Abstract
As our July issue goes to press, I would like to welcome on board our new Deputy Editor Dr Stephen Rayner. Stephen is based at the University of Manchester and has acted as Book Review Editor for the last two years.
This edition of Management in Education brings to your attention a number of international papers, which reflect the challenges of international economic cuts and the resultant challenges for educational leaders and managers, throughout all phases. Our first paper reports how lack of funding and resources in the context of Zimbabwe have resulted in parents turning to the private sector in their quest for a good education. But as this study explains, private schools are not immune to financial hardship nor the effects of economic cuts in the context and climate in which they operate. In this article, Tony Bush, Dominica Chingarande, Derek Glover, Wonder Muchabaiwa, Jubadheya Simango and Juliet Thondhlana examine some of the leadership challenges faced by private schools in Zimbabwe, as they experience an ongoing fall in student numbers in spite of cutting fees in an attempt to attract more students.
In our second article, we move on to Malaysia, where Lokman Tahir, Mohd Fadzli Ali and Jamilah Ahmad examine the reasons why principals move to new schools after a relatively short time in post, whilst also exploring their job options after headship in this particular cultural context.
Our third article focuses on England and the Further Education sector. For the benefit of our international readers, FE colleges in England offer a range of academic, vocational, technical and professional courses, often using Labour Market Information and relationships with local and regional employers to ensure they offer qualifications that reflect the current national job market. However as a report by the Nuffield foundation reflects, these institutions have suffered disproportionately from cuts to their funding, with funding per student aged 16–18 experiencing the biggest squeeze out of all stages of education for young people in recent years. School sixth forms have suffered budget cuts of 21% per student since their peak in 2010–11, while further education and sixth-form college funding per student has fallen by about 8% over the same period (Belfield, Farquharson and Sibieta, 2018). With this in mind, in this article Peter Wolstencroft and Catherine Lloyd explain how the current policy of austerity, restructuring and a shift towards the creation of larger organisations has resulted in opportunities for middle managers to participate in the strategic processes and leadership of the organisation. They go on to explore that despite the fact that middle managers in the sector are reluctant to identify as leaders, they are, in fact, undertaking a range of leadership practices.
In the next section of our journal we turn to governance, with two research articles that examine the ways in which the constantly evolving English school system, combined with technological advances, are impacting on governance policy and practices. In the first article, Richard Riddell draws on interviews in two contrasting local authorities to reflect on the changing power dynamics and their implications for state schools, concluding with reflections on the implications for the longer-term stability of a depoliticised school system.
Technology, as we are all aware, has the capacity to profoundly influence all areas of education, not least its leadership and management. In our second article on the topic of governance, Tom Dobson and Anthea Rose investigate how, set against a global context of e-governing, Lloyds Banking Group use technology to permit volunteer governors to attend meetings remotely. Dobson and Rose examine how this practice could be extended across the sector to provide an effective solution to the governor shortage.
In our latest BELMAS Research Interest Group report, we have a report from Steven Courtney and Ruth McGinity on the popular Critical Education Policy and Leadership Studies (CEPaLS) Research Interest Group. As they describe, members of the BELMAS CEPaLS RIG meet two or three times a year at one of three centres: UCL and the Universities of Manchester and Nottingham. One of these meetings takes place over two days to allow for deeper collaboration and sustained activity. The events are themed according to their strategic research plan, and so address in turn ‘privatisation and corporatisation’; ‘practice and professionalism’; ‘knowledge production and globalisation’; and ‘leadership and entrepreneurialism’. To join the group, please go to https://belmas.org.uk/Rig-CEPLS/Overviewandfollowthelinks.
Opinion
For the last two years, our Opinion Editors Adam Burns and Jonathan Young have done excellent work in developing guidelines, commissioning and editing pieces for this slot. As they retire from these positions, I would like to take this opportunity to thank them for their work. Commissioning and reviewing this genre of article requires a particular skill and expertise and we are very grateful for the innovative and well-crafted articles that have contributed to making this section as popular as it is. At the same time, I welcome two of our existing board members Pam Angelle and Ron Hill as our new Opinion Editors, and look forward to exciting articles and innovations in this area in the future.
Our opinion slot in this issue goes to Rowena Arshad, Dean of the School of Education, University of Edinburgh, who six years ago became the first woman of colour to take on such a role in Scotland. Rowena, who is internationally renowned for in her work on equality, particularly race equality, reflects on her time in role and how she is taking forward equality and anti-discrimination issues in the school.
Interview
In our final article of the issue, David Whitaker, Executive Principal with the Wellspring Academy Trust, National Leader of Education, and a founder member of the Head Teachers’ Roundtable think tank, talks to Phil Wood about developing an Academy Trust and the philosophy behind his enthusiasm for developing inclusive, high quality education.
As we end this issue I would like to remind our readers of a new section that we will be introducing over the coming months. This section offers education practitioners the opportunity to contribute short (up to 1000 word) pieces on any aspect of educational leadership or management. Suggestions for articles should be sent to the editor at