Session Information
23 SES 07.5 B, Representing The ‘Evidence’ Of Educational Reform: School Portraits From England, Australia, Italy And Poland (Part 2)
Symposium, continued from Session 23 SES 07 B
Time:
2009-09-29
17:15-18:45
Room:
HG, HS 7
Chair:
Ken Jones
Contribution
The paper draws on two case studies conducted with the portraiture methodological approach and focuses on the way two headteachers deal with the impact of the Italian education reform. Teresa and Margherita are experienced headteachers from two large primary schools facing the struggles of institutional and social change. Teresa works in Bergamo, a historic provincial town situated in the Milan area, Margherita in the suburbs of Rome. They have different professional histories -developed in very different areas of Italy- and are interesting witnesses on “how things are going” in the Italian education system. In recent years both their schools have been challenged by the profound shifts occurring in their operational landscape. The ups and downs of governments have resulted in a mass of new, often contradictory, policies being continuously introduced. In the meantime significant demographic change has occurred, with immigration suddenly becoming an important issue. The school portraits presented here are depicted from the angle of Teresa’s and Margherita’s experience of leading their schools – what they do and how they do it, what they think and figure out about education, how they interact with the key players in their schools and are seen and perceived by them.The analysis provides evidence of how the dynamic processes of policy enactment transform practices and shape the way educational actors think of themselves and of their role and how they adapt their imagination to the shifting settings, while, at the same time, trying to defend their professional values.
Method
Expected Outcomes
References
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