Diversifying Schools and Leveraging School Improvement: a Comparative Analysis of The English Radical,and Singapore Conservative,Specialist Schools' Policies

ABSTRACT

Within the context of fierce global economic competition, school diversification and specialist schools have been seen by governments as cornerstones of education policy to engineer school improvement in both England and Singapore for more than a decade. In both systems, the policy has manifested in different school types, school names and sometimes buildings – in England, specialist status schools, academies and most recently free schools; and in Singapore, specialist schools and niche schools. Diversification is promoted by each school emphasising distinctiveness in its curriculum – often with implications for its funding and degree of autonomy – which differentiate it from others. There is normally the intention to scale-up curricular innovations school-wide. The paper addresses three aims in respect to both countries: first, it profiles the evolution of specialist schools' policies in both states in relation to school improvement and secondly, social justice; thirdly, it undertakes a comparative policy analysis in order to draw conclusions as to how the relationship between central government and schools has re-configured in both countries – arguing that the policy in England is radical, that in Singapore, conservative.     

Educational psychology: Some questions of status

This article provides a synoptic account of historically changing conceptions and practices of social justice in Australian higher education policy. It maps the changes in this policy arena, beginning with the period following the Second World War and concluding with an analysis of the most recent policy proposals of the Bradley Review. Concurrently, it explores the different meanings ascribed to social justice, equity and social inclusion over this time span and what these have meant and will mean for students, particularly those from low socio-economic backgrounds. It concludes that a relational understanding of social justice – ‘recognitive justice’ – is yet to inform student equity policy in higher education, although this is now what is required in the context of the planned shift from mass to universal participation.     

全纳教育、全纳学校、全纳社会

全纳教育是一个全新的教育理念 ,也是国际教育研究的一个新领域。全纳教育的理念需要全纳学校来实践 ,因而全纳学校是不同于以往的普通学校和特殊学校、也不同于后来的一体化学校 ,它是一种新型的教育模式 ,在教育、社会、经济方面均具有极大意义。全纳教育理念和全纳学校实践的目的是要促进形成一种追求社会公正、机会平等和民主参与的全纳社会。为此 ,在现存社会中对阻碍这种追求的任何障碍都应该加以确认、质疑和消除。全纳教育的理念指导我们实施全纳学校 ,全纳学校的实践促使我们走向全纳社会。     

Permeating the social justice ideals of equality and equity within the context of Early Years: challenges for leadership in multi-cultural and mono-cultural primary schools

This paper explores the ideology of social justice through links between equality and equity within Early Years and what remain the challenges for leadership. Questionnaires and interviews in English multi-cultural and mono-cultural schools with Early Years age phases were conducted. The findings showed that the ideology of social justice, equality and equity was interpreted differently in each Early Years setting. The multi-cultural schools used a variety of activities to embed social justice principles that involved their diverse communities more to enrich the curriculum in contrast to the mono-cultural schools. In mono-cultural schools however, leadership had to be more creative in promoting equality and equity, given the smaller proportion of their diverse pupil and staff population. Our conclusions suggest that most schools are struggling initially with implementing the current changes in Early Years, therefore their vision for permeating this curriculum with an equality and equity focus is at the early stages.     

Developing an inclusive system in a rapidly changing European society

This paper uses Ireland – one of Europe’s most rapidly changing societies – as a case study and examines progress towards an inclusive education system. It explores policy and progress on developing an inclusive system under a number of key headings: social class, ethnicity, gender and disability. On the basis of analysis of official statistics and of research evidence from a study of the inclusion of children with disabilities and special educational needs, this paper assesses whether the impact of recent state policy and legislative change has significantly increased the degree of inclusion in the education system under the four headings. There is a particular focus on the area of disability. The particular questions explored in this paper are whether the unprecedented changes which have taken place in Ireland since the mid‐1990s have resulted in a more inclusive system, an increase in equality, and an increase in inclusive practices in schools. On the basis of the available evidence, the results appear to be mixed.     

