Papers by Linda Hammersley-Fletcher
Professional Development in Education
Educational Management Administration & Leadership, 2006
Struggling-for-Social/Schostak-Clarke-Hammersley-Fletcher/p/book/9781138492981 Research at York S... more Struggling-for-Social/Schostak-Clarke-Hammersley-Fletcher/p/book/9781138492981 Research at York St John (RaY) is an institutional repository. It supports the principles of open access by making the research outputs of the University available in digital form.
Management in Education, Apr 1, 2011
Educational performance has become a global focus of attention in the attempt to demonstrate a co... more Educational performance has become a global focus of attention in the attempt to demonstrate a competitive edge (Ball, 2007; Bottery, 2000) leading to a drive for greater accountability and control over teachers work (Ball, 2007). A recent policy development in England, ‘Workforce Remodelling’ (DfES, 2003), has impacted upon the role of the ‘teaching assistant’ in ways that potentially significantly shift understandings of acceptable ways of utilising such staff. We argue that schools are now placed in the position where pragmatic solutions to address staffing needs are in tension with a more moral form of accountability about how such staff are utilised and paid. We draw upon questionnaire data gathered from 200 English primary school teaching assistants and interviews with eight primary school head teachers and ask whether the educational drivers and values that risk reducing teaching to a technocratic exercise indicate that we have forgotten what education is all about. Moreover, this article highlights the need for further research that explores the ways in which the educational moral and ethical positioning of school leaders may or may not influence their decision-making.
Journal of Educational Administration and History, Nov 1, 2009
Neoliberal agendas have acted to limit the agency of groups and of individuals through both the i... more Neoliberal agendas have acted to limit the agency of groups and of individuals through both the imposition of boundaries and through setting up rigorous systems of accountability which together act to codify behaviours. Such systems do not so much remove freedom as influence conceptions about the alternatives available. 1 In this article we outline the English educational policy context and the pressures placed upon first primary schools and then Higher Education establishments, considering the extent to which accountability and an emphasis on the needs of the individual impact on leadership behaviours in schools and upon academic freedoms in Higher Education. Boundaries to individual or group agency are explored drawing together lessons about the limits on professionals in these two situations. Hammersley-Fletcher, L. and Qualter A. (2010) "Chasing improved pupil performance: the impact of policy change on school educators' perceptions of their professional identity, the case of further change in English schools"
Educational Management Administration & Leadership, Sep 24, 2013
This article considers the experiences and perceptions of practising English headteachers and the... more This article considers the experiences and perceptions of practising English headteachers and the tensions that they face when juggling government prescription and government initiatives, which may be antagonistic to their educational values and beliefs. Managerial control over teachers work has been particularly acute and destructive to 'human flourishing'. Headteachers have a moral and ethical responsibility for the welfare and education of pupils. Such professional ethics oblige the professional to seek the good of the pupil and therefore good is viewed as intrinsic to the work of an educator. Thus headteachers are directly involved in negotiating between sometimes contradictory imperatives and drivers. How then does the headteacher cope with what Colley refers to as 'situated ethics work'? This article presents data derived from written responses from 10 headteachers that begin to open up this question. I argue that it is not uncommon for people to weaken in their values-driven stance when under great pressure. It is however important to recognize the extent to which educational values are constrained by neo-liberal value-based market agendas in order to continually question and re-evaluate what is happening within education rearticulating this for the benefit of pupils.
School Leadership & Management, Feb 1, 2005
Styles of leadership which encourage leaders to share responsibilities and authority have been th... more Styles of leadership which encourage leaders to share responsibilities and authority have been the subject of much recent interest. Initiatives, such as that for encouraging distributed models of leadership, are attracting much attention. Within this movement the head teacher is encouraged to work with staff, utilizing their expertise and initiative in a way which benefits the school as a whole. This article reports research commissioned by the National College for School Leadership and looks at the issues of leadership involved in the primary school sector. Interview data collected from head teachers and subject leaders is reported and consideration is given to the realities of being a primary school leader. The authors will suggest that many of the arguments supporting more distributed patterns of leadership are desirable but that a number of developments need to be considered if this goal is to be realized.
