Style and substance in education leadership: further education (FE) as a case in point

As governments worldwide articulate the rhetoric of a ‘knowledge economy’ traditional cultures of education management and leadership are found to be wanting. At the same time, growing recognition that market and managerial reforms have not improved levels of educational performance has increased government interest in the transformative powers of business and charismatic leadership. This paper considers this phenomenon with reference to the changing conditions of corporate leadership taking place in the further education (FE) sector. Whilst ostensibly a ‘very English’ case study, the paper draws attention to the wider implications of managing and socializing others in the self surveillance rules of corporate education culture. Drawing on data from an Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) funded project the paper analyses the shifting discourse of leadership as it is experienced by principals and senior managers involved in the study. In so doing the paper seeks to examine how principals and senior managers mediate changing education policy agendas in a sector recovering from an intense period of financial crisis, industrial action and low staff morale.     

The politics of language loss: a Francophone case from Western Canada

Language loss among minorities is often seen as identity change in the process of assimilation, or minority accommodation in the context of majority settings. This paper examines the political aspect of language loss among Francophones in Saskatchewan between 1875 and 1983. The historical evidence indicates that the Francophones were unable to maintain their language largely as a result of Anglophones successfully passing laws restricting French in schools since 1892. Only in the 1960s did the Francophones begin to regain some language rights. The inability of Francophones to lobby against the English legislators is attributed largely to the absence of Francophone constituencies, which deprived them of a political base to launch effective protests. The changes since the '60s are influenced in part by greater acceptance of the French language, and in part by increased militancy of Francophones as they resort to more radical means to pressure their demands.     

El impacto del ordenador en la organización de la escuela: perspectivas para la investigación

No puede hablarse en abstracto de las virtudes o insuficiencias del ordenador con «el niño» o «la educación». La investigación y experimentación educativa actuales se dirigen a ver cuántos ordenadores y en qué contextos y para qué actividades interactúan en el proceso educativo.

El concepto de «apropiación» que se deriva de la teoría socio-histórica subraya que las escuelas pueden aprovechar la tecnología para objetivos muy distintos de los previstos por el investigador.