellence was introduced, as was the notion of diversity. The article examines the cultural requirements of the host community and explores difference and diversity as social constructs. It looks at alternative approaches to diversity and at the difficulties associated with diversity training. The organizational structure of the college (where curriculum, administration and degreegranting are performed by different agencies) allows articulation between externally accredited academic excellence and internal subject matter sensitivity. The article concludes with some tentative observations and an agenda for future res...
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