Positional matters: school leaders engaging with national equity agendas

ABSTRACT

This paper claims a central role for school leaders (principals or head-teachers) in the enactment of social justice policy in schools, who act as key agents or ‘gate keepers’ for what counts as social justice in their contexts of practice. Social justice means different things in different contexts depending on where leaders – who use policy as an opportunity to advance what they think is achievable within the limits of available resources – are positioned in the field and how that defines their stances. Drawing on qualitative data generated through in-depth interviews with ten secondary school principals in two Australian cities, the paper analyses the engagement of school leaders with nationally prescribed equity-related policies. Our analysis shows that, depending on the institutional ethos and resources of schools and their own social justice dispositions, school leaders tend to take different stances towards nationally defined equity agendas. Their responses range from compliance to compromise to contest. The paper suggests that doing social justice in schools can never be unilateral, as policy documents suppose, but is characterised by context-informed policy translation, mediated by a range of interactive forces and interests.     

义务教育均衡发展的社会资本障碍及其政府治理

以追求教育公平为主旨的义务教育均衡发展既是一种政策取向,也是一种教育实践。目前,人们更关注义务教育的非均衡发展状态、成因及其治理问题。不同时期不同的生产方式、政策选择和制度安排是形成义务教育区域之间、城乡之间和校际之间差异的历史原因和现实原因。义务教育非均衡发展的直接后果是导致非规范性择校行为的发生。在择校过程中,家庭和学校社会资本的力量日益突出,其负向功能被诱发,破坏了就近入学政策,加剧了家庭与家庭之间、学校与学校之间社会资本的分化,损害了教育公平价值。由此,我们提出政府对于消除社会资本障碍的方向性建议:通过合理的政策选择和制度安排,在义务教育学校资源配置均衡的基础上,降低家庭社会资本在教育选择中的作用,建设学校社会资本发挥作用的良性竞争环境,从而治理目前部分家庭、学校社会资本参与择校所引发的社会问题。     

Does educational privatisation promote social justice?

Social justice in education refers to the expectation that the education system provides fairness in its access to opportunities and results. Proponents of educational privatisation believe this would not only open up opportunities for those that otherwise are restricted from attending good schools, but that it would also improve overall efficiency in the education system through pressures of market competition. This article first provides a framework for analysing a quasi-market in education and for considering the potential effects of privatisation. It then applies this framework to the Netherlands, a school system premised completely on choice where two thirds of the schools are privately sponsored. We conclude that the Dutch system, thanks to a series of policies and regulations in place, performs relatively well on social justice, when looking at freedom of choice and overall productive efficiency. However, for equity and social cohesion, despite clear policy efforts, the privatised system seems to undermine social justice for certain groups in the population. The dilemma observed here is that some private benefits of education must be compromised to achieve greater equity and social cohesion. It is an open question whether policy makers are willing to make such tradeoffs.     

‘Closing the gap’: systems leadership is no leadership at all without a moral compass – a Scottish perspective

This conceptual paper provides a critical analysis of the current convergence of major policy initiatives in Scotland to improve learning and teaching, promote greater equity and close the attainment gap through systems level leadership and change. It is neither an empirical study nor a literature review but synthesises across a range of fields – social justice, poverty, social mobility, school improvement, leadership and policy – in order to cast light on the problem and to inform public policy and practice. However system level leadership is not unproblematic, with, as argued by Boylan, the terms system and leadership seen as malleable concepts, nor can it be seen as a panacea for all ills. The paper argues that educational policy needs to be seen as residing within wider social policy. Without recourse to addressing systemic inequalities in society and building the infrastructure and support structures around schools, schools, on their own, are unlikely to rise to the challenge. The paper argues for a melding of distributive leadership (with emancipatory intent and purpose) with systems leadership, characterised by meaningful collaboration and partnerships from ‘within – to between – and beyond’ schools (as suggested by Chapman), imbued with moral purpose.     

