Creating Cultures of Equity and High Expectations in a Low-Performing School

The literature on successful schools has revealed that a school culture of high expectations is beneficial for student achievement and that leaders may exercise significant influence on their school’s success trajectory. However, less information is known about how leaders at different levels interact to build such cultures in local schools or how standards of professional work and new demands interact to support teachers’ com-mitment to quality education for a diverse student population. This study aimed to examine the interplay between district and school leadership in creating cultures of equity and high expectations for all students in a Norwegian low-performing school. Methods included interviews with the principal and the superin-tendent, focus group interviews with deputies, teachers and students, and a survey among all students in grade 10 at the selected school. The study demonstrated how leading teachers’ effort to raise academic and social standards among students was a complex endeavour and how a productive interplay between district level leadership and school-level leadership became one of the key enabling factors. A main argument is that promoting quality education for all begins with the question of purpose and requires understanding how principals’ and teachers’ work is embedded in broader social structures of power

...for dette er nye arbeidsredskaper for oss og...

Master's thesis in Special educationArbeidsplaner har etter hvert fått en stor plass i skolen og brukes som et verktøy til tilpasset opplæring. Denne studien fokuserer på bruk av arbeidsplaner sett ut i fra et foreldrenes perspektiv og som en side av skole-hjem samarbeidet. Formålet er å få et innblikk i foreldrenes erfaringer med elevens bruk av arbeidsplaner. Følgende problemstilling formuleres: Hvilke erfaringer har foreldrene med elevens bruk av arbeidsplaner. For å spisse problemstillingen vektlegges 5 underspørsmål. 1) Hvilke erfaringer har foreldrene med kommunikasjonen mellom skole og hjem? 2) Hvordan påvirker arbeidsplanen samarbeidet mellom skole og hjem? 3) Hvordan opplever foreldrene at eleven arbeider med arbeidsplanen? 4) På hvilken måte påvirker bruk av arbeidsplaner kommunikasjonen mellom foreldre og elev? 5) Hva skjer med foreldrerollen? Teoretisk knyttes oppgaven opp mot Habermas, J teori om kommunikative handlinger/makt. (Habermas 1997:209) Studien gjennomføres som en kvalitativ studie hvor semistrukturert samtaleintervju nyttes for å hente erfaringsmateriale. Utvalget består av 4 informanter, foreldre til barn i 8. trinn Gjennom arbeidsplanen får foreldrene mer informasjon, men innføring av arbeidsplaner ved denne skolen ser ikke ut til å medføre mer dialog mellom skole og hjem. Det kan tolkes som at det meste av informasjonen er ensrettet fra skole til hjemmet. Elevens arbeidsmåter endres , men det fremkommer ikke i denne studien at det har ført til at skole-hjem samarbeidet endres. Manglende felles forståelse av hvordan arbeidsplanen brukes ser ut til å gjøre det vanskelig for foreldrene å ta del i elevenes opplæring. Arbeidsplanen vurderes til å være styrende for elevens skolehverdag, men foreldrene har ulike syn på i hvilken grad den kan være styrende for utbyttet til eleven. Foreldrene i denne studien opplever at elevene arbeider med arbeidsplanen ut i fra hva de ”må” gjøre. Variasjoner i hva eleven opplever at han ”må” har betydning for arbeidsmengden. Arbeidet fremstår dermed som instrumentelt. .Foreldrene opplever det som positivt for elevene at elevene får innflytelse over eget arbeid og mulighet til å organisere noe av sin egen skolehverdag. Samtidig ser det i denne studien ut til at bruk av arbeidsplaner fører til at noen elever gjør seg ferdig med arbeidet på skolen. Når eleven ikke tar med arbeid hjem mister foreldrene en mulighet til innsyn i elevens skolehverdag. Det blir vanskeligere for dem å følge med i elevens opplæring og foreldrenes rolle blir uklar

What needs to happen for school autonomy to be mobilised to create more equitable public schools and systems of education?

