MA Educational Leadership (Teach First)

1. MA Educational Leadership (Teach First) Teaching Day 3

2. Today’s Timetable: 10.00 Opening and SSLC matters 10.15 Guest Lecture – Dr Kate Hoskins 10.30 Education Policy & Social Mobility (seminar) 12.45 Lunch 13.30 Education Policy & Social Mobility cont. 14.00 School Effectiveness & School Improvement 15.25 Assignment Research Issues 16.00 END

3. Student-Staff Liaison Committee Student-led. An opportunity for students to ask questions and for staff to respond. A mechanism to recognise areas of the course that are going well and identify areas for improvement Reports lodged with central university and published on the course website.

4. SSLC & distance learning: https://www.warwicksu.com/sslc/issues/ Discuss your impressions of the course so far with a group of peers over lunch. Nominate one person in your group to submit your views. Use the additional space on the day feedback form to share these views. The team will respond to these within a month.

5. Education policy and social mobility January 2018

6. Session Aims: • Understand that policy emerges from a particular context. To understand policy, one must also understand the context • Understand that policy may therefore be influenced by underlying invisible philosophy/ontology for which there may be some clues • Understand that policy is a process/discourse not a product/outcome • Understand that there are are limits on what individual agency (or schools) can achieve – which make it difficult to shift stubborn problems!

7. What is policy? “A set of guidelines that determine how one should proceed given a particular set of circumstances” (Bell and Stevenson, 2006:14). “Aims or goals, or statements of what ought to happen”(Blakemore, 2003: 10).

8. Policies can be both specific plans/programmes of work and more general statements of intent … the implicit or explicit specification of courses of purposive action being followed, or to be followed in dealing with a recognized problem or matter of concern, and directed towards the accomplishment of some intended or desired set of goals. Policy can also be thought of as a position or stance developed in response to a problem or issue of conflict, and directed towards a particular objective (Harman, 1984: 13).

9. Activity 1: Contextual Factors “Educational leadership does not exist in a vacuum – it is exercised in a policy context, shaped decisively by its historical and cultural location” (Bell and Stevenson, 2006: 7). Activity 1: how policy context may be shaped by educational philosophy (see worksheets).

15. Educational philosophies fall broadly into four categories1) Cultural transmission code (Classical humanism)2) Pupil-centredcode (Progressivism)3) Social reconstruction code (Reconstructionism)4) GNP code (Instrumentalism)Alternative typology from Morrison and Ridley in Preedy (1989)

16. Philosophy: Cultural Transmission Code (CTC)Knowledge is: Part of cultural heritageTeaching is: Transmission of knowledge/culture and valuesStudents are: Passive imbibers of knowledge (and graded as such)Assessment is: Precise, quantitative, byexaminationManagement style: Hierarchical, elitist

17. Cultural Transmission Code / Classical humanism Emphasis on: Knowledge Key features: • Academic • Non-vocational • Cultural heritage • High culture • Standards • Competitive • Formal • Intrinsic worthwhileness

18. Philosophy: Pupil Centred Code (PCC)Knowledge is: Acquired experientially, interest-basedTeaching is: Open-ended, exploratory, facilitativeStudents are: Active, involved, create/construct their own realityAssessment is: Qualitative, subjectiveManagement style: Democratic

19. Pupil-Centred Code / Progressivism Emphasis on: Individual child Key features: • Subjects are a vehicle for learning • Process orientated/integrated approach • First hand experience • Discovery learning • Developing individual potential • Teacher as facilitator • Creativity • Equality of opportunity • Questioning of society

20. Philosophy: Social Reconstruction Code (SRC)Knowledge is: Solving social issues in need of resolutionTeaching is: Problem-solving, dynamic, fusion of expert teacher anddeveloping studentStudents are: Active, critical, interactiveAssessment is: Qualitative, multi-dimensionalManagement style: Mixture of guidance and democracy

