1,721,009 research outputs found
Working with complexity: Leading school networks in Aotearoa New Zealand and England
Get PDFInter-school networks have been promoted in many school systems globally to facilitate: knowledge generation and dissemination; responsiveness to increasingly diverse student and societal needs; and emotional and practical peer support for educational professionals. In understanding contemporary education as a ‘wicked’ problem, this paper explores case studies of inter-school networks in Aotearoa New Zealand (New Zealand) and England through the lens of complexity theory. We focus on how the conditions necessary for complex emergence identified by Davis and Sumara operate and how these conditions, along with their ‘enabling constraints’, facilitate the emergence of new perspectives and practices that enable the achievement of network objectives. This analysis indicates that where particular forms of leadership are in place, challenges – such as fragmentation, competition and the absence of social capital – can be overcome. We argue that network leaders need to balance and bridge three overlapping leadership approaches: operational leadership, entrepreneurial leadership and enabling leadership. We conclude by exploring the implications and insights for school, network and system leaders
Structural integration and knowledge exchange in multi-academy trusts: comparing approaches with evidence and theory from non-educational sectors
Get PDFThis article analyses the ways in which leaders in Multi-Academy Trusts (MATs) in England work to develop shared improvement practices across the schools they operate. It draws on case study evidence gathered as part of a larger mixed methods study by the authors (Greany, 2018). There are now more than 1200 MATs in England, operating anywhere between two and 50+ academies within a single organizational structure, overseen by a board and Chief Executive. A key question facing MAT leaders is whether, where and how far to seek integration between member schools, especially given the argument that such integration can ensure that teaching and learning practices are being consistently applied. The research reveals varying levels of standardisation, alignment and autonomy across different aspects of practice (assessment, curriculum and pedagogy). While some MAT leaders seek to standardise and regulate most areas of practice, others emphasise more organic or co-designed approaches to building shared norms and/or allow space for local contextualisation. Drawing on research into Mergers and Acquisitions and ‘post-merger integration’ in organisational studies, we analyse the theories of action which underpin these leaders’ approaches and set out a categorisation framework and typology aimed at strengthening understanding of MAT approaches to improvement
Do informal networks become formalised over time? Analysing school networks and multi-academy trust membership in England using ego-centric analysis
No full textRecent decades have seen a global shift in educational policy and practice towards various forms of ‘joining-up’, through partnerships and networks. These networks have differing aims but are broadly geared towards increasing quality and/or innovation in educational provision, although many prove messy and problematic. Policy makers in England have encouraged schools to collaborate, although parallel market pressures can also drive competition, leading to an argument that schools must engage in ‘coopetition’. More recently, policy has encouraged schools to form or join a multi-academy trust (MAT) and the government’s stated aim is that all 21,000 schools in England will be part of a MAT by 2030. A MAT is a formal legal entity with a board and Chief Executive which oversees multiple schools. The headline question we address is whether pre-existing partnerships between schools predict eventual membership of multi-academy trusts? We do this through an analysis of ego network and case study interview data collected from 20 schools across two local areas. We track these networks over a seven-year period, identifying which schools join which MATs. We find that schools do not form or join MATs with other local schools they have collaborated with in the past. We assess this somewhat counter-intuitive finding through the lens of socio-spatial theory, presenting a framework for assessing the interactions between place, scale and networks and considering the implications for policy, practice and research
The Evidence-Informed School System in England: Where Should School Leaders Be Focusing Their Efforts?
