Summary: This is a paper that reviews and outlines the academic basis behind leadership in the post-compulsory setting. Description: Leadership has been for some years a key area of strategic and operational importance in the UK post-compulsory sector - this publication aims to addresss some of the issues surrounding this topic. It discusses theories and definitions of leadership, leader professionalism and post-compulsory education. A collaborative model of professional leadership is recommended, informed by authentic, democratic dialogue with practitioners. Coalitions that foster professional networking and collaborative leadership can be creatively developed through the establishment of intentionally designed communities of leadership practice. The CAMEL (Collaborative Approaches to the Management of e-Learning) JISC infoNet HEFCE/LGM-funded model for communities of practice is discussed as one model which provides a useful template for the development of shared knowledge through professional communities of practice in collaborative leadership. It is argued that this provides a helpful way of enabling and supporting leaders to advance their understanding and 'know how' in leadership practices in a sector currently facing significant challenges from demanding external targets and continuous monitoring in an 'audit culture'. The publication also and gives examples of good practice and many references and links for information.
Recent educational reforms in England have sought to reshape public education in England by extending central government control of curriculum and assessment, while replacing local government control of schools with a quasi-private system of academies and multi academy trusts. In this paper, we resist reading this as the latest iteration of the debate between 'traditional' and 'progressive' education. Instead, we note how, despite the mobilisation of the rhetoric of the public and public education, schooling in England has never been public in any deeply meaningful sense. We develop a genealogical reading of public education in England, in which ideas of British universalism – 'the public' – and inequality and exclusion in education and society have not been opposed but have gone hand-in-hand. This raises the question whether it is possible to envisage and enact another form of collective – one that is based on action rather than fantasy and that is co-authored by, comprised of, and exists for, the people. The final part of this paper seeks to grapple with this challenge, in the context of past, present and future potential developments in education, and to consider possibilities for the imaginary reconstitution of public education in England in the twenty-first century.
The accreditation criteria for the new ITE programmes in Wales include the requirement that Newly Qualified Teachers (NQTs) understand how to conduct 'close‐to-practice' research and are able to articulate evidence‐informed approaches to pedagogy (Furlong, 2016; Welsh Government, 2018). This paper describes the processes by which one HEI-school partnership (the APLP) developed programmes of ITE to respond to this vision, specifically focussing on the journey of the student- teacher through the development of four research dispositions. The programmes seek to ensure that ITE students develop an 'inquiry stance', where this reflects the understandings of Cochran‐Smith (2011) who uses the term inquiry to refer to teachers' questioning, and the metaphor of stance to allude orientation and position. In order to support the research skills needed to adopt an inquiry stance, the work of Orchard and Winch (2015) has been adapted and distilled into four dispositions for the student‐teacher and progression steps have been identified for differing levels of study. The research dispositions and associated knowledge, skills, understandings and behaviours have been mapped through the content of the modules in each ITE programme on offer. We include a consideration of the tensions apparent in the development of detailed module content and conjecture that these may be an inevitable result of the professional habit of performativity that results from education systems historically driven by structures of accountability.
Capacity development is central to the study and practice of public policy and administration, but ensuring its effectiveness requires a substantial amount of policy capacity from government agencies tasked to design and implement it. Identifying the right mix of policy capacity that governments should possess has been made difficult due to conceptual and operational problems. This article addresses the gap by developing a framework that conceptualizes policy capacity as the ability of governments to perform analytical, operational, and political functions. Drawing on the results of an original teacher survey and complementary sources, the article shows that variations on different dimensions of policy capacity have led to significant differences in the effectiveness of capacity development initiatives, especially as perceived by teachers. Therefore, without understanding and catering to the needs of the targets whose capacity is supposedly being developed, capacity development initiatives meant to be supportive are likely to be dissatisfying and disappointing instead.
This article uses data generated through qualitative methods and discourse analysis to explore how 'creative learning' is articulated in the current educational context in Wales. The research focused on the Arts and Wellbeing in Education (AWE) professional learning programme for primary and secondary schools, delivered by 'Arts Champions' through one of the Regional Arts and Education Networks. The Networks were created to support the Welsh Government / Arts Council Wales Creative Learning through the Arts Action Plan (Welsh Government, 2015). The analysis applies a poststructural framework, influenced by the work of Foucault, to examine the circulating discourses around the 'benefits' and 'value' of creative learning, and the arts. The discussion reveals the underlying structures and ideological project that in/form the policy context, and the resultant practice. The findings describe how the Welsh Government rhetoric describes a broadly democratic, economic value of the arts, while the case study Network D emphasises the benefit of the arts as a 'social good'. Within this context, AWE functions as a local revolution extending, enhancing and personalising the 'social good' so that the benefits centre on wellbeing through mindful approaches to creativity, the value of which is decided by the individual.