Routledge eBooks, Aug 17, 2017
In this chapter I explore the responsibilities and performances of educational leaders against a ... more In this chapter I explore the responsibilities and performances of educational leaders against a backdrop where English education has been undergoing a reconceptualisation that renders political ideas, creativity and a ‘living’ curriculum a dangerous and indefensible ‘other’ that must be stopped at all costs. Such an approach to education produces a paucity of thought that is reductive and anti-inspirational, leaving individuals feeling isolated and vulnerable. Utilising the lens of ‘figured worlds’ (Holland et al., 1998; Urrieta, 2007), I examine the voices of educational leaders from schools and higher education to consider how educational-leadership identity is framed by diverse competing pressures. I assert that severe accountability agendas place educational leaders in an unenviable position whereby they face huge tensions in conceptualising ways of working which attempt to negate risks of compromise to their core educational beliefs, whilst simultaneously addressing their educational masters’ needs, particularly where their perspectives of educational practice are tightly bound to professional identity (Cribb, 2009). This leads educational leaders to experience uncomfortable compromises, a loss of stability, shifts in identity and rising levels of stress (Lewis, 2004), with implications for both educational experience and staff wellbeing. I thus raise questions about educational practices that are being ‘taken for granted’ and challenge educators to resist the loss of what Freire (1985) describes as critical consciousness.
School Leadership & Management, 2005
Oxford Review of Education, Oct 4, 2020
Countries regarded as holding high levels of educational autonomy face a different set of constra... more Countries regarded as holding high levels of educational autonomy face a different set of constraints to that of countries with low levels of autonomy, these constraints being linked to the marketisation of schools. As schools become decentralised and given greater autonomy, school leaders are steered by a responsibilising framework that includes bureaucratic regulation, the discourses and practices of competitive enterprise, and external public accountability measures (Gobby, Keddie, & Blackmore, 2018; Wermke & Forsberg, 2017). This paper contrasts data gathered from school teachers and senior leaders from one high autonomy, high accountability context, England, with one low autonomy, low accountability context, Turkey. Through a process of semi-structured interviews with teachers and senior leaders, we investigated approaches to managing change. Responses revealed differences between countries with very different systems of accountability and the degree of autonomy available to staff. We also found that there were significant similarities in terms of the attitudes and pressures experienced by teachers and senior leaders that raise questions for our understandings and application of notions of teacher autonomy and accountability.
Power and Education, 2009
The discourse of power and agency in higher education (HE) is strongly linked to political notion... more The discourse of power and agency in higher education (HE) is strongly linked to political notions of autonomy and 'academic freedom'. Recently, however, such notions have been impacted by sustained and ongoing sector-wide reform. With various checks and balances of accountability, surveillance and new forms of regulation, this has led to a reformulation of the academic habitus, creating turbulent sites of struggle and contestation. The intrusion of new targets and technologies has in turn challenged the intellectual freedoms of academics, promoting new vistas of empowerment and constraint. Changing academic identities and social and pedagogical relations have produced somewhat 'ambivalent articulations', in Morley's words, around the future relationship of teaching, research and administration in HE. In this article, we draw attention to some of these pressures in a case study of a post-1992 university where, in spite of more recent calls for it to succeed, research has traditionally emerged a poor second to the delivery of taught programmes. The article discusses the attitudes of academics towards the context of changing values and conditions and further considers the contested freedoms that are part of the evolving landscape of contemporary HE. Background and Policy Context The discourse of power and agency in higher education has been strongly linked to notions of professional autonomy and 'academic freedom' (Barnett, 2004). In the recent past, however, such notions have been impacted by ongoing reform and change throughout the sector-possibly more so than in any other area of public policy (Kogan & Hanney, 2000; Morley, 2003). As Forrester & Gunter (2009) argue, there are a number of factors and 'emergent trends' that feature strongly in the landscape of higher education. These include neo-liberal policy imperatives and managerial practices (Deem, 2004), the marketisation of education with an emphasis on consumer quality (Ball, 2008), the ongoing preoccupation with performativity and measurable outcomes (Lyotard, 1984; Power, 1994), commercial activity, the commodification of knowledge and creation of university 'products', and, most