Shifting views: target setting, professional development and whole school improvement in one special school

Abstract

This study reports on a programme of professional development in a single context; the development of National Curriculum core subject expertise amongst staff in a large all age special school. Links between professional development and whole school development are explored and some of the tensions found within the case study school are described. The importance of institutional history as a factor in school development is stressed. It is argued that any target setting process needs to take account of an organisation's history and that target setting within the sphere of professional development is likely to be complicated by the possibility of conflicts between national, institutional and individual agendas. It is suggested that ultimately the process of professional development may, in itself, further complicate institutional target setting as individual members of staff develop and articulate their own values. Background This article describes an attempt by one large special school to implement a professional development programme targeted on the development of knowledge in National Curriculum (NC) core subjects, while at the same time addressing wider issues of professional development. The programme was developed by the Head and his Deputy, in conjunction with senior university staff from Manchester Metropolitan University (MMU). The impetus for the project came from two sources; a recent Office of Standards in Education (OFSTED) inspection, which highlighted the need to develop teachers' subject knowledge in English, Maths and Science, and more fundamentally, from the belief of the Head and Deputy that a link with a University could provide a powerful tool for individual PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT IN A SPECIAL SCHOOL

Individual target setting in a mainstream and special school: tensions in understanding and ownership

“…The source of targets may affect the aims but also raises questions of commitment. For example, the requirement for targets by government may accord a status so that senior managers are keen to improve their school's placement in a league table, but their capacity to achieve that target depends on several factors arguably beyond their control such as school catchment area, student profile and teacher and student motivation (Turner 1999). The importance of different types of individual target would seem to depend on the status accorded to the individuals who have agency for the target's achievement.…”