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`policy Actors: Doing Policy Work In Schools`

An investigation into policy

Date : 23/05/2017

Author Information

Giles

Uploaded by : Giles
Uploaded on : 23/05/2017
Subject : Special Needs

Policy actors: doing policy work in schools


The article by Ball et al (2011) discusses the various impacts of introducing policy within the school setting. It offers many different viewpoints and examples of the policies implication within schools, whether they are positive or negative. Firstly, the problem of meaning within policy is addressed, and states that the participants are both receivers and agents of policy . This suggests that, when policy is introduced, it is open to interpretation, and can be taken the way in which the school sees fit. It is important to examine the filtering out and selective focusing done by head teachers and their SLT s (Ball et al, 2011) and this is important for schools to have a clear plan of what policy they are following and how they are going to implement it.

The actors in schools are positioned differently and take up different positions in relation to policy, including positions of indifference or avoidance or irrelevance. A problem with this arises when the teachers don t necessarily have the time to keep up to date with the policy and so change their policy in a way which best suits their practice. However, the headmaster or mistress of the school should focus on the filtering out and selective focusing done by head teachers and their SLTs, which is a crucial aspect of policy interpretation . Different schools will have different policies and teachers will apply these policies in the way in which suits them. Having said this, there is a fine balance between making policy palatable and making it happen (Ball et al, 2011) and draws the attention to the actual application of the policy. It is difficult to apply one policy, when another policy may come in and replace it shortly afterwards. The idea of policy is one which is very fluid and is continuously changing. As one case study within the article states this scattergun approach to policy is just not working (Ball et al, 2011) and the focus should instead be on the ones, which are really important, and could really make a difference within the school. Too often schools could follow a policy which would not necessarily benefit the student and so particular focus should be on finding a policy which works within the school the actor is working in.

It could be argued, that the system of introducing different policies seems to be flawed. There is not one policy which is suited to a school, yet the teachers do not have time to focus on all the different policies being introduced, whilst trying to keep above marking, teaching and other things in which they are expected to do. Some teachers see policy as a way to advance their career, through identification with and expertise in a particular area of policy. However, this rise in the senior management teams leads to a lot of people working in roles, which a lot of teachers will not understand. The question here, is why should a school raise people s workload and title, when they are not necessarily going to change anything? By assigning policy to individual members of staff, it can also cause resentment amongst the staff if someone gets given a role and the other members of staff do not necessarily agree with the policy. Not only this, but the policies will not necessarily help the students within the school, but instead help the staff member with something to put on their CV and therefore enhancing the staff member s reputation. Yet again, this article raises the view that the system of policy and the application of it is not straight forward and has to be tailored to fit in to the specific school.

With some teachers seeing policy as a way to enhance their own profile, it is seen that there is a low trust policy environment in which accountability work and the reporting of performances can take up increasing amounts of time and divert time and effort away from that which is reported on (Ball, 2003). Arguments can be made that far too often the lower down the totem pole you are, your time and your workload are increased because other people have boxes to tick . This could mean that NQTs or admin staff are left with policy and no real understanding or time to focus on the areas which really matter. It seems that there is a continuous battle between whether the staff members should be focusing on enhancing the children s education or whether they should be spending their time riffling through policy paperwork. It seems ridiculous to expect so much of the staff, just to tick boxes .

More pressure is asserted when Policy responses are made calculable and teachers become continually accountable for their effectiveness . This therefore applies more pressure to the teachers in an environment which is already incredibly stressful. The fact that Policy is enforced, required of you and foisted on you, and you have to adjust because you are expected, pressurised, instructed, and even dictated by policy seems far-fetched. When looking at these words used in the article, it becomes increasingly evident that there is little interpretation room within policy, and these teachers are struggling to accept the policy being forced on them. The language used is one of assault , which suggests that the expectations surrounding policy are unrealistic which, to a large extent unacceptable and leads to people not wanting to continue with the teaching. Not only this, but the teachers are afraid to teach the way they want to teach. It seems that leads to oppressing creativity and individualism, which is what the teachers are supposed to and want to do. This can prevent the lessons from expanding and leads to a boring environment, in which the students (particularly those with educational difficulties) will fail from and become uninterested in. If the paths in which the teachers chose to take, are being shut down or prevented by a particular type of policy, how can things then be expected to progress?

With the teachers being at different points of their careers, some teachers may buy into different policies to that of their colleagues. The choosing of the right policy can lead to the teacher either advancing, or being worn down, however, if as teachers we are constantly being battered by policy and being forced in to following the wrong route of policy, it can lead to teachers leaving the profession. There is a mass shortage of certain types of teachers within mainstream schools currently, and this is understandable. If teachers are forced in to accepting certain policies, manage the policies on top of marking and teaching, it becomes too much.

The article therefore opens many debates in to the importance of policy. It is clearly important and used in day to day work within a school setting, however the extent to which it encroaches on educational creativity is still one which will be debated for years. Until policy can work hand in hand within a school setting, instead of becoming the main priority, the application of policy can be considered disruptive.

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