Social justice and school improvement: improving the quality of schooling in the poorest neighbourhoods

Social justice in education demands, at the very least, that all students should have access to the same quality of educational processes, even if their outcomes turn out to be unequal. Yet schools in the poorest neighbourhoods are consistently adjudged to provide a lower quality of education than those in more advantaged areas. Based on a qualitative study of four such schools, this article explores links between the contexts in which they were operating and the quality of education provided. It concludes that high‐poverty contexts exert downward pressures on quality, and that consistently high levels of quality in schools in the poorest neighbourhoods need to be assured by policy measures that alter their context or, through greater funding, improve their organisational capacity to respond. Social justice will not be achieved by managerialist policies that seek to improve schools by addressing the performance of managers and staff, without a recognition of the context in which this performance takes place.     

Pedagogical devices as children’s social care levers: A study of social care workers’ attitudes towards boarding schools to care for and educate children in need

It has been proposed that boarding schools in England can be used to provide a stable education and care environment for vulnerable children in need, and the government is expanding their use. However, for vulnerable children to be placed in boarding schools, social workers will need to be willing to contemplate boarding as a viable care option. In this study we interviewed N = 21 social care practitioners including directors, senior and middle managers, frontline social workers, social worker-academics and family support workers who work with vulnerable children. Using thematic analysis of the transcribed interviews, seven major themes identified a range of issues and concerns held by social care workers about placing vulnerable children in boarding schools. We present these themes and consider the issues that will have to be addressed prior to changes in policy and practice. The study concludes that many of those within the social work profession are unlikely to consider boarding as an intervention for children in need. Further research in this area is a matter of urgency.     

‘I was dead restorative today’: from restorative justice to restorative approaches in school

This paper explores definitions and understandings of restorative practices in education. It offers a critique of current theoretical models of restorative justice originally derived from the criminal justice system and now becoming popular in educational settings. It questions the appropriateness of these concepts as they are being introduced to schools in parts of the UK and refers to a recent Scottish Executive funded pilot initiative to implement restorative practices in schools. The paper then reflects on some findings from the evaluation of this pilot project, outlines a new notion of restorative approaches and suggests that this broader conceptualisation may offer an important way in which to promote social justice in education and to reassess the importance and inevitability of conflicting social interaction and structures inherent in schools as complex social institutions.     

Community Schools As An Educational Alternative In Africa: A Critique

With a view to basic formal education, this study explores actual experiences and potential values of current community-school initiatives in Africa. Using data from different programmes around the continent, it examines their dynamics in terms of various conceptions about alternative provisions for basic education. The wider policy question posed is whether community schools can respond in a meaningful and viable manner to the interests of learners and their communities, meet social-policy goals of equity and social justice, and foster reform. While its conclusions remain tentative, the study explores effective but problematic approaches supported by communities, non-governmental organizations and governments. It gives particular attention to those elements promoting empowerment and transforming educational provision and local socio-economic conditions. It also raises fundamental questions about sustainability and equity as well as the responsiveness of schools to community needs and their ability to assist learners in overcoming disadvantage and marginality.     

Additional learning needs policy in the devolved polities of the UK: a systems perspective

Using a systems approach, this paper explores the impact of devolution on additional learning needs (ALN) policy in compulsory phase education. Focus is placed on ALN/SEN Codes of Practice, the schools curriculum, teacher training, and the work of education inspectorates and tribunals. Analysis reveals that the move to quasi‐federalism in the UK has led to a raft of territorially specific policies and resulted in contrasting legal rights for pupils and parents. The prevailing policy discourse is one of equality, inclusion and informed choice. Against this background, and with a number of reforms ongoing, there is evidence of progress in embedding measures to address ALN in the respective education systems. Notwithstanding this, analysis of the first decade of devolved policy and practice also reveals a number of shortcomings and challenges, including limitations in data‐gathering and staff training – as well as questions about the level of cohesion between the three elements of education provision identified by systems analysis.     

