Paul Armstrong Thesis - full document

366 Pages·2014·5.99 MB·English

A
 Multi-­‐perspective
 Study
 of

School
 Business
 Management
 in

England

Paul
 Wilfred
 Armstrong

A
 thesis
 submitted
 to
 The
 University
 of

Manchester
 for
 the
 degree
 of

Doctor
 of
 Philosophy
 in
 Education

In
 the
 Faculty
 of
 Humanities

2014

School
 of
 Education
CONTENTS

  Page

LIST
 OF
 TABLES
  7

LIST
 OF
 FIGURES
  8

LIST
 OF
 APPENDICES
  9

ABSTRACT
  10

DECLARATION
 AND
 COPYRIGHT
 STATEMENT
  11

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
  12

ABBREVIATIONS
  13

CHAPTER
 1:
 INTRODUCTION
  14

1.1

 Introduction
  14

1.2

 Focus
 of
 thesis
  16

1.3

 Structure
 of
 thesis
  17

CHAPTER
 2:

 REVIEWING
 THE
 LITERATURE
  19

2.1

 Introduction
  19

2.2

 Change,
 culture
 and
 leadership
  20

2.2.1

 Organisational
 change
  20

2.2.2

 Organisational
 culture
  23

 2.2.2.1

 Defining
 the
 concept
  24

2.2.3

 Educational
 change
  29

2.2.4

 School
 culture
  32

2.2.5

 Leadership
  34

 2.2.5.1

 Models
 of
 leadership
  36

2.2.6

 Management
  40

2.3

 Reform
 and
 education
  43

2.3.1

 Public
 sector
 reform
  43

2.3.2

 Educational
 reform
  47

2.3.3

 Inter-­‐school
 collaboration
  52

 2.3

 School
 business
 management
 in
 England
  55

2.4.1

 SBMs:
 Origins

  55

2.4.2

 Bursars
 in
 state
 schools
  57

2.4.3

 SBMs:
 Evolution
  61

2.4.4

 School
 business
 management:
 A
 growing
 profession
  62

2.4.5

 SBMs:
 An
 international
 perspective
  65

2.4.6

 SBMs:
 Current
 research
  66

2.5

 Summary
  68

2
CHAPTER
 3:
 DEVELOPING
 A
 RESEARCH
 STRATEGY
  70

3.1

 Introduction
  70

3.2

 Origins
 of
 the
 thesis
  70

3.3

 Philosophical
 stance
  72

3.3.1

 Interpretivism
  74

3.4

 Developing
 the
 research
 design
  76

3.5

 Methods
 of
 data
 collection:
 rationale
  79

3.6

 Summary
  83

CHAPTER
 4:
 RESEARCH
 DESIGN
 AND
 METHODS
  85

4.1

 Introduction
  85

4.2

 Sampling
  86

4.2.1

 Strategy
  86

4.2.2

 Identification
 and
 selection
 of
 case
 study
 sites
  87

4.2.3

 Identification
 and
 selection
 of
 stakeholders
  89

4.3

 Developing
 instruments
  90

4.3.1

 Strand
 1:
 Background
 data
  91

4.3.2

 Strand
 2:
 Survey
  91

4.3.3

 Strand
 3:
 Interview
  93

4.4

 Piloting
  95

4.5

 Data
 collection
  96

4.5.1

 Strand
 1:
 Background
 data
  96

4.5.2

 Strand
 2:
 Survey
  97

 4.5.2.1

 Strand
 2:
 Challenges
 and
 dilemmas
  97

4.5.3

 Strand
 3:
 Interview
  99

4.6

 Data
 analysis
  101

4.6.1

 Strand
 1:
 Background
 data
  101

4.6.2

 Strand
 3:
 Interview
  102

4.7

 Establishing
 trustworthiness
  103

4.7.1

 Credibility
  104

4.7.2

 Transferability
  106

4.7.3

 Dependability
  107

4.7.4

 Confirmability
  108

4.8

 Limitations
  108

4.8.1

 Strand
 1:
 Background
 data
  108

4.8.2

 Strand
 2:
 Survey
  109

4.8.3

 Strand
 3:
 Interview
  109

4.8.4

 General
 limitations
  109

4.9

 Summary
  111

CHAPTER
 5:

