The problematic nature of linear models of teacher performance management in schools as complex, evolving, loosely linking systems (CELLS).

Author(s):

Melissa Hawkins(presenting / submitting)Chris James(presenting)

Conference:

ECER 2017

Network:

32. Organizational Education

Format:

Paper

Session Information

32 SES 08 A, Organization as Threat to Professional Identity

Paper Session

Time:

2017-08-24

09:00-10:30

Room:

K3.18

Chair:

Mariagrazia Riva

Contribution

Theoretical framework

Two dichotomous perspectives on organisations such as schools can be identified.

The first perspective is that organisations can be easily separated into their component parts and that these disaggregated parts can be measured and controlled, and the nature of the interactions between them easily understood.

The other standpoint is that organisations such as schools are complex and therefore cannot be so easily reduced to their constituent parts. Therefore measuring, controlling, and understanding inter-relationships between the constituent parts is very difficult (Boulton et al., 2015; Stacey and Mowles, 2015).

Our starting point is the latter view and it has led us to develop a perspective on schools as complex, evolving, loosely linking systems (CELLS) (Hawkins and James, 2016a; 2016b). The CELLS perspective accepts as axiomatic that schools as institutions are made up of multiple autonomous agents, such as staff members, pupils, parents, who are linked to, and interact with, each other in different ways. This interaction within and between the systems which constitute the whole-school system impacts significantly on system evolution (Hawkins and James, 2016a; 2016b).

The nature of schools as CELLS has implications for their organisation and how education policies are made, interpreted and implemented. Arguably, the most problematic challenges facing education policymakers and those responsible for the organisation of schools on a daily basis relate to managing the performance of those who work in them.

The performance management (PM) of teachers has a long history (Bartlett, 2000) and in England teacher PM in various forms has existed for over 30 years (James and Mackenzie, 1986). PM, which is sometimes referred to as appraisal, is: “the evaluation of teachers to make a judgement and/or provide feedback about their competencies and performance” (OECD, 2013, p.321). The PM process holds teachers to account for their practice and typically also aims to support teachers’ development/career advancement. National teacher PM processes/policies vary but PM’s role in holding teachers to account is increasing in countries in Europe and further afield (OECD, 2013).

Typically, PM systems are linear in nature and founded on a cause and effect rationale. That is, a particular change will have a predictable outcome to which it is directly related. Further, the scale of a change relates directly and in a linear way to the scale of the outcome. However, complex institutions such as schools are essentially non-linear in nature. Further identifying cause and effect relationships can be very difficult and indeed a change implemented to improve matters may have the opposite effect to the one intended. (Stacey and Mowles, 2015; Snowden and Boone 2007; Goldspink, 2000). Thus, the way teacher PM systems are currently constructed would appear to be inappropriate for the organisational context in which they are to be implemented.

Despite these challenges, schools in England and in many European countries are required to implement PM systems. It was to explore how schools implemented national teacher PM policies in the complex setting of the school that the research we report here was carried out.

Research questions:

How do members of staff in a school experience the complexity of their working environment?
What are the problematics of implementing performance management policies in schools given the nature of schools as complex, evolving, loosely linking systems?

Objective of research:

To analyse:

how the complex nature of schools is experienced by the members of school staff
the problematics of implementing performance management policies in schools given the nature of schools as complex, evolving, loosely linking systems

Method

Research into complex systems assumes an evolutionary as opposed to a mechanistic world-view and the context and historicity of individual systems need to be considered for deeper understanding to develop (Byrne and Callaghan, 2014, Boulton et al., 2015). Reductionist research methods are not appropriate in complex contexts as the system can only be understood by exploring the interaction between the parts and the whole (Morin, 1992). Therefore, case studies, where non-linearity is acknowledged as affecting outcomes and interpretations of events (Noblit and Hare, 1988), were used in this research. Case studies created the opportunity for understanding both the whole and parts of individual school systems, and their place in the wider system through comparison of cases (Byrne and Callaghan, 2014). Three schools in England were used as case studies: a free school; an academy; and a state voluntary controlled school (DfE, 2017). Data collection included documentary evidence of the approach taken to teacher PM in each school, in order to analyze underlying assumptions of the PM system. A series of interviews were held throughout the academic year 2016-2107 with members of senior management, teaching staff, and those responsible of organizational aspects of school. Rich data was collected by conducting active interviews, which became conversations whereby meaning was actively constructed as a result of complex interaction between interviewer and participant (Holstein and Gubrium, 1995). This approach meant that sense-making was assumed as an important part of the research process. Teachers were enabled to explicitly consider and communicate their perceptions of the reality of working in their schools. They therefore actively constructed new understanding and meaning for both themselves and for the research (Noblit and Hare, 1988). Data was analyzed using Noblit and Hare’s (1988) meta-ethnographic method, whereby the discussions and documentary evidence were first analyzed to discover the key concepts, and themes, which were then compared and synthesized. By using the meta-ethnographic method, importance is placed upon creating translations of findings into concepts which are understandable and can be used as a form of sense-making by the intended audience (Noblit and Hare,1988). As meta-ethnography is a qualitative and interpretive method, the complexity of the context of cases can be retained whilst at the same time an overall ‘line of argument’ and middle-range theory can be developed from comparison and translation of cases (Britten et al, 2002; Noblit and Hare,1988).