significantly perhaps, the influence of globalisation, with 'changes in communication technologies, migration patterns, and capital flows' (Burbules & Torres, 2000, p. 12). In the case of the latter, for example, Trowler & Becher (2001, p. 3) suggest that a salient feature of globalisation is that it has produced a system in which the processes of higher education have taken on a '"borderless" character'. This means that 'major corporate universities are beginning to emerge and [are now] producing degrees by distance learning-'e-universities'. The move further implies a form of universal expansion which, in conjunction with other aspects of New Labour policy, operates to widen participation and produce what Taylor (2002) refers to as the 'massification' of higher education. Indeed, the influence of globalisation throughout the sector as a whole has created significant structural changes at the site of academic institutions. These have produced new managerial configurations and forms of academic capitalism (Slaughter & Rhoades,
Leaders wrestling with educational policy shifts L'austérité dans le système éducatif et la consc... more Leaders wrestling with educational policy shifts L'austérité dans le système éducatif et la conscience critique-les chefs des écoles primaires anglaises se débattent avec une politique éducative changeante
Workforce Remodelling in England has been presented as a means to enhance the development of teac... more Workforce Remodelling in England has been presented as a means to enhance the development of teachers and promote rising educational attainment. Through a reexamination of roles, schools are presented with an opportunity to review their ways of working to improve the quality of their practices. This paper looks at the ways in which the implementation of Workforce Remodelling has been happening in eight English schools (four secondary and four primary) and discusses semi-structured interview data collected from headteachers, teachers, teaching assistants and support staff over a two year period. In addition data from 543 questionnaires is reported. The extent to which schools fully engage in the remodelling process is examined as are the tensions between meeting legislative demands and using the opportunity of the reform agenda to think more creatively about roles and responsibilities.
Educational Management Administration & Leadership, Apr 4, 2022
To afford school middle leaders meaningful opportunities to initiate change, we must provide them... more To afford school middle leaders meaningful opportunities to initiate change, we must provide them with the space and flexibility to engage with agentic and creative responses to policy and practice. Whilst we argue that the tensions identified in Bennett’s seminal reviews persist, there may, nonetheless, be opportunities for school middle leaders to creatively influence educational agendas. Through engaging in a critical interpretative synthesis of school middle leadership literature, we consider how the subjectivities of such leaders are discursively constructed. We argue that a culture of performativity has diminished opportunities for middle leaders in English schools to develop a strong sense of agency, educational ideology and authentic professional responsibility. However, a current governmental focus on subject knowledge may have opened spaces for a collegial agency, despite the prevailing neo-conservative policy discourse. We thus identify, the potential for movement beyond a discursive position to one where school middle leaders take greater responsibility for developing practice to align more closely with their educational values. Utilising a dialogic theoretical perspective we examine how middle leadership in English schools is currently practiced and mediated in relation to the changing political landscape, and suggest that seemingly contradictory positions provide a fruitful site for new research.
Educational Management Administration & Leadership, Jan 17, 2019
Schools in Turkey are primarily influenced by the Ministry of National Education (Milli Egitim Ba... more Schools in Turkey are primarily influenced by the Ministry of National Education (Milli Egitim Bakanlıgı) through laws and regulations. Compliance with regulations might be characterised as superficial in many respects and can lead to schools 'decoupling' their espoused structures from the realities of practice. In other words, they might have policies to indicate compliance whilst at the same time practising in ways that are not coherent with these stated aims and 'ideals'. Consequently, there can be incongruence between the apparent conformity and the reality of daily activities referred to by Brunsson as 'organizational hypocrisy'. There are serious dangers with not recognising issues around proclaimed values and accepted expectations which may have pathological consequences for organisations. This article draws on semi-structured interviews with 21 staff including principals, vice principals and teachers from nine schools in the Eskis¸ehir Provincial Directorate of National Education in Turkey to investigate the conditions under which hypocrisy is more likely to happen and what the consequences of it may be. We provide school staff with important insights on how to decrease hypocrisy in their schools and increase the authenticity of school approaches in a complex, educational environment.