This article uses data generated through qualitative methods and discourse analysis to explore how 'creative learning' is articulated in the current educational context in Wales. The research focused on the Arts and Wellbeing in Education (AWE) professional learning programme for primary and secondary schools, delivered by 'Arts Champions' through one of the Regional Arts and Education Networks. The Networks were created to support the Welsh Government / Arts Council Wales Creative Learning through the Arts Action Plan (Welsh Government, 2015). The analysis applies a poststructural framework, influenced by the work of Foucault, to examine the circulating discourses around the 'benefits' and 'value' of creative learning, and the arts. The discussion reveals the underlying structures and ideological project that in/form the policy context, and the resultant practice. The findings describe how the Welsh Government rhetoric describes a broadly democratic, economic value of the arts, while the case study Network D emphasises the benefit of the arts as a 'social good'. Within this context, AWE functions as a local revolution extending, enhancing and personalising the 'social good' so that the benefits centre on wellbeing through mindful approaches to creativity, the value of which is decided by the individual.
In the face of ongoing school budget cuts, increasing student numbers and national educational policy environments that demand more from schools, like it or not, school leaders are being forced to be much more market-oriented in their thinking and ways of being than at any other time before. A school is an important site for social development, and in some communities in some countries, there may be only one school in an entire community. Nevertheless, as countries continue to grapple with reduced government funding on education, many schools risk the threat of closure. And, as education consumers (parents) and users (students) demand more and better value and results from schools, competition between schools have simultaneously increased. Thus, the environment in which school leaders' work is requiring and fostering entrepreneurial leadership. The findings reported in this paper, derive from a larger sixteen country, five continent study of 61 school leaders on the "Nature of School Leadership". The main conclusions presented in this paper are that, male and female school leaders approach entrepreneurial in very different ways; "national culture" and "national context" significantly influences and shape the work, and thus the attitudes and behaviours of school leaders, who must embrace entrepreneurialism as an essential skill, and a response to changes in school funding arrangements, and the changing role of education in national educational policy agendas.
Education faces many challenges in the changing modern world. Learners are changing in their approaches to education – they use digital technologies, they multi-task, they collaborate and they are becoming less patient with teacher-centric styles of education. Educators face many changes – such as expectations of adopting innovative teaching approaches, alignment of teaching to external standards, growing requirements for professional development and difficulties in balancing a complex range of demands from different stakeholders. Government and educational institutions also face many changes, such as the rise of the knowledge economy and the need for different kinds of graduates, a shift from knowledge scarcity to abundance, and the impact of technology – especially the internet via open sharing of educational resources and massive open online courses (MOOCs). In the context of these changes, effective teaching and learning in the classroom (and beyond) remains central. How can educators become more effective in their preparation and facilitation of teaching and learning activities? How can educators be exposed to new teaching ideas that take them beyond their traditional approaches? How can technology assist educators without undermining them? How can learners be better prepared for the world that awaits them? This paper describes how the new field of Learning Design contributes to the central challenge of improving teaching and learning. Learning Design can assist educators to describe effective teaching ideas so that they can be shared with, and adapted by, other educators. While the field has primarily focussed on higher education and K-12 schools to date, it also has implications for vocational and professional training. This paper describes how ongoing work to develop a descriptive language for teaching and learning activities (often including the use of technology) is changing the way educators think about planning and facilitating educational activities. The ultimate goal of Learning Design is to convey great teaching ideas among educators in order to improve student learning. The paper begins with this Introduction, followed by an analogy from music to provide a context for Part 1, which considers the possibility of educational notation. Part 2 describes how this possibility is being realised in the field of Learning Design, illustrated with an example based on a Role Play. Part 3 considers current definitional challenges in Learning Design and its provocative aspiration towards pedagogical neutrality. Part 4 provides a wider conceptual map of education for exploring the place of Learning Design, including more examples of current Learning Design approaches, and how the map can be used to analyse pedagogical theories. Part 5 returns to the relationship between Learning Design and pedagogical theories, and the central question of effective teaching and learning approaches. The Conclusion offers a new synthesis of the ideas discussed in this paper as a foundation for the future of Learning Design, and the Epilogue returns to the music analogy to reflect on the future prospects of this synthesis. While the concepts discussed in this paper have potentially far-reaching implications for many aspects of education, this paper is written primarily for those with an interest in Learning Design and in pedagogical theories. Future work based on this paper will explore these ideas in different ways for other audiences, such as policy makers and typical educators.
This article provides an overview of the life of the Foundation Phase in Wales to date. It considers where we have been, where we are now and where we might go, in relation to early years education provision since devolution. With reinforced governmental backing for the future of the Foundation Phase, the article considers what lessons can be taken forward to scaffold the effective longevity of an initiative that, in general terms, enjoys warm support locally and the envious attention of external observers. The article spends some time establishing 'where we have been', in order to fully set the context of 'where we are' and 'where we might go'.