21. Social Reconstruction Code / Reconstructionism Emphasis on: Transforming Society Key features: • Socially relevant • Problem solving • Vocational • Practical • Catalyst of social change • Flexible • Extrinsic worthwhileness

22. Philosophy: GNP Code (GNP)Knowledge is: Requisite for economic well-beingTeaching is: Training, vocational, accountableStudents are: Recipients, though initiative encouraged if it fits with vocational goalsAssessment is: By objective criteria, mostly quantitative but some qualitative (for initiatives)Management style: Hierarchical, accountability a strong feature

23. GNP Code / Instrumentalism Main focus: Skills acquisition Key features: • Utilitarian • Technological • Training • Practical • Relevant to economic good • Extrinsic worthwhileness

24. Respond to the statements on the sheet as if you were:1) Irina Bokova2) Prof Sunetra Gupta3) Paul Drechsler4) Amanda Spielman5) The Princess RoyalYour tutor will assign your identity!What philosophies underpin these statements and where do the philosophies of your character lie?

25. Importance of education policy • Policy is often used as the basis for action. • Education policy is both shaped by and shapes our sense of citizenship. • Economic growth and development is underpinned by education policy. • Educational leaders have to decide how to interpret and implement external policy. • “Understanding and anticipating policy therefore becomes a key feature of leadership” (Bell and Stevenson, 2006: 8).

26. Stevenson’s view Stevenson (2011) presents a polemical account of the historical and cultural elements perceived to underpin Coalition education policy (2010 – 15), the legacy of which we are currently experiencing . Stevenson (2011) claimed that Coalition policy was designed to achieve five objectives(see next slide).

27. Stevenson claims … that Coalition policy was designed to achieve the following five objectives: • A hierarchy of schools; • A return to traditionalism (in terms of curriculum); • Structural privatization; • Educational Choice as a Consumer’s Transaction; • Reculturing the Teaching Profession. Does this fit with your experience/perspective? Does anything happening in your school fit with this?

28. Different levels of policy development • Macro = nation state, or supra-nation / global institutions e.g.. European Union, World Bank. ‘Grand’policy is found in government publications, party manifestos and the speeches of politicians. [Discussed by Stevenson (2011).] • Micro = individual institution • Meso = local or regional government; could apply to academy chains or school federations These levels overlap.

29. Leaders influence policy at the micro-level Schools and colleges are constantly engaging in developing their own policies as they seek to both pursue their own internal objectives and respond to the external policy environment (Bell and Stevenson, 2006: 9).

30. Leaders can also influence policy at the meso- and macro-levels Key practitioners in schools and college, rather than being passive implementers of policies determined and decided elsewhere, are able to shape national policy at an early stage, perhaps through their involvement in interest groups, professional associations or their favoured position in government policy forums and think-tanks (Bell and Stevenson, 2006: 8). Can you think of any examples of this?

31. Brett Wigdortz has used Teach First to influence policy!

32. Four publications by Teach First Ambassadors intended for policy makers.

33. Models of policy development The traditional linear model Initiation Reformulation of opinion Emergence of alternatives Discussion and debate Legitimization Implementation (Bell and Stevenson, 2006: 16)

34. A critique of the traditional approach Linear approaches to policy making “portray policy generation as remote and detached from implementation. Policy then ‘gets done’ to people by a chain of implementers” (Bowe et al., 1992: 7). However, Bowe et al. (ibid) challenge this view...

35. Policy: product and process Bowe et al. (1992) suggest that policy is interpreted and re-interpreted at every stage of the development process. Enactment is a continual process, in which policy is still being made, and re-made, as it is being implemented. Policies shift and change their meaning in the political arena when ministers or committee chairs or other influential individuals change. See Ball (1994)

36. Policy as Text The policies themselves, as texts, are not necessarily clear or closed or complete. The texts are the product of compromises at various stages (at points of initial influence, in the micropolitics of legislative formulation, in the parliamentary process and in the politics and micropolitics of interest group articulation). They are typically the cannibalised products of multiple (but circumscribed) influences and agendas. There is ad hocery, negotiation and serendipity within the state, within the policy formation process(Ball, 1994: 16).

