The principal and school improvement : theorising discourse, policy, and practice / Amanda Heffernan.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Heffernan, Amanda, author.

Series:

Educational leadership theory

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

School improvement programs--Australia--Queensland.

School improvement programs.

School management and organization--Australia--Queensland.

School management and organization.

Queensland.

Place of Publication:

Singapore : Springer, [2018]

Summary:

This book investigates the localised effects of reform by exploring the impact of a school improvement policy agenda on the work of three experienced principals. It presents three longitudinal case studies within a shared specific leadership context in Queensland, Australia. The case studies enable an exploration of the way the principalship in this context has evolved over time, providing deep insights into the practices and beliefs of three experienced school leaders working in a period of rapid and urgent systemic reform. The nature of global reform policy borrowing means that the research and the findings within this monograph are relevant for international audiences. The book describes a new way to understand and theorise the effects of reform policies and associated pressures on school leaders. Using post-structural theory, it provides a better understanding of the specific effects of reform policy ensembles, particularly when combined with an analysis of the ways policy and discourse work together at a wider level to create an environment that disciplines the principalship. Further, it sheds lights on the means of complying with or contesting policy influences and how the work of leaders has changed over time.

Contents:

Intro; Series Editors' Foreword; Acknowledgements; Contents; Abbreviations; 1 Introducing a'United' Agenda for Principals; About theStudy: Theoretical Framework; Macro-level: Theories About theSystem; Performativity; Sociology ofNumbers and the Quantification o fEducation; Micro-level: Theories About theIndividual; Discourse; Subjectivity; Discipline, Surveillance, and Governmentality; About theStudy: Research Design; Methodology; Observations; Document Interrogation; Interviews; Data Analysis; Contributions to the Field of Educational Leadership; Structure ofForthcoming Chapters.

Australian Reforms: AShifting Policy Landscape Key Areas o fEducation Reform inAustralia; The Introduction ofNAPLAN; MySchool-The Impact ofPublic and Transparent National Data; Queensland Reforms: The Research Context; Pieces of Queensland's Policy Ensemble-NAPLAN Testing as a Catalyst fo rMajor Reform in Queensland; Impact of High-Stakes Testing Regimes-The Manipulation of Data; Pieces o fQueensland's Policy Ensemble-External Teaching andLearning Audits; Pieces of Queensland's Policy Ensemble-Independent Public Schools; Conclusion; References; 4 Max, Judy, and Scott.

Shared Context-The Region ICSEA Scores; Max-Ironcliff State School; Judy-Merriwald State School; Scott-Mount Pleasant State School; Additional Participants: Richard and Tracy; Richard-Assistant Regional Director; Tracy-Regional Project Officer; Conclusion; References; 5 The Evolving Nature of the Principalship: Pressures Created by Rapid School Improvement Reforms; The Impact o fPolicy Reforms on the Principalship; Max, Judy, and Scott's Conceptualisations of the Principalship; Participants' Perceptions o fAutonomy, Accountability, and the Principalship.

Increased Accountabilities and Pressures on the Principalship Responding to Increased Senses of Pressure-Discourses of the System as'They/Them'; 'AnUnholy Emphasis on Data': How Performativity and Quantification Add Pressure to thePrincipalship; Instructional Leadership and Shifting Expectations in the Principalship; The Changing Principalship: Notions of 'Quality' and the Seductiveness of the Quick-Fix; Conclusion; References; 6 'Stick to the Knitting': Principals Identifying and Maintaining a Focus forTheir School; 'Stick to the Knitting'-A Metaphor forUnderstanding the Work of Schools.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN:

9811314942

9789811314940

OCLC:

1039615779