The series of responses in this article were gathered as part of an online mini conference held in September 2021 that sought to explore different ideas and articulations of school autonomy reform across the world (Australia, Canada, England, Ireland, the USA, Norway, Sweden and New Zealand). It centred upon an important question: what needs to happen for school autonomy to be mobilised to create more equitable public schools and systems of education? There was consensus across the group that school autonomy reform creates further inequities at school and system levels when driven by the logics of marketisation, competition, economic efficiency and public accountability. Against the backdrop of these themes, the conference generated discussion and debate where provocations and points of agreement and disagreement about issues of social justice and the mobilisation of school autonomy reform were raised. As an important output of this discussion, we asked participants to write a short response to the guiding conference question. The following are these responses which range from philosophical considerations, systems and governance perspectives, national particularities and teacher and principal perspectives

Framing research on school principals' identities

This paper provides a basis for a tentative framework for guiding future research into principals’ identity construction and development. It is situated in the context of persisting emphases placed by government policies on the need for technocratic competencies in principals as a means of demonstrating success defined largely as compliance with demands for the improvement in student test scores. Often this emphasis is at the expense of forwarding a broader view of the need, alongside these, for clear educational values, beliefs and practices that are associated with these. The framework is informed by the theoretical work of Wenger and Bourdieu as well as recent empirical research on the part played by professional identity and emotions in school leadership. In the paper, we highlight different lines of inquiry and the issues they raise for researchers. We argue that the constructions of school leadership identities are located in time, space and place, and emotions reflect complex leadership identities situated within social hierarchies which are part of wider structures and social relations of power and control

Images of Norwegian Educational Leadership – Historical and Current Distinctions

This chapter aims to situate cultural and moral dimensions of Norwegian educational leadership within the broader social and political environment and in relation to political-ideological transformations that have taken place during the last 70 years. The analysis draws on historical and contemporary research on education policy and leadership. I start by drawing attention to some aspects of the ideology and history of Norwegian education to demonstrate the historical, political and cultural embeddedness of the education system. Purposes, curricula and moral foundation will be highlighted, and this analysis will be followed by a presentation of key principles for organising and leading schools today. I will use findings from three comparative research studies among school leaders to illustrate and discuss changes in conceptualizing educational leadership over time, and why. These findings indicate which conditions there are in Norway for adoption of theories of school leadership and governance that have been circulating internationally in research network. Finally, I will discuss how the cultural dimensions and key principles for organising and leading schools intersect with current globalised policy trends, and where there is likely to be tensions between these global trends and the political, cultural and historical imperatives of educational leadership and schooling

Kvalifisering som skoleleder i en norsk kontekst: Et historisk tilbakeblikk og perspektiver på utdanning av skoleledere