37. Policy as Discourse (1) “Discourses provide a parameter within which notions of truth and knowledge are formed. However, the factors that shape such discourses are not value neutral, but reflect the structural balance of power in society” (Bell and Stevenson, 2006: 17). “Discourses are about what can be said, and thought, but also about who can speak, when, where and with what authority” (Ball, 1994: 21).

38. Policy as Discourse (2) Following the arguments on the previous slide, it follows that there are struggles over the interpretation and enactment of policy but the scope and content of these struggles is constrained by the dominant discourses at any given time. Does anything happening in your school resonate with these arguments?

39. Bowe et al. (1992)’s cyclical model Context of influence Context of policy Context of practice text production

40. A cyclical model of policy development “In a very real sense, generation and implementation are continuous features of the policy process, with generation of policy … still taking place after the legislation has been effected; both within the central state and within the LEAs and the schools” (Bowe et al. 1992: 14). “Sharp distinctions between policy generation and implementation can be unhelpful as they fail to account for the way in which policy is formed and reformed as it is being ‘implemented’” (Bell and Stevenson, 2006: 9).

41. Power, authority and influence “Policy is political; it is about the power to determine what gets done” (Bell and Stevenson, 2006: 9). Authority = Power that comes from one’s position within a hierarchy. Always flows downwards. Influence = More fluid and multi-directional than Authority; power that comes from personal characteristics, expertise (possession of specialized knowledge) and opportunity (being in the right place at the right time). See Busher (2006) on power.

42. Silent voices Those with power are often able to shape the way the ‘real world’ is perceived – to define the problem, to set the limits within which solutions might be acceptable and even to select and impose specific solutions (Bell and Stevenson 2006: 22). But that means some (many?) voices are not heard. And this brings us to the impact of policy: can policies always produce their intended consequences?

43. Activity 2.1 Each group will take one of each of Hoskins & Barker’s Five Propositions, summarise the evidence to support it, and then add alongside any questions, challenges or further enquiries you think the proposition provokes. There’s a template sheet for your evidence. For this part of the Activity you will need to complete the first two columns. N.B. Activity 2 is in two parts. At the end of the whole Activity you will be asked to present your findings to the rest of the groups.

44. Activity 2.2 • Looking at the middle column of your worksheet, what evidence would you need to answer your concerns there? • Consider your schools. Have any of them recognised your table’s Proposition as a barrier to student achievement? Do youthink it is? What evidence might you need to be sure? Remember that Activity 2 is in two parts. At the end of the whole Activity you will be asked to present your findings to the rest of the groups.

45. Further reading To explore the law of unintended consequences, read Hoyle & Wallace (2005) on ambiguity.

46. Some thoughts to ponder (policy) • Who has the most authority in your school? Where does their authority come from? How do you know they have the most authority? • Who has the most influence? Where does their influence come from ? How do you know they have the most influence? • Who is being silenced in your school? Why? How? • Who is being silenced on a national scale and why?

47. Think of a policy recently developed / implemented in your work context. • Where did the policy come from? • Was it developed in response to a perceived problem? If so, how was this problem defined and by whom? Was there a consensus about the nature of the problem? • How was the policy developed? • Who was involved/not involved in the process? • Did the policy change as it was being developed? If so, how, and in response to whose intervention(s)?

48. Some thoughts to ponder (social mobility) • lf we had to choose between more equal distribution of wealth and greater social mobility, which should we choose, and why? • What are the policy implications for your school/academy/trust if it wished to improve still further the social mobility of its pupils?

49. MA in Educational Leadership (Teach First) School Effectiveness & School Improvement January 2018

50. Session Aims: • Understand the complexities of defining ‘effectiveness’ • Develop a clear perspective about where the school effectiveness and school improvement movements came from (and are going) • Understand the Teach First contribution to the school improvement movement • Grasp the methodological challenges involved in attempting to explore correlation and causality.