Bounded school governance: Reflections on the limits and contradictions of governing (original) (raw)

Bounded school governance: Reflections on the limits and contradictions of governing

In this presentation I reflect on the extent to which school governance in England is embroiled in the technical-rational management of processes and outcomes and the bureaucracy, performativity and professionalisation typically underpinning such management. While these approaches to school governance are necessary in some sense – devolved management and school autonomy is vulnerable to moral hazard without proper oversight and transparency of their internal operations – they engender forms of de-democratisation or depoliticisation (concealed through an appeal to efficiency and expert knowledge) which undermine local accountability. I conclude by arguing that much of what now constitutes school governance – succession planning, risk assessment, compliance checking, performance evaluation – should be displaced at the school-level and relocated to regional oversight teams to enable the political function of parents, teachers, students, and community members to govern their schools more directly, openly and democratically.