Agnes McMahon

Mentoring for New Headteachers: Recent British Experience.

Reports selected findings from a national evaluation of a British pilot scheme for mentoring new primary and secondary headteachers. Information was collected by questionnaire from 238 new headteachers, from 303 experienced headteachers who acted as mentors and via 16 detailed case studies of reportedly successful pairs. Deals with the nature and impact of the mentoring process and the characterisitics of successful mentoring. Mentoring was judged to be a success by the overwhelming majority of participants because it offered considerable practical help with pressing problems and brought benefits which were distinct from other forms of headteacher training and support. Discusses major implications for practice, research and policy and concludes that mentoring should be offered as an integral part of national strategy for the management development of headteachers.

Planning for Change in Turbulent Times: The Case of Multiracial Primary Schools

Theoretical orientation of the study approaches to planning an overview of the six case study schools the management of planning school development planning factors affecting the planning process the flow of plans towards effective planning for turbulent times.

The GRIDS Project

In recent years there has been a cutback in resources for education, a decline in pupil enrolment and an increasing public demand for greater accountability on the part of the schools. At the same time, and partly in consequence, there has been a growing interest in school self-evaluation schemes. The widely held assumption is that teachers engaging in an exercise of this nature will not only improve their own practice and professionalism but will also enhance the health of the institution. One indication of this interest has been the publication of numerous check-lists and guidelines for teacher and school self evaluation, the majority of which emanate from local education authorities. In his survey of LEA schemes for self evaluation, Elliott (1980), identified 69 LEAs which were in the process of drawing up self-evaluation schemes, 21 of whom had already published guideline documents.

Professional Development for School Improvement: Are Changing Balances of Control Leading to the Growth of a New Professionalism?

The main purpose in this chapter is to reflect on the strategies that have been adopted by successive governments in England to encourage, support and provide continuing professional development (CPD) for teachers and headteachers and to consider whether these strategies have led to the emergence of a new teacher professionalism. Policy makers have been increasingly concerned to identify and use mechanisms to influence practice in schools and classrooms in order to raise standards in education. Teacher professional development has been seen as one of the key levers for change and over the years questions have been raised on a regular basis about what are appropriate processes and content for CPD and whether these issues should be decided by the teachers, Local Education Authorities or the Government. The balance of influence between these stakeholders has shifted back and forth from a position where all parties had an input into policy making to one of more central government control, which in turn has implications for teacher professionalism. The discussion is structured in three sections corresponding to three periods in which differences in educational ideology, approaches to educational policy, and strategies of implementation can be discerned. The three sections are labelled: Partnership, New Public Management and Modernisation. These divisions and labels are somewhat arbitrary and one can argue about the boundaries between sections but I have found them a useful organising device. Partnership refers to the period when the main stakeholders all had input into educational decision-making and there was a broad consensus about the direction of policy. Typically this led to systems of structuring and managing schools which enabled teachers to have “a degree of freedom in the exercise of professional practice” (Hoyle, 1986: 170) and to enjoy relative autonomy. The distinction between New Public Management and Modernisation is less clear since both are rooted in a belief in the market and the value of choice and competition as a means of improving provision. The term associated with New Public Management and sometimes used interchangeably with it is managerialism. The defining features of managerialism are a strong central regulatory framework, devolved decision

The Role of the School-Based Tutor in the Professional Development of Teachers.

This paper examines ways in which a teacher appointed as professional tutor can support staff development activities in a school. Three task areas are identified: support for students in initial training, induction programmes for beginning teachers, and in-service activities for experienced staff. Reference is made to the experience gained in the Teacher Induction Pilot Scheme Project concerning the tutor role. It is argued that a more productive way forward is to concentrate on the staff development tasks that a school has to undertake rather than on the question of who should carry them out. The James Reports suggestion that each school should have a professional tutor with responsibility for staff development will be the correct solution in some cases but not in all.

Ethnic minority support staff in primary schools: a deprofessionalised semi-profession?

Abstract This paper draws upon findings from research into multiracial primary schools in three English local education authorities (LEAs) in questioning how far ethnic minority support staff working in these institutions are treated as professionals in comparison with their mainstream teacher and assistant colleagues. The contribution of the recent change in the Home Office procedure for ‘Section 11’ funding to the perpetuation or eradication of institutional racism is tentatively explored. Relevant central government policy is briefly outlined; concepts relating to professional status and institutional racism are introduced; these concepts are employed to interpret the research findings, focusing upon the extent to which Section 11 funded ethnic minority support staff were treated as professionals before and after the recent bids for Section 11 funding; and it is suggested that LEA attempts to professionalise ethnic minority support staff and to promote cultural pluralism are being undermined as a conse...

Development Planning Surprise Outcomes for Multiracial Primary Schools

Curriculum management involves planning, finding financial and staff resources and considering how to incorporate parents in the process. This article discusses how these processes can unintentionally impact upon equal opportunities outcomes.