Expected Outcomes

The expected outcomes of the case studies will provide insight into teachers’ experiences of working in complex environments, and the problematics of creating models of PM for schools as CELLS. The empirical evidence collected so far has highlighted some of the many challenges teachers face when working in the complex environment of the school. Discussions reveal that inherent system uncertainty and complexity of interactions make it difficult to ascertain how best to manage schools and teachers. Remaining discussions to be completed by July 2017 will focus more specifically on teachers’ perceptions of PM, and any challenges experienced when implementing the policy. Active interviews carried out to-date have resulted in individual and context specific conversations; each teacher seems to perceive different problematics working in a complex environment. Therefore, the importance of context and historicity of each case study will need to be fully acknowledged, as it is through the use of complexity as a theoretical framework (Boulton et al, 2015). In addition, this research into complex systems is not considered a normative venture (Gell-Mann, 1994, Gell-Mann, 1995) but instead is intended as an avenue of making sense of the problematics of working in complex organizations. This process can help guide individuals when considering what future action to take in the context they are working in. Due to the sample consisting of different school models; academy, state voluntary controlled and free, it is hoped that this research will be of interest to various stakeholders in education, and transcend different contexts and countries. Although data collection will be carried out in schools in England, the concept of schools as CELLs could be applied to any school when considering the problematics of working in, and managing, complex environments.

References

Bartlett (2000) The development of teacher appraisal: A recent history. British Journal of Educational Studies, 48(1), pp. 24-37. Boulton, J., Allen, P. and Bowman, C. (2015) Embracing Complexity: Strategic Perspectives for an Age of Turbulence. Oxford: Oxford University Press. Britten, N., Campbell, R., Pope, C., Donovan, J., Morgan, M. and Pill, R. (2002) Using meta ethnography to synthesise qualitative research: a worked example. Journal of health services research & policy, 7(4), pp.209-215. Byrne, D. and Callaghan, G. (2014) Complexity theory and the social sciences : the state of the art. London: Routledge. DfE. (2017) Types of School. Available from: https://www.gov.uk/types-of-school/overview (Accessed 11 January 2017). Gell-Mann, M. (1994) Complex adaptive systems. In: Meltzer, D., Pines, D. and Cowan, G.A. (2000) Complexity: Metaphors, Models, and Reality. USA: Addison-Wesley, pp.17-45. Gell-Mann, M. (1995) The quark and the jaguar : adventures in the simple and the complex. London: Abacus. Goldspink, C. (2000) Contrasting linear and nonlinear perspectives in contemporary social research, Emergence, 2(2), pp. 72-101. James, C. R., and Mackenzie, C. A. (1986) Staff appraisal in the South Midlands and the South West of England - a survey of development during 1985. Educational Management and Administration, 14 (3), pp. 197 - 202. Hawkins, M. and James, C. (2016a) Theorising schools as organisations: Isn’t it all about complexity?, AERA Annual Meeting, Washington D.C., 7th - 14th April 2016. Bath: University of Bath. Hawkins, M and James, C. (2016b) Understanding Leadership in Schools: A Complex, Evolving, Loosely Linking Systems (CELLS) Perspective, UCEA Annual Convention, Detroit MI., 17th -20th November 2016. Bath: University of Bath. Holstein, J. A. and Gubrium, J. F. (1995) The active interview: Qualitative research methods series 37. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publication. Morin, E. (1992) 'From the concept of system to the paradigm of complexity', Journal of Social and Evolutionary Systems, 15(4), pp. 371-385. Noblit, G. and Hare, R. (1988) Meta-Ethnography: Synthesizing qualitative studies. Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE Publications. OECD (2013) OECD reviews of evaluation and assessment in education: Synergies for better learning: An international perspective on evaluation and assessment. Available from: http://dx.doi.org/10.1787/9789264190658-en (Accessed 11 January 2017). Snowden , D., and Boone, M. (2007) A Leader's Framework for Decision Making, Harvard Business Review, 85(11), pp. 68-76. Stacey, R. and Mowles, C. (2015) Strategic management and organisational dynamics: The challenge of complexity to ways of thinking about organisations. 7th edn. London: Pearson Education.

Author Information

Melissa Hawkins (presenting / submitting)

University of Bath

Education

Frome

Chris James (presenting)

University of Bath, United Kingdom

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