Get PDFThis article examines the impetus for schools to engage in and with evidence in England’s self-improving school system. It begins with an examination of how the education policy environment has changed, shifting from predominantly top-down approaches to school improvement to the current government’s focus on schools themselves sourcing and sharing effective practice to facilitate system-level change. The article then explores some of the key factors likely to determine whether schools engage in meaningful evidence use, before analyzing survey data from 696 primary school practitioners working in 79 schools. The article concludes by highlighting where schools appear to be well- and under-prepared for a future of evidence-informed self-improvement
Local learning landscapes: exploring coherence, equity and quality in teacher professional development in England
Get PDFEnsuring that all teachers engage in high-quality Continuing Professional Development and Learning (CPDL) has long been a policy priority in school systems worldwide, given evidence that this can lead to improvements in teaching quality and, thereby, children’s outcomes. In high-performing school systems globally, arrangements for CPDL are coherent and well-coordinated. However, England’s school system is experiencing fragmentation and partial reformation - evolving from place-based oversight by 152 Local Authorities (LAs), to non-place-based oversight of around 1200 Multi-Academy Trusts (MATs), although large numbers of schools remain outside this framework. In terms of CPDL, the shift has been from a patchwork of school-led provision, including by around 750 Teaching Schools, to a nationally defined offer (i.e. the Early Career Framework and National Professional Qualifications) provided by 87 Teaching School Hubs (TSHs) and augmented by a range of other curriculum hubs and commercial providers. In this context, this research asks: “To what extent, and how, do local learning landscapes in England operate to provide high quality, inclusive professional learning for primary schools?” The research focused on formal and informal professional learning in mathematics, using this as a lens onto wider CPDL practices. Three localities were selected for study, each within an LA area encompassing around 100 primary schools. In each locality, a representative sample of local system leaders and school-based staff (heads, maths leads and class teachers) were interviewed. A conceptual framework identifying six theoretically salient features of local learning landscapes is presented and used to structure the findings. Finally, implications for policy and practice are identified
Storytelling With Networks: Realizing the Explanatory Potential of Network Diagrams Through the Integration of Qualitative Data
Get PDFNetwork visualizations are alluring yet deceptively difficult to interpret. This article demonstrates several strategies for integrating qualitative data into interactive network diagrams for the purposes of providing contextual information about actors and their relationships. The result is a new joint display called a Narrated Network Diagram (NND). The development of NNDs aims to make network visualizations more reliable tools for reporting research findings, especially for researchers integrating Social Network Analysis tools into multi- and mixed-methods research designs. Until now, researchers primarily use interactivity to support exploratory analysis of large networks at various scales. However, interactivity can also be used to integrate diverse forms of data without sacrificing perceptual efficiency by essentially hiding significant amounts of text within nodes and edges as tooltips or by delineating additional data within legends, titles, and subtitles
Trends in Maths and Science Study (TIMSS): National Report for England
Get PDFThe Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS) is overseen by the International Association for the Evaluation of Educational Achievement (IEA). It provides participating countries internationally comparable data on the performance and attitudes of 9 to 10 (year 5) and 13 to 14 year-olds (year 9) in maths and science as well as comparisons of the curriculum and the teaching of these subjects in primary and secondary schools. Fifty-seven countries and seven benchmarking entities participated in TIMSS 20151. England has participated in TIMSS since the study was first carried out in 1995 and in each subsequent four-yearly cycle, meaning that 2015 represents the study’s sixth cycle. The study therefore provides valuable trends in England’s absolute and relative performance over a twenty-year period. In England, testing was conducted with pupils in years 5 and 9 in May and June 2015, with a sample of over 8,800 pupils across 290 schools. England’s year 5 cohort started school in 2009 and sat the new Key Stage 2 tests in the summer of 2016. The year 9 cohort started school in 2005 and will take the new GCSEs in summer 2017, having started secondary school in 2012. This TIMSS National Report for England focuses on comparisons of our pupils’ performance and their experiences of maths and science teaching compared to: high-performing and rapidly improving countries; other English-speaking countries; and similar countries in terms of context and geography. The TIMSS International Report 2015 offers comparisons across all participating countries
Are we nearly there yet? : progress, issues, and possible next steps for a self-improving school system
No full textAn Inaugural Professorial Lecture The DfE's 2010 white paper ‘The Importance of Teaching’ set out the Coalition's aim to 'create a school system which is self-improving'. In this inaugural lecture, Toby Greany assesses progress to date and the Coalition Government's approach to developing a self-improving system. He argues that the Coalition is following at least four different reform approaches at the same time: the world class/no excuses approach, the freedom-to-teach approach, the market-based approach and the system-leadership approach. These differing approaches compete with each other, creating confusion at best and unresolvable tensions at worst, most obviously through an over-reliance on punitive accountability. The first three approaches do not reflect international evidence and practice in terms of effective system reform and school improvement, and do not appear to meet the Government's own criteria for a self-improving system. The system-leadership approach appears to have more promise, but Greany makes a series of recommendations for how it could be enhanced. He concludes that if the self-improving system becomes no more than a narrative device to justify the removal of central and local government support, then a two-tier system will rapidly emerge in which some schools thrive, but large swathes are left behind
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