TY  - UNPB
UR  - http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.271259
KW  - Australia
KW  -  change
KW  -  innovation
KW  -  secondary school
KW  -  policy
KW  -  social semiotics
KW  -  critical discourse analysis
KW  -  autobiography
TI  - Contestations, innovation and change : a case study of a new Western Australian secondary school
N2  - ABSTRACT
This thesis is a case study of the policy contestations associated with the establishment of
a new Western Australian government secondary school. State politicians and
bureaucrats promoted the school, Ballajura Community College, as fa school for the
twenty-first century'. The school opened in 1995 and incorporated the State's first middle
school, representing a significant change to the hitherto existing secondary school
structure. The thesis provides information on how agents associated with the
establishment of a new school navigated the multiple policy agendas against shifting
social and political changes. At the time of opening the school the Western Australian
government was committed to expanding devolution in schools. This thesis examines
how key aspects of the devolution agenda impacted on the planning and establishment of
Ballajura Community College.
The research provides an 'insider's perspective' of Foundation Principal and
utilises a combination of methods including social semiotics, critical discourse analysis
and autobiography. Data collection included documentary evidence, interviews with
senior policy makers and autobiographical data.
While educational research and theory suggests that there is an urgent need to
envision new futures for schooling in the twenty-first century, this same research often
simplifies the process and does not attend to the multiplicity of variables. This
investigation concludes that the design, structure, curriculum development and operation
of a new secondary school, in a highly centralised system, is intimately linked to the
broader socio-political context and established traditions and practices.
This thesis extends the debate on research into school change. It demonstrates
that the processes of innovation and change can be neither formulaic nor prescriptive. It
raises questions relating to the methods, authority and effects of educational research and
argues that educational research for the twenty-first century must broaden its scope to
incorporate and legitimise the voice and authority of school leaders and teachers.
A1  - Larsen, Judith
PB  - Institute of Education, University of London
Y1  - 2001///
M1  - Doctoral
ID  - discovery10007417
N1  - Unpublished
EP  - 362
AV  - restricted
ER  -