The role of the chair of the school governing body in England

The research reported here analysed the role of the chair of the school governing body in England, drawing on a national survey of governors and the study of governing in 30 schools. The role encompassed: being a governor; appointing and working with the head teacher; acting as a change agent; active participation in the school; organising the governing body; dealing with complaints; working with parents; and chairing meetings. We discuss the role and the way it is experienced and conclude that the position of chair is substantially under-played; given insufficient status; and is a significant educational and community leadership responsibility.17 page(s

International perspectives on school governing under pressure

School governing is an important part of the governance of education systems around the world. Governing and governance are complex matters. Governance involves a range of bodies including non-state actors working in combination (Kooiman, 2003) and therefore, as Rhodes (1997) asserts governance more than government. Viewed in this way, governance is conceptualized as a network, which is the sets of formal and informal institutional linkages between governmental and other actors that are structured around shared interests in public policymaking and implementation (Rhodes, 2007)

A comparison of the governing of primary and secondary schools in England

In England, governing bodies continue to be responsible for the conduct of publicly funded schools. This article compares the governing of publicly funded primary schools (for 5–11 year olds) and secondary schools (for 11–18 year olds). The research analysed policy documents and the governing of 16 primary and 14 secondary schools. The main governance mode for both primary schools and secondary schools is hierarchical and similar in nature, and the governing bodies of primary and secondary schools use broadly similar governing instruments. However, they differ in significant ways. In primary schools, governing is smaller in scale and less complex. Primary school governing is closer to the school and children, and the images held by governors of the system to be governed are better developed in primary schools. Functional knowledge was more useful in primary school governing, and the use of informal meetings as instruments of governance was more widespread in primary school governing. The findings and their implications need to be taken into account in the analysis of and policy making for school governing