Education governance and the role of the headteacher: the new policy problem in Scottish education

Forde, C. , Torrance, D. , Mitchell, A. , McMahon, M. and Harvie, J. (2022) Education governance and the role of the headteacher: the new policy problem in Scottish education. Management in Education, 36(1), pp. 18-24. (doi: 10.1177/08920206211057348)

Abstract

As part of the current Review of Education Governance in Scotland, the Headteachers’ Charter is perceived as a central policy solution. The Charter changes the responsibilities of the headteacher by altering the relationship between headteacher and local authority, and thereby bringing about changes to the governance of education. If these changes are perceived as the solution, what is the perceived policy problem? This article examines policy documents to explore the policy problem using Bacchi's (2012a) ‘what's the problem represented to be’ (WPR) approach, which uses a framework of six questions to analyse policy texts. The article begins with a brief overview of the policy programme, the ‘Empowerment Agenda’. The article discusses Bacchi's WPR analysis framework and then presents the findings, using this framework. The article ends with a discussion of the impact of the reform of educational governance including the Headteachers’ Charter on the role of the headteacher.

• Item Type: Articles
• Status: Published
• Refereed: Yes
• Glasgow Author(s) Enlighten ID: Forde, Prof Christine and Harvie, Dr Julie and McMahon, Professor Margery and Mitchell, Ms Alison and Torrance, Dr Deirdre
• Authors: Forde, C., Torrance, D., Mitchell, A., McMahon, M., and Harvie, J.
• College/School: College of Social Sciences > School of Education; College of Social Sciences > School of Education > Educational Leadership & Policy
• Journal Name: Management in Education
• Publisher: SAGE Publications
• ISSN: 0892-0206
• ISSN (Online): 1741-9883
• Published Online: 09 November 2021
• Copyright Holders: Copyright © 2021 British Educational Leadership, Management & Administration Society (BELMAS)
• First Published: First published in Management in Education 36(1): 18-24
• Publisher Policy: Reproduced under a Creative Commons License