This article reflects on the introduction of "matrix management" arrangements for an Educational Psychology Service (EPS) within a Children's Service Directorate of a Local Authority (LA). It seeks to demonstrate critical self-awareness, consider relevant literature with a view to bringing insights to processes and outcomes, and…

A view from the dance floor of ALICSE participants showed that the integrated children's services remain under pressure to become multi-dimensional, with the rhetorical push to a joint working becoming increasingly complex and difficult to navigate. This was the view of a 360 degree questionnaire to a number of ALICSE participants and…

This article critically analyses the current Maltese educational reform process, which aimed to transform educational governance in Malta from a centralized system to a more decentralized one. This longitudinal study adopted a multi-site inquiry of a sample of the colleges involving different stakeholders, including key policy-makers, college…

This article examines the ways in which being a member of a federation governing body impacts upon the governor identities of individuals. Using an ideographic case study based upon a single academy federation, the investigation employs a framework for identity analysis to analyse qualitative in-depth interviews with members within governing…

The paper explores governance arrangements in non-state school in Australia, using 17 interviews in six schools. The focus is on board composition, structure and reporting. Useful contributions about innovative practice are identified. School boards may benefit from implementing more stakeholder engagement. Existing models of school boards from…

This paper explores the factors which influence the effectiveness of formal development programmes targeted at multi-agency teams in children's services. It draws on two studies of the National College for School Leadership's Multi-Agency Teams Development programme, reporting key characteristics of the programme, short-term outcomes in terms of…

A recently announced government initiative for educational reform in Cyprus has set school autonomy high on the agenda. This article aims to throw more light into this effort, while localizing the intention for decentralization within the context and peculiarities of the Cyprus educational system. In particular, this article outlines the…

This article is a reflection on a sabbatical experience in a mainstream school where an inclusive ethos underpinned the curriculum and environmental approaches for all children. The period as acting head teacher raised some challenges for the author in reconciling inclusion for all children and the exclusive nature of some professional and…

Taking as its starting point a series of interviews with senior and middle managers in FE colleges across the country, this paper argues that the values and practices which reflect a commitment to inclusive education and training are unlikely to become effectively embedded within the organisational structures and ethos of a college simply through…

Since the 1980s many educational systems have undergone decentralisation. This trend has expanded the role of school principals and redesigned their relationship with teachers. To improve schools, educational reformists expect principals to empower teachers and increase their participation in school governance. Yet the implementation of such a…

In this article, the author shares her experience in setting up a secondary school. Firstly, the author sets the context for the school and describes the initial issues that arose. These issues are examined in the light of contributions from the school's senior management team and from reflecting on both his own experiences as a governor and his…

Headship in England was radically altered in nature in 1988 by the Education Reform Act which introduced the principle of local management of schools. Despite this legislative intervention, however, the model of headship in England remained virtually unchanged, rather it was headteacher behaviour that changed. The maintained school system is still…

This article suggests that the balance of powder invested in principals at incorporation has shifted to the Learning and Skills Council (LSC), which for some is reminiscent of Local Education Authority (LEA) control. The evidence is taken from 28 semi-structured interviews with ten college principals between 2001-2003 as control passed from the…

This article examines the emergence of assistant heads onto the landscape of primary school leadership. Through the use of job descriptions, questionnaires, interviews and a case study, the functions that assistant heads are performing in primary schools is examined and their opinions, attitudes and beliefs about their work are considered. The…

It has been argued that "leadership" is seen as being centrally synonymous with school effectiveness and yet there is comparatively little evidence of the effects of leadership on school outcomes. More specifically, studies of principalship in Hong Kong have tended to be conducted in the quantitative tradition. The study described in this article…