Denne artikkelen har en dobbel målsetting. For det første er målet å gi et kort historisk tilbakeblikk over hva som har vært gjennomført av skoleleder-opplæring i norsk regi i løpet av de siste 50 årene, da det gir en mulighet til å vise endringer som har skjedd over tid. For det andre er målet å drøfte dagens krav til kvalifisering av skoleledere i et internasjonalt perspektiv. Analysen av det historiske tilbakeblikket i en norsk kontekst bygger på dokumentanalyser og programevalueringer som har vært gjennomført av de ulike programmene siden 1960-tallet. Drøftingen av forholdet mellom utdanningspolitikk og kunnskapsgrunnlag har fokus på hva slags kunnskap som er i bruk og hvorfor, og er inspirert av Gunters kategorisering av skoleledelse som forskningsfelt. I tillegg er internasjonale “handbooks” om utvikling av skoleledere viktige referanser. Den historiske oversikten basert på erfaringer i Norge, gir et bilde av hva slags kompetanse man har hatt som intensjon å utvikle, og hvilke innholds-elementer som har vært vurdert som viktige til ulike tider. Analysen viser at utdanningsprogrammene i hovedsak henter teorigrunnlaget fra generell ledelsesteori og effektstudier, og i økende grad er den nasjonalt baserte utdanningspolitikken blitt påvirket av en internasjonal diskurs om kvalitet i skolen hvor OECD i stor grad setter agendaen og legger premissene for utvikling av skoleledelse og praksis i skolen.Nøkkelord: skolelederutdanning, utdanningspolitiske endringer, internasjonal kvalitetsdiskurs, skoleledelse som forskningsfeltAbstractThis article has a double objective. Firstly, it aims to give a brief historical review of how school leadership development has been enacted in a Norwegian context during the last 50 years. Secondly, it aims to examine and discuss today’s requirements of qualifications for school leadership in an international perspective. Policy documents focusing on school leadership development and external evaluations of the different development programs which have been offered to Norwegian school leaders since the 1960s serve as a departure for the analysis. The discussion of the relationship between educational policy and its knowledge base has a specific focus on what type of knowledge is used and why, and is inspired by Gunter’s conceptual framework of an intellectual history of school leadership research. In addition, international handbooks on the preparation and development of school leaders are key references. By applying a historical lens the analysis provides an image of the kinds of competencies that have been considered important over time. The findings show that the national programs for developing school leaders mainly draw upon general leadership theory and school effectiveness research, and increasingly they have become influenced by the international educational discourse about quality in school in which OECD has become a prominent agent in setting the agenda for improving school leadership and school practices.Keywords: school leadership development, changes in educational policy, international quality discourse, theory traditions within leadership researc

Leading education beyond what works

Currently, the issue of inequality is one of the most pressing concerns in education and educational research. Factor such as increased socio-economic inequality, movement of people across national boundaries, and refugees, creates major challenges for local communities and schools. Therefore, it is crucial to ensure that teaching and leadership are informed by the best available knowledge to meet these challenges. This article, which is based on research on successful school leadership and school reforms, aims to explore what type of knowledge is used and given priority, when politicians and administrators make decisions about improving education. The article also discusses what we need to know to address equity-relevant progress and improvement. In the analysis the role the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) has in setting the agenda in educational research is problematized and methodological shortcomings within research traditions focusing on successful school leadership are mentioned. A main argument is that our thinking about educational leadership must be complemented and informed by research which focuses on recent changes in the political economy which have challenged public education severely. To lead education beyond the agenda of what works we need different approaches to research, including critical studies addressing the power structures

Creating Cultures of Equity and High Expectations in a Low-Performing School: Interplay Between District and School Leadership

The literature on successful schools has revealed that a school culture of high expectations is beneficial for student achievement and that leaders may exercise significant influence on their school’s success trajectory. However, less information is known about how leaders at different levels interact to build such cultures in local schools or how standards of professional work and new demands interact to support teachers’ com-mitment to quality education for a diverse student population. This study aimed to examine the interplay between district and school leadership in creating cultures of equity and high expectations for all students in a Norwegian low-performing school. Methods included interviews with the principal and the superin-tendent, focus group interviews with deputies, teachers and students, and a survey among all students in grade 10 at the selected school. The study demonstrated how leading teachers’ effort to raise academic and social standards among students was a complex endeavour and how a productive interplay between district level leadership and school-level leadership became one of the key enabling factors. A main argument is that promoting quality education for all begins with the question of purpose and requires understanding how principals’ and teachers’ work is embedded in broader social structures of power

Legal Standards and Professional Judgment in Educational Leadership - LEXEL, 2015

"Legal Standards and Professional Judgment in Educational Leadership - LEXEL, 2015" examined how leaders at various levels in the education system interpret and enforce legislation when they are working with adapted education, the students' psychosocial environment and special education. The project addressed key aspects of the legalization of the education system and the increased importance legal standards have gained through national supervision. The study was organized into three subprojects aimed at: a) identifying guides and tools designed to help local level in the interpretation of legal standards; B) explore how legal standards are transformed into professional action locally; C) explore the implementation of national supervision in light of the rules of law