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School leadership, school inspection and the micropolitics of compliance and resistance: examining the hyper-enactment of policy in an area of deprivation

Colman, A; (2020) School leadership, school inspection and the micropolitics of compliance and resistance: examining the hyper-enactment of policy in an area of deprivation. Educational Management Administration & Leadership (In press). Green open access

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Abstract

This paper examines the influence of intense scrutiny from Ofsted on school leadership and policy enactment. Data was collected in a coastal area of deprivation providing the setting for a detailed case study of school leadership in a state secondary school and a state primary school - both with recent or ongoing experience of intense scrutiny from Ofsted. Seventeen interviews were undertaken with staff involved in leadership roles. The analyses of data and discussion form an understanding of how policy is enacted in relation to the dual responsibility that school leaders negotiate between the local context at Seatown and Ofsted. This paper suggests that Ofsted forces a privileging of a compliant and consistent enactment of policy – a hyper enactment of policy, that reduces the capacity of school leaders to address the significant social context of the school. Foucault’s work on self-disciplinary technologies provides insight into the micropolitical spaces which open up for some school leaders. The discussion on the micropolitics of compliance and resistance offers insight into the tensions pertinent to school leadership teams and explores issues relevant to those interested in policy and inspection activity, particularly those within areas of deprivation.

Type: Article
Title: School leadership, school inspection and the micropolitics of compliance and resistance: examining the hyper-enactment of policy in an area of deprivation
Open access status: An open access version is available from UCL Discovery
Publisher version: https://journals.sagepub.com/home/ema
Language: English
Additional information: This version is the author accepted manuscript. For information on re-use, please refer to the publisher’s terms and conditions.
UCL classification: UCL
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Education
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Education > UCL Institute of Education
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Education > UCL Institute of Education > IOE - Learning and Leadership
URI: https://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/10092204
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