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This article analyses the stakeholder model of boards that is widely used in public and third sector institutions in England and Wales. The central tenet of this model is that such institutions should be strategically led by individuals who are representative of and from the groups that have an interest in them. The article focuses in particular on the operation of the stakeholder model of governing bodies of schools in England and Wales where a range of stakeholders including teachers, parents and the community are represented. The issues that arise from this stakeholder model of governing are analysed and the alternatives to it are considered. A significant alternative is the skills-based model, where boards are constituted on the basis of their expertise and not their interest in the institution. This skills-based model is becoming more prominent in the way governing bodies of academy schools in England are constituted and this is certainly the direction of travel outlined in the 2015 regulations. The article reviews the stakeholder model for the governance of schools at a time when there is much interest in the skills-based approach. The wider implications of shifting from a stakeholder to a skills-based model of public board membership are considered.

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.

Debates about governance, across the public sector, including education, continue to generate a substantial literature. The intention of this article is to engage with these debates by reviewing the articles in this special edition. In this review article, we first consider the wider context of the articles by revisiting some of the central debates in the governance literature. We then consider some of the themes that emerge from the articles, which are: the significance of improving school performance and pupil attainment; the dynamic nature of governance and the problematic nature of managing change in school governance; difference and variety; the contested territory of school governing and the conflicting roles and responsibilities; the complexity of school governing especially the complexity wrought by diversity of provision; the complex and demanding capabilities required for, and participation in, governing; micro-macro issues; and joint modes of institutional governance.

A study used a Personal Construct Theory/Repertory Grid approach to examine the work of 12 Welsh primary headteachers. Analysis of thematic work-activity grids suggests principals have a more coherent view of their work (as centered on children and education) than Henry Mintzberg's observational studies portrayed. (Contains 36 references.) (MLH)

The rationale for the principles of effective school governance in England, as set out in government regulations, has never been made explicit. This article addresses that issue and develops and proposes such principles. We argue that effective school governance secures the legitimacy of schools as institutions. Such institutional legitimacy is achieved through the institutionalization processes in which the institutional primary task is central. Effective governance is therefore concerned with overseeing and ensuring the processes of institutionalization. We identify two general principles that relate to ensuring the school's legitimacy and ensuring that the school's institutionalization processes enable it to be a legitimate institution. We also distinguish six specific principles that relate to: the school's work on the institutional primary task, the resources required and deployed for work on the institutional primary task; the school's compliance with the rules and regulations that apply to the institution; the school's conformance to the norms expected of a school; the way the school operates on a day-to-day basis in relation to wider society's expectations; calling the headteacher or principal (HT/P) to account for the functioning of the school; and ensuring the HT/P's development. Our analysis is relevant to school governance in other countries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Educational management and educational leadership are central concepts in understanding organising in educational institutions but their meaning, the difference between them and their value in educational organising remain the subject of debate. In this article, we analyse and contrast the two concepts. We conclude that educational management entails carrying the responsibility for the proper functioning of a system in an educational institution in which others participate. Carrying a responsibility of this kind is a state of mind and does not necessitate actions, though it typically and frequently does. In contrast, educational leadership is the act of influencing others in educational settings to achieve goals and necessitates actions of some kind. When those carrying a delegated responsibility act in relation to that responsibility, they influence and are therefore leading. Although educational leadership is ideally undertaken responsibly, in practice it does not necessarily entail carrying the responsibility for the functioning of the educational system in which the influence is exercised. Through our analysis, the notion of responsibility, which is underplayed in considerations of organising in educational institutions, comes to the fore. Educational responsibility is an important notion and it should play a more prominent role in analyses of organising in educational institutions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article analyses the stakeholder model of boards that is widely used in public and third sector institutions in England and Wales. The central tenet of this model is that such institutions should be strategically led by individuals who are representative of and from the groups that have an interest in them. The article focuses in particular on the operation of the stakeholder model of governing bodies of schools in England and Wales where a range of stakeholders including teachers, parents and the community are represented. The issues that arise from this stakeholder model of governing are analysed and the alternatives to it are considered. A significant alternative is the skills-based model, where boards are constituted on the basis of their expertise and not their interest in the institution. This skills-based model is becoming more prominent in the way governing bodies of academy schools in England are constituted and this is certainly the direction of travel outlined in the 2015 regulations. The article reviews the stakeholder model for the governance of schools at a time when there is much interest in the skills-based approach. The wider implications of shifting from a stakeholder to a skills-based model of public board membership are considered. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

