•Journal•ISSN: 2002-0317
Nordic Journal of Studies in Educational Policy
Taylor & Francis
About: Nordic Journal of Studies in Educational Policy is an academic journal published by Taylor & Francis. The journal publishes majorly in the area(s): Higher education & Curriculum. It has an ISSN identifier of 2002-0317. It is also open access. Over the lifetime, 242 publications have been published receiving 2160 citations. The journal is also known as: NordSTEP.
Topics: Higher education, Curriculum, Sociology, Curriculum theory, Autonomy
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TL;DR: In this paper, the authors focus on the major challenge facing education systems around the world, that of finding ways of including all children in schools, in economically poorer countries this is mainly about t...
Abstract: This paper focuses on a major challenge facing education systems around the world, that of finding ways of including all children in schools. In economically poorer countries this is mainly about t...
162 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, a three-level analysis of professional autonomy, namely general, collegial and individual autonomy, is presented, and it is argued that there are strong reasons to question the abovementioned assumptions and to study professional work at the organisational level, in particular with regard to managerial ideologies, philosophies, routines for evaluating teachers and organizational principles for professional work.
Abstract: There is a general tendency in research to claim that the teaching profession, like many other professions, has undergone substantial de-professionalisation in recent years. Such de-professionalisation is commonly explained with reference to lost professional autonomy. A problematic assumption that this article identifies is that lost professional autonomy at the general level more or less inevitably results in lost autonomy at the level of practice. In addition, an unspoken but frequently present assumption is that increased managerial power or autonomy to influence professional work will actually lead to decreased professional autonomy within the professional practice. Both these assumptions are problematised through the development and use of a three-level analysis of professional autonomy. General professional autonomy, collegial professional autonomy and individual autonomy are identified. The two latter forms of autonomy relate to professional practice. It is argued that on the basis of this levelling of professional autonomy, there are strong reasons to question the abovementioned assumptions and to study professional work at the organisational level, in particular with regard to managerial ideologies, philosophies, routines for evaluating teachers and organisational principles for professional work. Such managerial ideas and practices tend to influence the nature of teachers’ work and, correspondingly, professional autonomy at the practice level. Not least in a fragmented and decentralised school system, local conditions for professional autonomy exhibit a highly varying character. Keywords: autonomy; de-professionalisation; profession; teacher; Sweden (Published: 3 July 2015) Citation: NordSTEP 2015, 1: 28464 - http://dx.doi.org/10.3402/nstep.v1.28464
76 citations
TL;DR: In this article, the authors examine how upper secondary school teachers perceive and respond to the consequences for their professional autonomy of recent school reforms and restructurings and find that teacher autonomy has been reduced by school reforms since the late 1980s.
Abstract: This article examines how upper secondary school teachers perceive and respond to the consequences for their professional autonomy of recent school reforms and restructurings. Based on empirical material from interviews of 119 teachers in three studies conducted between 2002 and 2014, the findings indicate that teacher autonomy has been reduced by school reforms and restructurings since the late 1980s. Regardless of their individual aims, these reforms have collectively created a power structure that distributes power to the state, municipalities, principals and the school market, including ‘customers’, that is, students, at the expense of teacher autonomy. Teacher agency follows certain policies at the discourse level, such as decentralisation and management by objectives and results, but in practice seems to be based on individuals’ and groups’ capacities to exploit opportunities for agency in combination with more or less facilitative management and organisation cultures. This development is multifaceted and varies locally, but the overall trend can be described as a shift from occupational to organisational professionalism and from ‘licensed’ to ‘regulated’ autonomy but emphasising the influence of market logics. Keywords: teacher autonomy; school reform; New Public Management; upper secondary school (Published: 3 July 2015) Citation: NordSTEP 2015, 1: 28144 - http://dx.doi.org/10.3402/nstep.v1.28144
62 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors focus on the points of contact between Didaktik and curriculum theory within a continental European perspective, where they highlight the similarities between the two domains and discuss some probable developments within education.
Abstract: From a personal perspective, the article focuses on the points of contact between Didaktik and curriculum theory within a continental European perspective, where Didaktik is more commonly used than curriculum for describing the issues under scrutiny. By highlighting these points of contact between a continental European description of Didaktik and an Anglo-American description in curriculum, it also looks into the future, discussing some probable developments within education. Keywords: didactics; curriculum; history; comparative education Citation: NordSTEP 2015, 1 : 27007 - http://dx.doi.org/10.3402/nstep.v1.27007
60 citations
TL;DR: In this article, Lipsky's seminal treatise Street-Level Bureaucracy, first published in 1980, has been used to argue that frontline practitioners like teachers in public-sector education systems are not policy takers but policy makers.
Abstract: Frontline practitioners like teachers in public-sector education systems are not policy takers but policy makers, according to Michael Lipsky’s seminal treatise Street-Level Bureaucracy , first published in 1980. They make policy by using their wide autonomy to adopt coping mechanisms , such as limiting client demand and creaming (cherry-picking). Winter and Nielsen have developed this into (1) reducing demand for output, (2) rationing output and (3) automating output. These distinctions are briefly clarified in the article. Do they have relevance for school systems and other Nordic public-sector frontline activities? The question is raised but left to upcoming research to clarify. Keywords: Street-level bureaucrat; coping strategy; creaming; cherry-picking; autonomy; discretion; frontline practitioner; Lipsky, Michael; Winter, Soren; Nielsen, Vibeke L (Published: 3 July 2015) Citation: NordSTEP 2015, 1: 28643 - http://dx.doi.org/10.3402/nstep.v1.28643
47 citations