The changing role of the school inspector and advisor in England and Wales : a case study of a London suburban authority

The aim of this thesis is to investigate and evaluate the role of the school. local authority inspector and adviser,.The study is in two parts. The first outlines aspects of the historical development of the school inspector's role. The second comprises an investigation into the changing role of the local authority school inspector and sources of role conflicts which previous researchers have shown to exist. Participant observations and research interview methods were used to obtain the opinions of the respondents. The main conclusions of the study were: 1. In the opinions of the majority of the respondents, the inspector and adviser should attach a high degree of importance to the items of the activities in the following order of priority: first, activity (2), Advising individual staff on personal and professional matters; second, activity (5) Informal inspection of schools; third, activity (17) Disseminating the best practices from one school to another; fourth, activity (18) Report Writing; fifth, activity (19) Dealing with correspondence. 2. The inspector or adviser is expected to advise and inspect teachers. These are the main changing roles or expectations of the inspector or adviser. 3. The inspectors' and advisers' conceptions were convergent with regard to the following activities:- Activity (17) Disseminating the best practices from one school to another; activity (2) Advising individual staff on personal and professional matters; activity (5) Informal inspection of schools. 4. The inspectors and advisers conceptions were divergent on activities: (3) Evaluation of teachers; (4) Formal inspection of schools; (15) Observing teachers in their classes. 5. It is suggested that those activities on which their conceptions were divergent constituted sources of role conflicts and role strain for the inspectors and advisers. 6. The inspector's and adviser's role overload and role stress could be alleviated by means of delegation of responsibility of authority. 7. The inspector's or adviser's role depends very much on the expectations which he perceived that members of his role-set hold of his role. The most important of these are his immediate superiors: the chief inspector, the director of education and headteachers and teachers. 8. As schools respond to increasing pressures, inspection is changing. Schools are becoming more formal organisations and are resorting to more management systems. Inspectors and advisers are becoming more closely identified with management positions as planners, monitors, evaluators, experimenters and teacher educators. Such radical departures from the roles previously prformed by many inspectors and advisers will require considerable modifications in knowledge and skills. Yet, since inspector's and adviser's aim is the improvement of instructions, present conditions require such a changing role

Resources, unit costs and the curriculum: An analysis of changing priorities in local education authority secondary schools in England.

There are major variations in education provision between areas yet their analysis remains undeveloped. This thesis examines variations in resources and the curriculum in English education in the early 1980s. It argues that these variations are one of the major outcomes of the relationships between actors in the education service established in the post-war era. Despite their importance, the patterns of provision have been subject to little previous systematic empirical assessment. The first part of the thesis develops a framework for analysis of the relationships between actors in education: central government, local authority and school. This framework provides the structure for the empirical analyses which follow. A hierarchical research design is adopted which facilitates the examination of the effect of each level on the distribution of resources and their translation into curricula. Four contrasted case studies were selected for analysis. The results of original surveys are drawn upon to examine the management context. The second part of the thesis presents an original analysis of the impact of changes to the system of central grants to local authorities. National data sources are used to examine in detail the impact of these changes on secondary education expenditure. The focus then shifts to examine the distribution of resources within the four case study areas and their relationship to the socio-economic characteristics of school catchments and 'technical' factors such as size. Having established the patterns of resource distribution, the thesis moves to an original examination of the translation of these resources into curricula. The curriculum profiles of the case study authorities are compared, and, for two areas, changes over time are analysed. In the final section, the thesis examines variations in the curriculum between schools, examining their relationship to school background factors and resource levels

A critical analysis of the teacher evaluation procedure in Indian schools.

Thesis (M.Ed.) - University of Natal, 1991.Generally the evaluation of employees in organisations is one of the most demanding and controversial of all management functions. Therefore, it is incumbent on management to develop a system of evaluation that will at least be acceptable to most of its employees. This study has shown that it is extremely important to include the employees themselves in drawing up the evaluation instrument. Since there is not any one evaluation procedure that has universal application, it is necessary for organisations in general, and more specifically education departments, to review and improve existing procedures to meet prevailing conditions. If management does not follow these basic considerations, then the organisation could face strong negative reaction from employees. The primary objectives of this study therefore were: (1) to make a detailed study of the evaluation procedure used in Indian Schools; (2) to analyse the House of Delegates' evaluation procedure critically and in so doing make a study of evaluation procedures of other education departments; and (3) to consider the views expressed by teachers, principals and superintendents of education on the House of Delegates' evaluation procedure. The major findings that emerged from the study were that: (1) the present evaluation procedure of the House of Delegates was not well received by teachers and principals; (2) any evaluation procedure adopted should be based on an 'open' system, where there is no need for secrecy; and (3) there should be separate evaluation procedures for the purposes of professional development, merit awards and promotion. The main recommendation made in concluding this study was that the House of Delegates, in either developing a new evaluation procedure or amending its present one should, in the future, give consideration to the opinions of all participants in the evaluation process

GREAT BRIT. EDUCATION and SCIENCE - GREAT BRIT. FOREST

OnLine Card Catalogue drawer 0158 (GREAT BRIT. EDUCATION and SCIENCE - GREAT BRIT. FOREST). 1347 cards

Primary science: an analysis of changing policy, policy text and practice

This thesis sets out to examine the extent to which primary science is a complex interplay between educational and political perspectives which in turn has influenced and shaped the way primary schools interpret, reconstruct and implement science in practice. This study uses a policy trajectory to consider the changing conceptions of primary science within the arenas of policy influence, policy text and practice in relation to its curriculum content, related pedagogy and assessment. In addition, it examines the nature and impact of professional development to support the implementation of primary science in practice. Evidence was collected through a series of interviews with elite figures in education, a regional survey of primary schools, along with in-depth cases studies in order to develop a deeper understanding primary science within the policy to practice context. The findings would indicate that despite a succession of top down science education policy reforms, there are still concerns about the extent to which teachers have sufficient science subject knowledge to develop conceptual understanding, a clear idea of the purpose of science investigations and how to use formative asiessment as an effective way of diagnosing pupil understanding. Furthermore, the evidence would suggest that the emphasis placed on summative assessment and accountability has narrowed teachers' conceptions of primary science. The implications are that science policy reform needs to acknowledge existing practice and support a wider definition of science that includes an appreciation of the historical and cultural aspects of science together with an understanding of technological applications. In addition, a more robust infrastructure of professional development needs to be in place which places more emphasis on the science co-ordinator to support teaching and learning in order to provide teachers with access to a changing knowledge base and opportunities to update skills in primary science. Unless these implications are given serious consideration the unrelenting focus on performativity and accountability will prevent any real development of creativity and innovation in the primary science curriculum