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. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Debates about governance, across the public sector, including education, continue to generate a substantial literature. The intention of this article is to engage with these debates by reviewing the articles in this special edition. In this review article, we first consider the wider context of the articles by revisiting some of the central debates in the governance literature. We then consider some of the themes that emerge from the articles, which are: the significance of improving school performance and pupil attainment; the dynamic nature of governance and the problematic nature of managing change in school governance; difference and variety; the contested territory of school governing and the conflicting roles and responsibilities; the complexity of school governing especially the complexity wrought by diversity of provision; the complex and demanding capabilities required for, and participation in, governing; micro—macro issues; and joint modes of institutional governance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article reports research into the nature and functioning of school governing bodies in different socio-economic and performance contexts. The research analysed 5000 responses from a national questionnaire-based survey and undertook 30 case studies of school governing. The research confirmed that school governing in England is a complex and onerous responsibility that places governing bodies under considerable pressure. The socio-economic and performance contexts can be particularly demanding additional pressures. Governing bodies interact with those contexts in a complex way which we explain using the notions of governance capital and governance agency. Governance capital is the network of individuals and their capabilities, relationships and motivations that are available for the governing of a school. It is likely to be greater for schools that: are well regarded; are in high socio-economic status settings; and have high levels of pupil attainment. These effects may add and mutually reinforce creating an ‘amplifier effect’, which may significantly impact on the governing of a school. Governance agency is the capacity of those involved in the governing of a school to act. It is significant; can ameliorate the effects of low governance capital; and complicates the relationship between governing, performance and socio-economic context. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article analyses the concept of organizational culture and the relationship between the organizational culture and the performance of staff work groups in schools. The article draws upon a study of 12 schools in Wales, UK, which despite being in disadvantaged settings have high levels of pupil attainment. A model is developed linking the organizational culture of the staff group to performance as measured by pupil attainment using the conceptual analysis and the interpretation of the research findings. In the model, organizational culture, as a root metaphor, is defined by the organizing metaphors 'productive', 'strong' and 'highly inclusive'. The absence of substantial subcultures, the head teacher's leadership and reflective practice are important influences on the overall organizational culture and play a part in linking organizational culture and performance. In the model, the organizational culture underpins practices that bear directly on the primary task which is in itself of considerable cultural importance. The primary task has two dimensions. The first is concerned with optimizing current teaching for learning and the second with improving future teaching for learning. A task of this kind, its cultural significance and an organizational culture that underpins work on the task are likely to lead to high performance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The research reported in this paper sought to characterise 18 schools in Wales that had high levels of both pupil attainment and pupil social and economic disadvantage. The findings are compared with established characteristics of effective schools and the substantive differences are interpreted and theorised from a system psychodynamics perspective. The characteristics that were theorised in this way are: the primary task, the authorisation of the work of the schools by their governing bodies and their wider communities, highly inclusive ways of working and the overall approach of the staffs of the schools to their educational work. This overall approach comprised a passionate and committed engagement with teaching and a particular mind-set. The interpretation gives important new theoretical insights into school organising processes, which have widespread applications beyond the UK. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of this article is to make the case for a broader perspective on school leadership and school-environment interrelationships and to develop the concept of systemic leadership for schools and the related notion of systemic authorization. The article explores the background to the concept and relevant aspects of the conceptualization, which are: the primary task, leadership and task-related roles, and the system. We draw on research we have recently completed into the nature of primary schools where the level of student attainment in national test scores is high despite the students experiencing considerable socio-economic disadvantage. The schools we studied sought and received considerable support, validation and valuing from the wider system that provided leadership and authorization for the schools with beneficial outcomes. Importantly, this leadership and authorization was reciprocal in that the schools responded similarly to those in their system. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article provides information on the education of socially disadvantaged children and focuses on the schools for them in Wales, which are running successfully. The characteristics of these schools, which contribute to the high level of academic achievement, are presented. The schools showed a high level of efficiency because they constantly and consistently worked towards the improvement of the overall output of their educational standard.

Those with an interest in public sector institutions increasingly recognize the necessity for those institutions to work collaboratively with each other and with other organizations. In part, this trend is based on the acceptance that many public policy problems are interconnected and can only be meaningfully tackled inter-organizationally. One such policy area is school improvement, which constitutes the central concern of the article and is currently a dominant feature of education policy in Britain. The article conceptualizes the notion of educational collaboration by developing a framework through a review of the relevant literature. The analytical framework makes a paradigmatic distinction between resource dependency and institutional perspectives on collaboration. It recognizes that, although the perspectives interrelate in practice, the interests they serve are distinct and different. The framework acknowledges that individual actors, such as teachers, those in leadership positions in schools, and managers in local authorities may have different purposes for collaboration and disaggregates the antecedents, the process and the successful and unsuccessful outcomes of collaboration. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper describes the experience of one university in quality assuring higher education courses that were to be delivered by E-learning, or blended learning. The form of blended learning relies upon the use of staff from partner institutions who may not have been employed primarily solely to deliver higher education courses, be it by face-to-face or E-delivery. The paper examines approaches to quality assurance, transformation and enhancement used at the university. It describes a four phase, or dimension, model of quality assurance specifically designed to ensure that the quality of the new forms of delivery was as robust and rigorous as that of the more traditional face-to-face delivery methods. Finally, the paper reflects upon the efficacy of the new approach to quality assurance and comments upon the changes that have been provoked by these new approaches to learning and assurance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Within management generally, and education management more specifically, there has been an almost continuous search for the key to effective management development. Generic occupational standards, generated by the Management Charter Initiative (MCI), are claimed to be applicable and transferable to any manager in any organization. Thus, a manager in a school would be expected to meet the same requirements as a manager in any other organization at the same management level. In the education world, both practitioners and theoreticians are sceptical about the competency approach. This article analyses the relevance of the management standards to primary headship by reporting on the experiences of six headteachers seeking NVQ management qualifications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]