 FINDINGS
 AND
 ANALYSIS
 I:
 INDIVIDUAL
 CASE
 STUDIES
  112

5.1

 Introduction
  112

CHAPTER
 5.2:
 CASE
 STUDY
 A:
 RIDGE
 LANE
 AND
 CARRBROOK
  114

FEDERATION

3
5.2.1

 Synopsis
  114

5.2.2

 Case
 A:
 School
 business
 management
 model
  114

5.2.3

 Context
  115

5.2.4

 Data
 collection:
 Phase
 1
  116

School
 business
 management
 provision

  116

5.2.5

 Data
 collection:
 Phase
 2
  117

SBM
 role(s)
  118

Leadership
 and
 management
  119

Barriers
 to
 the
 effectiveness
 of
 the
 SBM
 role

  121

Facilitators
 to
 the
 effectiveness
 of
 the
 SBM
 role
  123

SBM
 impact
  126

5.2.6

 Data
 collection:
 Phase
 3
  127

SBM
 role(s)
  127

Leadership
 and
 management
  129

Barriers
 to
 the
 effectiveness
 of
 the
 SBM
 role
  132

SBM
 impact
  134

Looking
 forward
  137

5.2.7

 Summary
 of
 key
 themes
  138

CHAPTER
 5.3:

 CASE
 STUDY
 B:
 CROSS
 VALE
 SCHOOL
  142

5.3.1

 Synopsis
  142

5.3.2

 Case
 B:
 School
 business
 management
 model
  142

5.3.3

 Context
  142

5.3.4

 Data
 collection:
 Phase
 1
  143

 School
 business
 management
 provision
  143

SBM
 role
  144

Leadership
 and
 management

  145

Barriers
 to
 the
 effectiveness
 of
 the
 SBM
 role

  146

Facilitators
 to
 the
 effectiveness
 of
 the
 SBM
 role
  147

SBM
 impact
  148

5.3.5

 Data
 collection:
 Phase
 2

  150

SBM
 role
  150

Leadership
 and
 management
  151

Barriers
 to
 the
 effectiveness
 of
 the
 SBM
 role

  155

Facilitators
 to
 the
 effectiveness
 of
 the
 SBM
 role
  157

SBM
 impact
  159

Looking
 forward
  162

5.2.6

 Summary
 of
 key
 themes
  163

CHAPTER
 5.4:
 CASE
 STUDY
 C:
 CRANE
 STREET
 FEDERATION
  167

5.4.1

 Synopsis
  167

5.4.2

 Case
 C:
 School
 business
 management
 model
  167

5.4.3

 Context
  168

5.4.4

 Data
 collection:
 Phase
 1
  169

SBM
 role(s)
  169

Barriers
 to
 the
 effectiveness
 of
 the
 SBM
 role
  171

4
Facilitators
 to
 the
 effectiveness
 of
 the
 SBM
 role
  173

SBM
 Impact
  174

Looking
 forward
  175

5.4.5

 Data
 collection:
 Phase
 2
  176

SBM
 role
  176

Leadership
 and
 management
  179

Barriers
 to
 the
 effectiveness
 of
 the
 SBM
 role

  181

Facilitators
 to
 the
 effectiveness
 of
 the
 SBM
 role
  182

SBM
 impact
  183

5.4.6

 Data
 collection:
 Phase
 3:
 Follow-­‐up
 conversation
  184

SBM
 role
  185

5.4.7

 Summary
 of
 key
 themes
  187

CHAPTER
 5.5:
 CASE
 STUDY
 D:
 FERNBROOK
 SCHOOL
  190

5.5.1

 Synopsis
  190

5.5.2

 Case
 D:
 School
 business
 management
 model
  190

5.5.3

 Context
  191

5.5.4

 Data
 collection:
 Phase
 1
  191

SBM
 role
  191

Leadership
 and
 management
  193

Facilitators
 to
 the
 effectiveness
 of
 the
 SBM
 role

  195

SBM
 impact
  196

Looking
 forward
