Persistent Preoccupations: The Rise and Rise of School Autonomy and Accountability In England

In 1975, the fourth Annual Conference of the British Educational Administration Society (BEAS, now BELMAS) had as its theme ‘Autonomy and Accountability in Educational Administration'. In their concluding comments, the editors of the published Proceedings wrote: ‘Our concern has been with accou...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Educational management, administration & leadership administration & leadership, 2012-09, Vol.40 (5), p.559-575
Main Author: Glatter, Ron
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Accountability
Coalitions
Conference Papers
Education policy
Educational Administration
Educational Change
Educational History
Educational Policy
Educational Practices
Educational Strategies
England
Evidence
Foreign Countries
Fundamental Concepts
Governance
Institutional Autonomy
Intellectual History
Politics of Education
Position Papers
Schools
Sovereignty
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Summary:In 1975, the fourth Annual Conference of the British Educational Administration Society (BEAS, now BELMAS) had as its theme ‘Autonomy and Accountability in Educational Administration'. In their concluding comments, the editors of the published Proceedings wrote: ‘Our concern has been with accountability and autonomy, not as alternatives, but as significant and meaningful concepts which need to be better understood in relation to each other, having regard to specific organisational settings.’ This is the same connection that the then newly installed coalition government made 35 years later in their 2010 schools White Paper, a major policy document. The emphasis on this theme had persisted and indeed grown sharply during the intervening period. This trajectory is outlined in the article but its main purpose is to analyse the forces underlying what has become a preoccupation in English schools policy, making some reference to international evidence and practice. It is argued that the last six words of the quotation above from the 1975 editors' conclusion, ‘having regard to specific organisational settings’, were particularly significant and are highly relevant to an explanation of the staying power of these concepts.
ISSN:1741-1432
1741-1440
DOI:10.1177/1741143212451171