Approaches to school evaluation in England since the Education Reform Act of 1988: rethinking the purpose, method and use of school evaluation based on expert interviews

Ozsezer-Kurnuc, Sevda (2022) Approaches to school evaluation in England since the Education Reform Act of 1988: rethinking the purpose, method and use of school evaluation based on expert interviews. Doctoral thesis, University of East Anglia.

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Abstract

Questions about the effectiveness of state schools in England in the 1980s, gave rise to debates on the quality of education, opening the system to external scrutiny. In this context, the Education Reform Act 1988 introduced a new approach to evaluating schools, underpinned by New Public Management, aimed at improving student performance in national tests and resting on four pillars: accountability, Ofsted inspections, school league tables and parental choice. This ‘official’ (government) approach to school evaluation has, to this day, remained controversial, attracting both support and critique. This study seeks to contribute to the ongoing debates about this approach by drawing on data collected through expert (elite) interviews. Fifteen educational experts working in the roles of education policy actors, policy influencers, and school practitioners were purposively selected and asked to assess the official approach to school evaluation and suggest alternatives. The interview data were analysed for similarities, differences and themes across the participant sample and interpreted through the lens of evaluation theory (Christie and Alkin, 2013; MacDonald, 1974, 1976; Patton, 2006, 2011, 2012). The views of expert participants point to a number of benefits as well as problems with the official approach to school evaluation. Their suggested alternatives range from minor changes to Ofsted’s inspection methods to more radical alternatives, which include reframing inspections, reconfiguring accountability, and reconceptualising school evaluation.

This thesis concludes that the official approach to school evaluation in England introduced with the Education Reform Act 1988 does not appear to have worked as intended. It was designed as objective and evidence-based, but within a limited conception of evidence, based on the pillars of accountability, Ofsted inspection, school league tables and parental choice. To understand why this approach has not worked as intended, we need to examine the foundations of these four pillars in New Public Management and marketised education. In alignment with some of the experts who participated in this research, this thesis argues for an alternative approach to school evaluation which relies on trusted professionals, voice, capacity building, and collaboration. These alternative pillars rest on the foundations of democratic values, community involvement, and the evaluation of schools as complex, non-linear organisations that operate in specific contexts. The main purpose of complexity-based evaluation is collaborative learning, essential for improving both the single school and the whole education system.

Item Type:	Thesis (Doctoral)
Faculty \ School:	Faculty of Social Sciences > School of Education and Lifelong Learning
Depositing User:	Chris White
Date Deposited:	09 Aug 2023 07:25
Last Modified:	07 Sep 2023 09:08
URI:	https://ueaeprints.uea.ac.uk/id/eprint/92812
DOI:

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