  197

5.5.5

 Data
 collection:
 Phase
 2

  198

SBM
 role
  198

Leadership
 and
 management
  200

Barriers
 to
 the
 effectiveness
 of
 the
 SBM
 role

  201

Facilitators
 to
 the
 effectiveness
 of
 the
 SBM
 role

  202

SBM
 Impact
  204

Looking
 forward
  206

5.5.6

 Summary
 of
 key
 themes
  207

CHAPTER
 6:
 FINDINGS
 AND
 ANALYSIS
 II:
 CROSS-­‐CASE
 ANALYSIS
  211

6.1

 Introduction
  211

6.2

 SBM
 Role
  212

6.2.1

 Leadership
 and
 management
  212

6.2.2

 Breadth
 and
 depth
 of
 the
 SBM
 role
  214

6.3

 Barriers
 to
 the
 effectiveness
 of
 the
 SBM
 role
  216

6.3.1

 Common
 understanding/acceptance
 of
 the
 role
  216

6.4

 Facilitators
 to
 the
 effectiveness
 of
 the
 SBM
 role
  217

6.4.1

 Working
 relationships
  217

6.4.2

 SBM
 profile
  218

6.4.3

 Professional
 ambition
  219

6.6

 SBM
 impact
  220

6.6.1

 Impact
 on
 headteacher
  221

6.6.2

 Financial
 impact
  222

6.6.3

 Impact
 on
 support
 staff
  223

5
6.6.4

 Impact
 on
 students
  223

6.6.5

 Cultural
 impact
  224

6.7

 Educational
 change
  225

6.7.1

 Inter-­‐school
 collaboration
  226

6.7.2

 Changing
 role
 of
 the
 Local
 Authority
 (LA)
  226

6.8

 Summary
  227

CHAPTER
 7:
 DISCUSSION
 AND
 CONCLUSION
  229

7.1

 Introduction
  229

7.2

 Key
 themes
 addressing
 RQ1
  230

7.2.1

 Breadth
 and
 depth
 of
 the
 SBM
 role
  230

7.2.2

 Inter-­‐school
 collaboration
  233

7.2.3

 Changing
 role
 of
 the
 Local
 Authority
  235

7.3

 Key
 themes
 addressing
 RQ2
  237

7.3.1

 Leadership
 and
 management
  237

7.4

 Key
 themes
 addressing
 RQ3
  242

7.4.1

 Impact
 on
 headteacher
  242

7.4.2

 Financial
 impact
  244

7.4.3

 Impact
 on
 support
 staff
  245

7.4.4

 Impact
 on
 students
  246

7.4.5

 Cultural
 impact
  248

7.5

 Key
 themes
 addressing
 RQ4
  250

7.5.1

 Working
 relationships
  250

7.5.2

 SBM
 profile
  251

7.5.3

 Professional
 ambition
  253

7.5.4

 Common
 understanding/acceptance
 of
 the
 role
  254

7.6

 A
 conceptual
 framework
 of
 school
 business
 management
  256

models

7.6.1

 Type
 A:
 ‘The
 Company
 Director’
  258

7.6.2

 Type
 B:
 ‘The
 Area
 Manager’
  258

7.6.3

 Type
 C:
 ‘The
 Unit
 Manager’
  259

7.6.4

 Type
 D:
 ‘The
 Ground
 Level
 Operative’
  259

7.7

 Conclusion
  262

7.8

 Further
 research
  267

7.8.1

 Diversity
 of
 the
 SBM
 role
  267

7.8.2

 Contemporary
 models
 of
 school
 business
 management
  267

7.8.3

 SBM
 role
 in
 the
 development
 of
 support
 staff
  268

7.8.4

 SBM
 resilience
  268

CHAPTER
 8:
 REFLECTIONS
  269

REFERENCES
  271

APPENDICES
  292

Final
  word
  count
  (including
  footnotes
  but
  excluding
  tables,
  figures,

references
 and
 appendices
 =
 79,
 674)