Leaders wrestling with educational policy shifts L'austérité dans le système éducatif et la consc... more Leaders wrestling with educational policy shifts L'austérité dans le système éducatif et la conscience critique-les chefs des écoles primaires anglaises se débattent avec une politique éducative changeante
Increasing workloads are allowing less time for teachers to recuperate and recover in periods of ... more Increasing workloads are allowing less time for teachers to recuperate and recover in periods of rapid change (Skaalvik & Skaalvik, 2011) leading to teacher, teacher compliance and loss of motivation, pride and creativity (Lundström, 2015). Engagement in decision-making can be both a solution, where this facilitates a sense of teacher autonomy, or a problem, where engagement in decision-making becomes an additional burden against a heavy workload (Van Droogenbroeck, Spruyt, & Vanroelen, 2014). As Pietarinen et al. (2013) argue, workload distress is exacerbated where teachers feel a lack of control, meaninglessness and a sense of unfairness
Educational Management Administration & Leadership
To afford school middle leaders meaningful opportunities to initiate change, we must provide them... more To afford school middle leaders meaningful opportunities to initiate change, we must provide them with the space and flexibility to engage with agentic and creative responses to policy and practice. Whilst we argue that the tensions identified in Bennett’s seminal reviews persist, there may, nonetheless, be opportunities for school middle leaders to creatively influence educational agendas. Through engaging in a critical interpretative synthesis of school middle leadership literature, we consider how the subjectivities of such leaders are discursively constructed. We argue that a culture of performativity has diminished opportunities for middle leaders in English schools to develop a strong sense of agency, educational ideology and authentic professional responsibility. However, a current governmental focus on subject knowledge may have opened spaces for a collegial agency, despite the prevailing neo-conservative policy discourse. We thus identify, the potential for movement beyond ...
London Review of Education, 2018
Schools in Turkey are primarily influenced by the Ministry of National Education (Milli Egitim Ba... more Schools in Turkey are primarily influenced by the Ministry of National Education (Milli Egitim Bakanlıgı) through laws and regulations. Compliance with regulations might be characterised as superficial in many respects and can lead to schools 'decoupling' their espoused structures from the realities of practice. In other words, they might have policies to indicate compliance whilst at the same time practising in ways that are not coherent with these stated aims and 'ideals'. Consequently, there can be incongruence between the apparent conformity and the reality of daily activities referred to by Brunsson as 'organizational hypocrisy'. There are serious dangers with not recognising issues around proclaimed values and accepted expectations which may have pathological consequences for organisations. This article draws on semi-structured interviews with 21 staff including principals, vice principals and teachers from nine schools in the Eskis¸ehir Provincial Directorate of National Education in Turkey to investigate the conditions under which hypocrisy is more likely to happen and what the consequences of it may be. We provide school staff with important insights on how to decrease hypocrisy in their schools and increase the authenticity of school approaches in a complex, educational environment.
British Journal of Educational Studies, 2017
Whilst peer observation of teaching is well established as a practice that can enhance teaching q... more Whilst peer observation of teaching is well established as a practice that can enhance teaching quality, the challenge to fully embed this practice in universities remains unresolved. This article analyses the perspectives of eighteen university leaders (nine Australian and nine English) drawn from a range of school-based leaders to senior leaders of learning and teaching. Our study indicates that some of the challenges associated with leading such schemes can be mitigated through approaches to educational leadership that enact a respectful and collegiate ethos. This we suggest can support developmental academic engagement in peer observation for positive and lasting change.
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Papers by Linda Hammersley-Fletcher
Divided into two parts, the first part explores theoretical frameworks and concepts, presenting theory and raising issues and questions, while the second shares diverse examples of practice, renewing and reanimating the links between education, leadership and democracy, and providing models of alternatives. Studying a number of global developments that can be seen as potentially threatening, such as a growing inequality in wealth and income and the declining participation and trust in democratic processes, this text is at the forefront of international innovations in educational theory and philosophy.
A fascinating and vital read for all researchers and students, Paradoxes of Democracy, Leadership and Education considers the opportunities and challenges that are confronting and threatening education in the modern world.