Richard Riddell draws on his interviews with senior managers in schools, academy chains and the regions during the UK Coalition Government to analyse the changes in education policy during its term. He argues that the developing regional organization for supervising schools in England, with its regional commissioners, provides a far more…

This article emerges from work undertaken with leaders from a local authority who took part in a programme entitled "Advanced Leadership in Integrated Children's Services Environment" or ALICSE programme. The aim of this course was to engage leaders and managers in thinking differently about their roles and to consider how they could…

This study investigated the leadership skills Early Years leaders demonstrated through their daily practice of teaching, assessing and teamwork within their setting. It explored how revealing the potential of Early Years leaders could have a positive impact on the leadership practice of other leaders in the same setting to improve pupil outcomes.…

Much importance is now placed upon the evaluation of outreach interventions by higher education institutions (HEIs). Accompanying this focus are requests that HEIs prepare evaluation plans. Yet, whilst some now have plans in place, others do not. One of the challenges for those preparing such documents is that official guidance is not prescriptive…

Despite Northern Ireland's deeply rooted religious history and the assumption that its citizens' sexual attitudes and behaviours are more reserved than their English counterparts, comprehensive school-based relationships and sexuality education (RSE) has been statutory for primary and post-primary pupils since 2007. The non-biological aspects of…

This article presents research relating to the experiences of union and community-based campaigns that have sought to challenge the establishment of academy and free schools in England. Such schools are removed from local government control and are seen as a defining element of the neoliberal restructuring of public education. The research draws…

This paper explores the construct of pedagogical leadership in action in two case-study schools in England. Both schools investigated had headteachers who were recognized as excellent practitioners who had led their schools from a failing position to being judged as "outstanding" and had successfully sustained and extended this status.…

This article explores the ways in which commercial actors are operating in state education by focusing on the case study of England's academies policy. First of all the discussion outlines the development of academies over time and the way in which the policy has provided opportunities for private actors to become involved in the state schooling…

The further education (FE) sector in England has experienced two decades of marketisation. This article takes as its focus the first five years of incorporation (1993-1998) for one case study college in a city ("Coppleton") in the West Midlands of England, five years that were dominated by a contract dispute. Data from interviews with…

The article explores the organisational impact of evaluation and control mechanisms on universities from the point of view of accountability. Three case studies are analysed with the aim of understanding the significance of these systems both at corporate governance level and in relation to their influence on the behaviour of the academic staff.…

This paper examines the expansion of the OECD's Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) and associated growth in the influence of the OECD's education work. PISA has become one of the OECD's most successful "products" and has both strengthened the role of the Directorate for Education within the organization and enhanced…

Financial management in primary schools has changed in the UK with the introduction of the Schools Financial Value Standard (SFVS). There is increasing delegation of financial responsibility to the management team in the school, increasing the role of the head teacher and the governing body as part of overall responsibility for the strategic…

School leaders face potential conflicts between the demands of national and local education policy and the values and ethics that brought them into teaching and subsequently into school leadership. This article asks whether head teachers' values are changed by the policy context, and looks at incidents in head teachers' professional lives that…

The principle of schools collaborating to improve is one that has seen growing interest in recent years, and there is emerging evidence that in particular collaboration between high and lower performing schools can be an effective school improvement method. However, this evidence relates primarily to secondary schools, and little research has been…

Student-centred learning has gradually come to the foreground of the Bologna Process. In parallel, learning outcomes have been advocated as key degree descriptors, illustrative of student-centred approaches. This paper examines learning outcomes in their diverse understandings and enactment in three European countries--England, Portugal and…