The period from 1975 to 1990 was a time of profound change for staff development in secondary education in Scotland. At the start staff development was relatively informal and unstructured, dependent upon the motivation and commitment of the individual teacher; it developed into a collegial undertaking with the focus moving from the individual to the group; finally, staff development became a function of school management and responsive to the external governance of education. The purpose of the thesis is to analyse the process of change over this period by focusing on the policy making level and by considering concepts and theories from wider research literature on the management of change. It therefore suggests how staff development might best be supported. Extended interviews with 13 senior educationists who played a prominment part in educational policy during the period, most of whom were now retired, explored their perceptions of the factors influencing staff development over this period. The interviews were recorded and key sections were transcribed. Through cross-referencing across the interviews, emerging themes were further related to concepts developed in the research literature. Two conflicting approaches to the management of staff development in Scottish secondary schools were noted, one aiming at liberal empowerment and the other moving towards an increasingly managerialist stance. The trend towards managerialism appeared first among regional education authorities, and was then built on by central authorities in Scotland, which have increasingly taken control over the direction of staff development. The strengths and limitations of both approaches are discussed, and an alternative approach is suggested, in which leadership rather than regulation characterises the role of the centre, the school's capacity for staff development is exploited, and a district level of governance gives direction and support for staff development.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:bl.uk/oai:ethos.bl.uk:593372 |
| Date | January 1993 |
| Creators | Ross, Hamish |
| Publisher | University of Aberdeen |
| Source Sets | Ethos UK |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Electronic Thesis or Dissertation |
| Source | http://digitool.abdn.ac.uk/R?func=search-advanced-go&find_code1=WSN&request1=AAIU052157 |
Page generated in 0.0021 seconds