6
LIST
 OF
 TABLES

  Page

Table
 1
  Societal
 shifts,
 educational
 ruptures
 and
 the
  48

state

Table
 2
  Summary
 of
 data
 collected
 for
 SBMDPP

  72

Table
 3
  Case
 study
 descriptors
 and
 context
  89

Table
 4
  Summary
 table
 of
 data
 collected
 at
 each
 case
  101

study
 site

Table
 5
  Case
 study
 characteristics

  113

7
LIST
 OF
 FIGURES

  Page

Figure
 1
  Three
 Levels
 of
 Culture

  26

Figure
 2
  Example
 Q
 sort
 matrix
  92

Figure
 3
  Background
 data
 collected
 for
 Strand
 1
  96

Figure
 4
  Model
 of
 school
 business
 management
 at
 Ridge
  115

Lane
 and
 Carrbrook
 Federation
 –
 November

2010

Figure
 5
  Model
 of
 school
 business
 management
 at
 Cross
  142

Vale
 School
 –
 October
 2010

Figure
 6
  Model
 of
 school
 business
 management
 at
 Crane
  168

Street
 Federation
 –
 September
 2010

Figure
 7
  Model
 of
 school
 business
 management
 at
  191

Fernbrook
 School
 –
 September
 2010

Figure
 8
  A
 typology
 of
 approaches
 to
 school
 business
  257

management

Figure
 9
  Defining
 Q
 sorts
 and
 eigenvalues
 for
 factors
  354

(Appendix
 XII)
  extracted
 from
 Q
 data

Figure
 10
  Participant
 profile
 and
 factors
  356

(Appendix
 XII)

8
LIST
 OF
 APPENDICES

  Page

Appendix
 I
  Participant
 information
 pack
 and
 consent
 form
  292

Appendix
 II
  UREC
 ethics
 form
 (with
 ethical
 guidelines)
  396

Appendix
 III
  Phase
 1
 –
 Interview
 protocol

  307

Appendix
 IV
  Phase
 2
 –
 Interview
 protocol

  310

Appendix
 V
  Example
 coded
 interview
 transcript
  312

Appendix
 VI
  Example
 summary
 sheet
  318

Appendix
 VII
  List
 of
 codes
 for
 interview
 data
  320

Appendix
 VIII
  Example
 data
 display
  322

Appendix
 IX
  Table
 of
 key
 emerging
 themes
  325

Appendix
 X
  Case
 Report:
 Hamley
 Cluster
  331

Appendix
 XI
  Case
 Report:
 Ainsworth
 Cluster
  342

Appendix
 XII
  Findings
 and
 analysis:
 Q
 survey
  351

Appendix
 XIII
  Q
 survey
 participant
 instructions
  362

Appendix
 XIV
  Final
 set
 of
 Q
 cards

  363

Appendix
 XV
  Factor
 loadings
 for
 individual
 Q
 sorts
 and
  365

correlations
 between
 sorts

9
University
 of
 Manchester

Paul
 Armstrong

Doctor
 of
 Philosophy
 (PhD)
 in
 Education

A
 Multi-­‐Perspective
 Study
 of
 School
 Business
 Management
 in
 England

30th
 January
 2014

ABSTRACT

The
 pace
 and
 intensity
 of
 educational
 reform
 over
 the
 past
 quarter
 of
 a
 century

has
 seen
 wholesale
 changes
 to
 the
 nature
 and
 organisation
 of
 schooling
 and

mounting
 demands
 placed
 on
 school
 leaders
 (Chapman
 and
 Gunter,
 2009)
 with

increasingly
  burdensome
  workloads
  blamed
  for
  problems
  relating
  to
  the

recruitment
 and
 retention
 of
 headteachers
 (Whitaker,
 2003).

