Objectives

This symposium reports the key findings of an ESRC-RGC (Hong Kong) funded bilateral research project on how successful secondary schools (as measured by pupil progress and attainment outcomes and national inspection judgement results) in England and Hong Kong use government policies as a means of furthering their own improvement agendas.

Research Questions

1)            How have school leaders at all levels successfully maintained a strategic and operational focus on the leadership of learning and teaching whilst managing wider structural and cultural reform agendas?

2)            How do school leaders at all levels, and teachers across different contexts, respond to government systemic reforms in order to sustain standards for all whilst sustaining their educational values?

3)            In relation to 1)-2) above, what are the similarities and differences between schools within and between each country?

Conceptual Framework

This symposium is about secondary schools – in different countries and different socioeconomic contexts and led by principals with different leadership experiences but similar strongly held moral purposes and principles of social justice – that effectively respond to and enact government policies for the improvement of teaching and learning and pupil outcomes. In other words, these principals ensure that the policies serve their longer term, broad educational values. As yet, little has been written about how schools, especially ‘successful’ schools, use, rather than simply implement, government policies as a means of furthering their own improvement agendas. Evidence presented in this book builds upon but significantly extends Ball et al.’s (2011) work on policy enactment in schools. In contrast to their work in so-called, ‘normal’ schools, we argue, with evidence, that in successful schools, policies are conceptualised as ‘opportunities’ and resources that leaders skilfully weave into the processes of school improvement to create an educationally equitable and values-based ‘landscape of success’.

Research Overivew

This 20-month project was built upon two recently completed three-year research projects which investigated the impact of school leadership on the improvement of pupils’ academic and social outcomes in the wider educational reform contexts in Hong Kong and England respectively (Day et al., 2011; Walker, 2011). By using a longitudinal, mixed methods design to investigate the interface of reform at macro (country), meso (school) and micro (classroom) levels, this research investigated how government reforms (mandatory and non-mandatory) are received and mediated by principals, senior and middle leaders in improved and effective schools serving communities of contrasting socio-economic advantage. The ability to sustain and increase success over longer periods is an indicator that responses to reform have become integrated in the school’s work and culture. The research shows how such continued success is closely linked with the heads’ values and their application of combinations of strategies within and across identifiable school development phases.

Scholarly Significance

The symposium will synthesise the theory and practice about the nature of the interface between government-led reforms and schools through the mediation of school leaders and teachers. It will bring together new empirical research and practice informed knowledge about the ways mandated models of change and reform intentions at system level are influenced, positively and negatively, by the values and actions of leaders and teachers. The papers will  provide unique illustrations of different scenarios in which schools judged to be successful in different socio-economic, cultural and national reform contexts continue to build, broaden and deepen their organisational, social and intellectual capacity for the improvement of quality and standards in schools despite and because of externally generated reforms.

Ball, S. J., Maguire, M., & Braun, A. (2012). How schools do policy: Policy enactments in secondary schools. Oxon, London: Routledge. Day, C., Sammons, P., Leithwood, K., Hopkins, D., Gu, Q., Brown, E. and Ahtaridou, E. (2011). Successful School Leadership: Linking with Learning and Achievement. Milton Keynes: Open University Press. Elmore, R. F. (2004). School Reform from the Inside out: Policy, Practice, and Performance. Cambridge, Mass: Harvard Education Press. Fullan, M. (2009). What’s Worth Fighting for in the Principalship (2nd Edition). New York: Teachers College Press; Toronto: Ontario Principals’ Council. Gu, Q., Day, C. and Walker, A. (2014). Reshaping Educational Practice for Improvement in Hong Kong and England: How Schools Mediate Government Reforms. ESRC Final Report. Walker, A. (2011). School Leadership as Connective Activity. Australia: Australian Council for Educational Leaders.