Current research

If only I could keep up the blogging at the pace some of my Twitter followers set. Unfortunately for the blogisphere, I am spending a great deal of my time at the moment on other writing. First, there is my next book (I will blog about that another time) and second, there is my current research with colleagues from Sheffield Hallam University. I am just putting together the initial findings for a conference in the Autumn. It is all about restructuring at the local level, following the current governments radical policies. We think this is likely to mean that the ‘local’ will be fundamentally redefined and that redefinition will be enacted differently in different local circumstances. So, we are studying 3 local authority areas, where very different approaches to the restructuring are playing out. We are considering the following questions:

•        What is the impact of Government policy on the structure and governance of the school system viewed from a local geographical perspective?

•        How is this impact influenced by local conditions and policies?

•        What debates and decisions underpin and inform the changes in structure and governance that take place?

•        What are the dynamics of changes of structure and governance over time? What factors influence these dynamics?

So I am just putting together some of the initial analysis for the conference paper. The team have carried out 18 interviews across the 3 LAs (6 LA officers, 11 heads and one chair of governors). The Heads have been chosen because of their involvement as Chairs of local group of Heads, Teaching School Heads, or Academies or soon to be academies. One of our team said as we looked at the data that it was all about 'Fear, funding, and failure', but that would paint an incomplete picture. Many secondary schools in the study went for academy status due to funding, but also because many were already foundation schools and it was seen as a logical next step. Heads seem to be asserting their own agency whilst at the same time keenly aware that if they lose their credibility with government agencies (losing their outstanding badge for example), it is very difficult to be influential. Certainly, Heads are looking at the positioning of their schools in terms of alliances and partnerships with other bodies, and LAs are acting in very different ways, as brokers, as hands off partners, and some still trying to be an old style LA. There is often a disconnect between talk of innovation and taking the school forward, and the mechanisms of accountability. Heads are also concerned with who addresses failure if the academy fails, and who supports them personally- some rely on their Chair of governors heavily. Local conditions, and the history of the LA do seem to be very important in how restructuring is playing out on the ground. The dynamics over time are very interesting, with the role of the Teaching School playing a bigger part in some areas than others.

That's my first thoughts, which I am currently writing up into a paper. When it's done, I will link into it, so that you can read the theoretical background as well.