Since
 2002,
 and
 largely
 in
 response
 to
 these
 concerns,
 successive
 governments

have
 invested
 in
 national
 programmes
 to
 strengthen
 the
 potential
 of
 a
 previously

fragmented
 section
 of
 the
 school
 workforce
 whose
 skills
 and
 knowledge
 are

particularly
  well-­‐placed
  to
  improve
  capacity
  and
  reduce
  the
  workload
  of

headteachers
 in
 the
 areas
 of
 administration
 and
 finance:
 the
 School
 Business

Manager
 (SBM).
 A
 decade
 on
 there
 is
 thought
 to
 be
 approximately
 13,000
 SBM

posts
 across
 the
 country
 (Summerson,
 2009)
 forming
 an
 integral
 part
 of
 the

school
 workforce.
 So
 how
 has
 the
 role
 developed
 in
 that
 time?
 What
 influence

are
 SBMs
 having
 in
 the
 schools
 in
 which
 they
 operate?
 What
 kind
 of
 work
 does

the
 SBM
 role
 encompass
 in
 a
 modern
 day
 educational
 setting?

This
 thesis
 focuses
 on
 the
 emergence
 of
 SBMs
 in
 English
 schools,
 specifically

drawing
 upon
 the
 composition
 of
 the
 role;
 the
 areas
 of
 school
 in
 which
 they
 are

impacting
 and;
 the
 facilitators
 and
 barriers
 to
 the
 development
 of
 successful

models
 of
 school
 business
 management.
 The
 research
 strategy
 employs
 a
 multi-­‐
perspective,
 case
 study
 design
 to
 explore
 the
 sphere
 of
 activity
 of
 the
 SBM
 in
 a

range
 of
 schools
 of
 different
 types
 and
 phases.
 A
 mixed-­‐methods
 approach
 was

adopted
 to
 collect
 documentary,
 survey
 and
 interview
 evidence
 from
 a
 number

of
 sources
 and
 school
 stakeholders.

The
  findings
  identify
  significant
  diversity
  in
  terms
  of
  the
  responsibilities

undertaken
 by
 SBMs,
 the
 areas
 of
 educational
 provision
 the
 role
 can
 incorporate

and
  the
  type
  of
  impact
  they
  are
  able
  to
  make
  within,
  between
  and
  beyond

schools.
  The
  evidence
  also
  highlights
  the
  varying
  degrees
  of
  leadership
  and

management
 being
 exercised
 by
 SBMs
 in
 different
 settings
 while
 underlining
 the

cultural
 and
 contextual
 factors
 that
 can
 facilitate
 and
 inhibit
 the
 success
 of
 school

business
 management
 models.
 What
 emerges
 is
 a
 role
 that
 can
 be
 of
 meaningful,

tangible
  and
  sustainable
  benefit
  to
  schools
  but
  one
  that
  is
  still
  to
  be
  fully

accepted,
 appreciated
 and
 understood
 in
 some
 quarters
 of
 the
 school
 system.
 To

conclude,
 a
 heuristic
 of
 different
 approaches
 to
 school
 business
 management
 is

presented
  to
  provide
  a
  speculative
  consideration
  of
  some
  of
  the
  key

characteristics
 of
 school
 business
 management
 models
 across
 different
 school

types.
 This
 working
 model
 is
 put
 forward
 as
 a
 means
 of
 stimulating
 further

reflection
 on
 the
 implications
 of
 the
 findings.

10