Managing in the Middle: School Leaders and the Enactment of Accountability Policy

Abstract

This article investigates how mid-level managers make sense of and mediate district accountability policy. Arguing that teachers’evolving perceptions and understanding of accountability policies are likely to be mediated by school leaders, the authors explore how school managers enact their policy environments, focusing chiefly on the ways in which they construct district accountability policies. Adopting a cognitive or interpretive frame on implementation, the authors illuminate how school leaders’ sense-making is situated in their professional biographies, building histories, and roles as intermediaries between the district office and classroom teachers.

El profesorado quebequense frente a la “gestión basada en resultados”. Un estudio cualitativo en cuatro Centros de Secundaria

“…Este trabajo de mediación y de traducción depende de contingencias locales, pero también de los ethos de los agentes de mediación (Maroy, 2010;Spillane, 2002;Spillane, Reiser y Gomez, 2006). Las expectativas institucionales de la dirección de los centros derivadas de ello pueden ser de naturaleza normativa o coercitiva 5 .…”

Les enseignants québécois à l’épreuve de la « gestion axée sur les résultats ». Une étude qualitative dans quatre établissements secondaires

“…Ce travail de médiation et de traduction est tributaire de contingences locales, mais aussi des ethos de ces agents de médiation (Maroy, 2010 ;Spillane, 2002 ;Spillane, Reiser et Gomez, 2006). Les attentes institutionnelles des directions d'établissement qui en dérivent peuvent être de nature normative ou coercitive 4 .…”

Leading with Heart: Urban Elementary Principals as Advocates for Students

“…Principals play a key role in defining the contexts of their schools. Although there is a plethora of information about school change, accountability, and NCLB (Darling-Hammond, 2004;Fuller, Wright, Gesicki, & Kang, 2007;Kim & Sunderman, 2005;Spillane, Diamond, Burch, Hallett, Jita, & Zoltners, 2002;Spillane, Hallett, & Diamond, 2003), there are gaps in our understanding regarding how urban elementary principals define these terms within the context of their schools and communities. Understanding how principals develop and maintain definitions about what constitutes student success through the accountability movement within the specific context of their schools is essential to consistently improve the capacity of schools as environments where student academic needs are nurtured and supported.…”