Social justice implications of South African school assessment practices

Abstract

Central to the pursuit of education and its functions like assessment, is social justice. Given the (still) existing inequalities brought about by years of neglect, it is clear that the building of a just society is indeed fraught with challenges. This article explores the extent to which all learners in South Africa are afforded fair treatment and an impartial share of what the education system through assessment practices can offer them. In attempting to illuminate this issue, we will start by providing a brief overview of assessment policy initiatives and the current assessment system in South Africa. This will be followed by a conceptual analysis of assessment practices and their social justice implications for learners by using Cribb and Gerwitz's (2003) key dimensions of social justice, namely the distribution of educational resources, recognition and respect for cultural differences and participation. Through this analysis we conclude that, while acknowledging the massive impact of family/community circumstances and poor educational provision, unfair assessment practices as discussed remain an important dimension of the degradation of social justice in the South African education system. Many learners, despite efforts to ensure more just assessment practices, are still marginalised and do not reap the benefits that can support them in developing their full potential.     

Educating leaders for social justice: the case of special educational needs co-ordinators

In the light of policy imperatives to initiate and maintain inclusive education reforms, the role of special educational needs co-ordinators (SENCOs) in England and Wales should be reconceptualised with a view to their leading school reforms commensurate with the principles of an inclusive discourse. The article concentrates on the social justice dimension of educational leadership to advance discussion of the changing role of SENCOs. It is suggested that, apart from the operational and strategic aspects of their redefined leadership role, SENCOs should be empowered to embrace a social justice discourse in tackling power inequities and systemic educational inequalities that undermine inclusive education reforms.     

Stealth marketisation: how international school policy is quietly challenging education systems in Asia

Across Asia, the international school scene has experienced marketisation and corporatisation. A consequence is that many wealthier families – outside of expatriate communities – view international schools as a desirable choice, and they seek ways to enrol their children in international schools. States have responded to this situation through policies that manage the boundaries between public or national school systems and international schools. States have made compromises in their international school policies – compromises that allow markets to creep into the broader education systems. This mode of market creation is subtle: Neither families nor state agents advocate for ‘choice’ as a value, nor are there public discourses around international schools in the region celebrating ‘choice’ in education. The compromises made in international school policy relate to whole education systems and have implications for inequality, citizenship, and national identity.     

台湾地区原住民升学优待政策的演进及省思

我国台湾地区的原住民教育问题一直备受关注,其升学优待政策是基于积极差别待遇的理念,为弥补原住民长期不利的家庭环境,实现教育公平和社会正义而采取的有效措施。本文从这一政策的历史演变入手,分析了在多元文化教育的背景下台湾升学优待政策改革的最新动向,并剖析了它在实施中遇到的争论激烈的几个焦点问题。     

Social justice education with Chinese characteristics: An example from Shanghai

This article analyses a Chinese approach to social justice in education using the example of Shanghai. In addressing schooling inequalities, Shanghai illustrates social justice education with Chinese characteristics, which revolves around the ideal of ‘educational balance’ (jiaoyu junheng). The ‘balance’ in question is about achieving a values-centred and all-round education in and across all schools through the cultivation of a school’s ‘inner quality’ (neihan). This Chinese formulation of social justice education is manifested through two representative policy measures: creating and strengthening ‘new high-quality schools’ and helping weak schools to level up. The Chinese characteristics of these action plans are seen in two ways: a focus on social justice between schools rather than between students; and an emphasis on the moral cultivation of students. It is argued that a Chinese model of social justice education promotes educational equity to some extent through the politics of redistribution, recognition and representation. However, a major critique is its hegemonic and top-down nature, which overlooks alternative and competitive voices—especially those of migrant children—as part of a politics of representation.     

Exploring school leadership in coastal schools: ‘getting a fair deal’ for students in disadvantaged communities

ABSTRACT

This paper is a response to an earlier article in the Journal of Education Policy, which calls for ‘new ideas and constructive principles and practices for the provision of socially-just education’. We first discuss how an economistic approach to education entrenches socioeconomic disadvantage and argue that, in the light of evidence that inequalities are increasing both nationally and internationally, it has become increasingly important that we understand models of social justice in schools in deprived locations. Reporting on original longitudinal research with schools in disadvantaged coastal areas in England, and drawing on the notion of the insistent affirmation of possibility, we then discuss three dimensions of active social justice undertaken by participating school leaders. By examining practical examples of social justice, we aim to shift the debate into more positive territory, in which there can be more appreciation of the efforts and outcomes of some leaders in highly disadvantaged areas and more leaders can take heart in following their example.