Different systems, different identities: school inspectors in England and Sweden a comparative study.

Author(s):

Jacqueline-Aundree Baxter(presenting / submitting)Agneta Hult(presenting)

Conference:

ECER 2013

Network:

11. Educational Improvement and Quality Assurance

Format:

Paper

Session Information

11 SES 12 B, Teaching Professionalism and Inspection of Education

Paper Session

Time:

2013-09-13

09:00-10:30

Room:

D-311

Chair:

Andra Fernate

Contribution

School inspection has formed part of both English and Swedish approaches to governing education for some time now (Maclure, 2000; Segerholm, 2009) But latterly both countries have begun to adopt different approaches to the process, reflected in in the recruitment, training and development of their inspectors. In Sweden the inception of a new inspectorate in 2008 introduced an intensified scheme and a sharper mission, but also a departure from the recruitment of teachers and those with an educational background in a move to recruit individuals with backgrounds in either law or investigation. In England the inception of a New Inspection Framework early in 2012 (Ofsted, 2012a, 2012b) was accompanied by a drive to re-model the inspectorate workforce in aiming to recruit in-service school leaders as part time inspectors (Baxter and Clarke, 2013;Baxter, 2012) Using Jacobsson's theory of governance as a regulative, meditative and inquisitive activity, this paper investigates the effects that these shifts have had on the recruitment and training of inspectors and the shifts have had on the inspection experience .(Hult & Segerholm, 2012; Lindgren et.al., 2012). The research questions within the study are :
-Which competencies are required for school inspectors within both systems, and why?
-How do changes in the both systems affect school leader perceptions of inspection as a governing tool?

Methodology, Methods, Research Instruments or Sources Used
The research draws upon data gained through semi structured qualitative interviews with inspectors, inspector trainers, heads of inspection services and headteachers in both Sweden and England (60 in all) . Using an ideographic case study approach the research uses discourse analytic techniques to draw out elements relating to inspector training and development and perceptions of school leaders on the inspection process. (Marshak & Grant, 2008; Satterthwaite, Atkinson, & Gale, 2003; Van Leeuwen, 2007).

Method

The research draws upon data gained through semi structured qualitative interviews with inspectors, inspector trainers, headteachers and heads of inspection services in both Sweden and England (60 in all) . Using an ideographic case study approach the research uses discourse analytic techniques to draw out elements relating to inspector identities and the challenges facing them within each system. (Marshak & Grant, 2008; Satterthwaite, Atkinson, & Gale, 2003; Van Leeuwen, 2007). In order to examine changes and challenges to inspector identity the work uses a framework for identity analysis (Baxter 2012) to analyse the narratives.

Expected Outcomes

The paper concludes with a discussion into the challenges that these changes represent for inspectors in both systems, examining them in light of the effects on inspection in both countries. This research forms part of an ESRC study which examines inspection as a form of educational governance in Sweden, Scotland and England.

References

References Baxter, J. (2011). An investigation into the role of professional learning on the online teaching identities of Higher Education Lecturers Doctorate in Education The Open University UK, Milton Keynes Baxter, J. (2012). Professional inspector or inspecting professional? Teachers as inspectors in the new regulatory regime in England Forthcoming Baxter, J. and Clarke,J. (2013) Farewell to the tick box inspector ? Oxford Review of Education, 39 (5) Forthcoming Hult, A. & Segerholm, C. (2012). Inspection effects through the eyes of the inspectors: Swedish notions. European Conference of Educational Research (ECER), Cádiz, Spain, September 17-21, 2012: 1-14 Jacobsson, B. (2006). Regulated regulators: Global trends of state transformation. . In M.-L. Djelic & K. Sahlin-Andersson (Eds.), Transnational governance: Institutional dynamics of regulation. Cambridge.: Cambridge University Press. Lindgren, J., Hult, A., Segerholm, C & Rönnberg, L. (2012). Mediating school inspection: Key dimensions and keywords in agency text production 2003-2010 Education Inquiry, 3(4): 569-590 Maclure, S. (2000). The Inspectors' Calling Oxford: Hodder and Stoughton. Marshak, R. J., & Grant, D. (2008). Organizational discourse and new organization development practices. British Journal of Management, 19(s1), S7-S19. Ofsted (Producer). (2012a, 100912). The framework for school inspection : purposes Retrieved from http://www.ofsted.gov.uk/resources/framework-for-school-inspection-september-2012-0 Ofsted. (2012b). School Inspection Handbook September 2012. London Ofsted. Satterthwaite, J., Atkinson, E., & Gale, K. (2003). Discourse, power and resistance: challenging the rhetoric of contemporary education: Trentham Books. Segerholm, C. (2009). ‘We are doing well on QAE’: the case of Sweden. Journal of Education Policy. Vol. 24, No. 2, March 2009, 195–209 Van Leeuwen, T. (2007). Legitimation in discourse and communication. Discourse & Communication, 1(1), 91.

Author Information

Jacqueline-Aundree Baxter (presenting / submitting)

The Open University Uk, United Kingdom

Agneta Hult (presenting)

Umeå University Sweden

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