ERIC Number: EJ1079256
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2015-Nov
Pages: 14
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-1365-4802
EISSN: N/A
The Setting-up of Multi-Site School Collaboratives: The Benefits of This Organizational Reform in Terms of Networking Opportunities and Their Effects
Mifsud, Denise
Improving Schools, v18 n3 p236-249 Nov 2015
This article, which is set within the Maltese education scenario of unfolding decentralization through the setting-up of multi-site school collaboratives (legally termed "colleges") via a policy mandate, explores a particular aspect of this reform--that of "networking". This is examined in terms of the potential for "networking" that educational leaders have at both school and college levels and the "effects" of these (non-)opportunities on both the leaders and the network itself. My study is framed within a postmodern paradigm and interpreted through a Foucauldian theoretical framework. Data for this case study are collected via semi-structured, in-depth interviews; participant observation; and documentary analysis; which are then subjected to narrative analysis. The findings reveal a very detached bond within and across levels, with this detachment unfolding simultaneously within both micro and macro strata. This article, besides theoretically addressing a gap in literature regarding the shortcomings of networks and network dynamics, has a particular significance for educational practitioners, policy makers, and all those who have school improvement on their agenda.
Descriptors: Foreign Countries, Semi Structured Interviews, Case Studies, Observation, Social Networks, Administrative Organization, Postmodernism, Power Structure, Cooperation, Educational Change, Secondary School Teachers, Elementary School Teachers, Principals
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Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: Secondary Education; Elementary Education
Audience: Practitioners; Policymakers
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Identifiers - Location: Malta
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A