This chapter takes the specifc context of outdoor play in the Foundation Phase in Wales to explore how children's activity and participation is mediated through the socio-material affordances of muddy puddles at forest school. The research was underpinned by the cultural-historical tradition of making visible the sociocultural practices and individual participation which shape the child's experience within an educational setting. The discussion in this chapter is centred upon the following questions: During forest school sessions for pupils aged 4- and 5-years old, what conficts may be surfaced as classroom teaching staff aim to meet Welsh Government expectations for both outdoor play and self-regulatory skills development? How do these conficts shape the child's experience of participating in outdoor play? The analysis draws upon data gathered during 8 months of feldwork; audio-visually-recorded observations and video-stimulated interviews with classroom teachers and forest school leaders are used to consider an episode of confict during play in a muddy puddle. We explore, from child and adult perspectives, the institutional values of the Foundation Phase, demands for reception year practice and subsequent expectations about children's participation, highlighting the mediating messages being given about 'how to be' and what competencies are valued in the activity setting of mud play.
This report is a synthesis of ongoing research, design, and implementation of an approach to education called "connected learning." It advocates for broadened access to learning that is socially embedded, interest-driven, and oriented toward educational, economic, or political opportunity. Connected learning is realized when a young person is able to pursue a personal interest or passion with the support of friends and caring adults, and is in turn able to link this learning and interest to academic achievement, career success or civic engagement. This model is based on evidence that the most resilient, adaptive, and effective learning involves individual interest as well as social support to overcome adversity and provide recognition. This report investigates how we can use new media to foster the growth and sustenance of environments that support connected learning in a broad-based and equitable way. This report also offers a design and reform agenda, grounded in a rich understanding of child development and learning, to promote and test connected learning theories.
This chapter is set within the context of systemic change within a national education system concerned to ensure each and every learner grows 'as a capable, healthy, well-rounded individual who can thrive in the face of unknown future challenges' (Donaldson, 2015, p. 5). Wales, as a devolved government within the United Kingdom, is in the early stages of dramatic educational change including radical curriculum reform from 3 – 16 years, an overhaul of assessment and reporting arrangements, and a re-visioning of professional teacher standards, initial preparation and continued professional learning. The chapter explains the national context and locates a specific research project within it; the research project considers the change process inherent in the requirements for new kinds of provision for Initial Teacher Education (ITE) across the country. Using cultural historical activity theory (Engeström, 1996) as the analytical tool, within a socio-cultural theoretical framework, we seek to explore current challenges within the system that will need to be addressed in order to ensure that the change process might be successful in the longer run.
This paper examines the context of evidence-informed practice (EIP) by inquiring into how educational practice is defined and organised, and how predominant understandings of educational practice are concomitant with preferences for particular forms of evidence. This leads to discussion of how certain educational research traditions speak (or are unable to speak) to these evidence requirements, and how this shapes the nature of EIP. While the rise of EIP can be understood as part of the increasing attention paid by governments to systemic 'improvement' in education systems, it can be argued that the lack of a coherent body of educational knowledge in many national traditions enables governments to exercise control not only of definitions of 'what works' in education but also over conceptualisations of educational practice. For some policy makers and practitioners, the much-remarked dislocation between 'evidence' and teaching practice in many national contexts can only be solved by a narrowing of what counts as knowledge alongside a more prescriptive control over what counts as acceptable educational judgement. However, such an alignment serves to exclude wider educational purposes and arguably instrumentalises pedagogical relations. Meanwhile, some continental European countries maintain traditions that may serve to mitigate such developments, although these traditions are not without challenge.
This reflective piece of work discusses my embodied emotional experiences and the ways in which my professional practice has been influenced by them. I draw on a series of reflective (field)notes that I have written about teaching and research practice in higher education in the UK context. The effects of the rapid political and technological change have shaped the social research that has turned its attention to 'the body'. I consider the implications of such a turn on the ways in which I (re)position myself as a higher education teacher and researcher. I argue that by ignoring the emotional embodiment the appreciation of the embodied nature of the human actions can be neglected.
Our research focuses on outstanding leadership in different national and local education contexts and draws on theory, research and policy literature in the field of educational leadership and management. In Europe and internationally leadership has been identified as a key factor in educational effectiveness and achievement (Huber & Muijs 2010; Hallinger & Huber 2012; Pashiardis & Johansson 2016) and studies have sought to identify features of successful school leadership (Leithwood et. al 2008; Day et. al 2010). Some research has been driven by moral purpose and some by aggressive political agendas focussed on school improvement but all aims to find ways of providing the highest quality and standards of education for all. However, studies have tended to focus on one age phase of education, for example primary schools (Matthews et al 2014) or in a specific national context (NCSL 2007). Our interest is in learning about outstanding leadership across contexts (Tamkin et. al 2014). The importance of context for leadership development and practice in education is reflected in recent publications (Hallinger 2018) and we believe that the role of context needs further investigation. In this study, we focus on a range of stakeholder perspectives of outstanding leadership across age phases of education in different types of schools and colleges in three countries.
