Maija Salokangas

Independent state-funded schools: some reflections on recent developments

Educational systems around the world are experimenting with new forms of schooling. One example is the emergence of independent state-funded schools (ISFSs). In the USA these have taken the form of Charter Schools. In Sweden chains of Free Schools have been established and in England Academies and most recently Free Schools have been placed at the centre of government reforms. This article offers clarity of definition relating to ISFSs and chains of ISFSs and charts some of the features of these recent developments, highlighting a shift in emphasis of improvement efforts from individual schools to collaborative chains and federations. In conclusion this article argues that ISFSs are supporting a shift from Individualised school improvement to a collaborative form of Federal improvement, but within the current arrangements they are unlikely to be able to support broader systemic improvement efforts unless attention is paid to both structural and cultural change.

Exploring Governance in Two Chains of Academy Schools: A Comparative Case Study.

Although the number and size of academy chains in England is still increasing, the implications of these arrangements at a local level remain under-researched. This article reports findings from a comparative case study focusing on governance arrangements and sponsor involvement in two chains of academies. The findings suggest that the policy and practice of these multi-academy sponsors define the autonomy of the individual academies within the chains, so that the level of autonomy individual academies experience varies significantly between, as well as within, chains.

?Introduction: ?embedded research? as an approach into academia for emerging researchers?

In July 2012 a doctoral seminar was held at the University of Manchester, School of Education, which debated the challenges and implications of ‘embedded research’ as an approach into academia for emerging researchers. At this seminar eight doctoral students presented reflexive accounts about their conceptualizations of embedded research and raised issues regarding the ways in which they developed and designed collaborative research agendas with their host organizations. They also critiqued the potential embedded research partnerships can offer for the development of policy and practice within educational organizations. The keynote speakers at the seminar reflect the multidisciplinary nature of the embedded research; in his critical analysis, Michael Apple (University of Wisconsin Madison) mapped out the landscape of societal power relations and raised important questions regarding the ethical implications of undertaking embedded research specifically in educational settings. Megan O’Neill (University of Salford) on the other hand drew from her experiences in criminal sociology to discuss the practicalities of conducting embedded research with other types of public sector groups and organizations. Although this special collection focuses upon the activities of embedded researchers from an educational perspective, we recognize that such arrangements arguably have roots within both anthropological and sociological traditions, and thus are not tied to either a specific methodological approach or to a singular discipline. This special edition is a collection of papers from three of the presenting doctoral students: James Duggan, Sam Baars and Harriet Rowley, along with contributions from Professor Helen Gunter, University of Manchester and Kevin Hollins, Principal of an Academy that has hosted an embedded researcher. The contributors were selected to reflect how the arrangement of embedded research is experienced from the researcher, supervisory and host institutional perspectives. Before introducing each of the papers within this special edition the following section of this introductory paper will firstly set out a working definition of embedded research and situate the approach within existing literatures. Secondly, it moves on to highlighting the challenges and implications embedded research has for policy, practice and educational research.

Autonomy in education: theoretical and empirical approaches to a contested concept

No abstract available. (Published: 3 July 2015) Citation: NordSTEP 2015, 1: 28841 - http://dx.doi.org/10.3402/nstep.v1.28841

Borrowing Finnish PISA success? Critical reflections from the perspective of the lender

Since the introduction of PISA, the OECD has become an increasingly powerful player in education governance and policy within its member countries, as well as elsewhere. It has also become evident that education systems scoring well in the exam have become sources for policy and practice borrowing for other countries. For example, Finnish teenagers’ consistent success in the PISA exam has kept the Finnish education system in the limelight of international attention for a number of years. This essay provides critical observations regarding politicisation of PISA results from a Finnish perspective. Using Finnish teacher education, as well as quality assurance and evaluation as examples, we argue that Finnish education system has developed within a particular place and time, through political processes that are not replicable in different political contexts.