Abstract
Research was carried out in three discrete regions in England and Africa into the benefits of school principals sharing issues with at least one other leader from another school. Different forms of this inter-school collaboration operated in Birmingham, England, Limpopo province of South Africa and Mtawra province of Tanzania. These ranged from a formally structured model to meeting an informal desire by leaders to gain from others’ expertise. Interviews were carried out with the leaders and with connected stakeholders, as well as relevant documents being analysed. In all cases, the data showed that school leaders were hugely in favour of collaborating with other leaders so that there could be mutual learning, regardless of the previous status of the schools. The key factors in the success of such collaborations were seen to be professional trust between the participants and the facilitation of the process by a third party.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
References
Abbott, I. (2015). Politics and education policy into practice: conversations with former secretaries of state. Journal of Educational Administration and History, 47(4), 334–349.
Ainscow, M., Beresford, J., Harris, A., & Hopkins, D. (2012a). Creating the conditions for school improvement. London: David Fulton.
Ainscow, M., Dyson, A., Goldrick, S., & West, M. (2012b). Making schools effective for all: rethinking the task. School Leadership and Management, 32(3), 197–213.
Barrett-Baxendale, D., & Burton, D. (2009). Twenty first century headteacher: pedagogue or visionary leader or both? Journal of School Leadership and Management, 29(2), 91–106.
Bell, L., & Stevenson, H. (2006). Education policy: process, themes and impact. Abingdon: Routledge.
Brock, C. (2011). Education as a global concern. London: Continuum.
Bush, T. (2008). Leadership and management development in education. London: Sage.
Bush, T., & Glover, D. (2013). School leadership in West Africa. Paris: UNESCO.
Bush, T., & Oduro, G. (2006). New principals in Africa: preparation, induction and practice. Journal of Educational Administration, 44(4), 359–375.
Chapman, C. (2015). From one school to many: reflections on the impact and nature of school federations and chains in England. Educational Management Administration and Leadership, 43(1), 46–60.
Coleman, A. (2011). Towards a blended model for school-based collaborations. Educational Management Administration and Leadership, 39(3), 296–316.
Connolly, M., & James, C. (2006). Collaboration for school improvement. Educational Management Administration and Leadership, 34(1), 69–87.
Cortazzi, M. (2002). Analysing narratives and documents. In M. Coleman & A. Briggs (Eds.), Research methods in educational leadership and management. London: Sage.
Eacott, S., & Asuga, G. (2014). School leadership preparation and development in Africa: a critical insight. Educational Management Administration and Leadership, 42(6), 852–868.
Fleisch, B. (2008). Primary education in crisis: Why South African schoolchildren underachieve. Reading and Maths. Cape Town: RSA, Juta and Company Ltd.
Fullan, M. (2005). Leadership and sustainability: system leaders in action. London: Sage.
Gillinson, S., Hannnon, C., & Gallagher, N. (2007). Learning together. In S. Parker and N. Gallagher (Eds.), The collaborative state. London: Demos.
Gorard, S. (2009). What are academies the answer to? Journal of Education Policy, 24(1), 101–113.
Hardman, F., Abd-Kadiri, I., & Tibuhinda, T. (2012). Reforming teacher education in Tanzania. International Journal of Educational Development, 32(6), 826–834.
Hargreaves, A. (2010). Creating a self-improving school system. Nottingham: National College.
Hargreaves, A., & Ainscow, M. (2015). The top and bottom of leadership and change. Phi Delta Kappa, 97(3), 42–48.
Hatcher, R. (2008). System leadership, networks and the quest for power. Management in Education, 22(2), 24–30.
Higham, R. (2014). ‘Who owns our schools?’ An analysis of the governance of free schools in England. Educational Management Administration and Leadership, 42(3), 404–423.
Maringe, F., & Moletsane, R. (2015). Leading schools in circumstances of multiple deprivation in South Africa. Educational Management Administration and Leadership, 43(3), 347–385.
Masinire, A., Maringe, F., & Nkambule, T. (2014). Rural education, education in rural schools of education for rural development: embodying rural dimensions in initial teacher education. Perspectives in Education, 32(3), 146–158.
Middlewood, D., & Abbott, I. (2012). Achieving success with your leadership project. London: Sage.
Middlewood, D., & Abbott, I. (2015). Improving professional learning through in-house inquiry. London: Bloomsbury.
Middlewood, D, A. I., & Robinson, S. (2014). Prospecting for support in a wild environment: investigating a school-to-school support system for primary school leaders. School Leadership and Management, 34(5), 439–453.
Mestry, R. (2014). A critical analysis of the national norms and standards of school funding policy in South Africa. Educational Management Administration and Leadership, 42(6), 851–867.
Prew, M. (2009). Modifying school improvement concepts to the needs of South African township schools. Education Management Administration and Leadership, 37(6), 824–846.
Rathbone, M, A. I., & Whitehead, P. (2013). Education policy. London: Sage.
Robinson, S. (2011). Primary headteachers: new leadership roles inside and outside the school. Education Management Administration and Leadership, 39(3), 63–83.
Robinson, S. (2012). School and system leadership: changing roles for primary headteachers. London: Continuum.
Smith, P., & Abbott, I. (2014). Local responses to national policy: the contrasting experiences of two Midlands cities to the Academies Act 2010. Educational Management Administration and Leadership, 42(3), 341–354.
Spaull, N., & Taylor, S. (2012, December 21). Effective enrolment-creating a composite measure of educational access and educational quality to accurately describe performance in sub-Saharan Africa. Stellenbosch Economic Working Papers (pp. 1–25). Matieland: Stellenbosch University.
Statistics, South Africa. (2015). Education Series 1. Focus on Schooling in Limpopo, Report 92-01-01, Pretoria, South Africa.
Stephens, D. (2012). The role of culture in interpreting and conducting research. In A. Briggs, M. Coleman, & M. Morrison (Eds.), Research methods in educational leadership and management. London: Sage.
Townsend, A. (2015). Leading school networks: hybrid leadership in action? Educational Management Administration and Leadership, 43(5), 719–737.
UNESCO-CFIT Project. (2014, June). Tanzania needs assessment report. http://unesdo.unesco.org/images/0023/002336/233665.pdf. Accessed 10 March 2014.
Whitty, G. (2008). Twenty years of progress: English education policy 1988 to the present. Educational Management Administration and Leadership, 36(2), 165–184.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Copyright information
© 2017 The Author(s)
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Middlewood, D., Abbott, I., Netshandama, V.O., Whitehead, P. (2017). Policy Leadership, School Improvement and Staff Development in England, Tanzania and South Africa: Schools Working Together. In: Miller, P. (eds) Cultures of Educational Leadership. Intercultural Studies in Education. Palgrave Macmillan, London. https://doi.org/10.1057/978-1-137-58567-7_7
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1057/978-1-137-58567-7_7
Published:
Publisher Name: Palgrave Macmillan, London
Print ISBN: 978-1-137-58566-0
Online ISBN: 978-1-137-58567-7
eBook Packages: EducationEducation (R0)