Editorial

Welcome to this special edition of Management in Education which focuses on the governance and governing of educational institutions. This special edition of Management in Education seeks to explore the current issues of the governance and governing of educational institutions in response to policy changes, academisation, the coronavirus pandemic and beyond. Whilst much of this edition derives from the experience of education policy in England, there is wider relevance for appreciating the governing of educational institutions more generally. This edition is intended to contribute to our understanding of the role and practice of governors of schools/academies and clusters of schools/academies.

There are specific themes explored ranging from:

Ethical and values-based leadership

Diverse governance

Academisation and ‘Matification’

New policy directives.

This edition also helps us to question the contribution of governing to the leadership of schools, specifically how does the governing board of a school/academy or multi-academy trust interact with senior managers and leaders?

Also, in the light of experience from the Covid pandemic, there will be new questions for governors to be asking and pursuing. If governing an educational institution or group of educational institutions is about steering by setting a strategy and overseeing its implementation, what might be the priorities for schools, in the coming period?

In this issue, we have a selection of research articles, an opinion piece, a book review and an interview, all based on the theme of governing and governance as an aspect of leadership in education.

Our first contribution, by Vivienne Porritt and Fiona Staggs, asks the question whether governance can be ethical if it is not diverse. The piece offers an insightful outline of the importance of diverse governance, and how it can contribute to key decision making, which reflects the needs of the communities, governing bodies serve, in a more representative way.

In the second piece, Nigel Gann and Andrew Allen discuss the perceived accountability deficit within academised school governance in England in their article. The authors explore the core issues around academised governance, and they aim to present a new ‘architecture’ of governance, that seeks to restore democratised accountability.

In our third contribution, Christine Forde and Deidre Torrance explore the role of headteachers in relation to the new policy challenges in the Scottish education system. The role of headteachers and the tensions between the operational, strategic and accountability are examined.

We then have another research article from Caroline Vinall who outlines the challenges faced by ‘local governing bodies’ within MATs in England, and how they can become disempowered. Vinall thinks the role ‘local governing bodies’ i.e. institutional governing bodies, play should not be underestimated as they can be expected to have a clear grasp of the local needs and should be able to represent the voices of their local communities. However, in MATs in England the trustee board often leads on key decision making, and the voices of the local governing bodies become marginalised. Vinall explores this tension and how this needs to be considered in relation to effective governance.

In the final research article, Janet Hetherington and Gillian Forrester make the case that values-led governance in Co-operative Academies Trusts in England presents an alternative way forward in the neoliberal context of education.

We follow with an opinion piece by Deborah Outhwaite and Mark Gibson, exploring ‘Matification’ in England, and the change journey schools have navigated over the past few years. The article provides a perceptive look at the turbulence faced by school governors, and how governors can play a stabilising and enriching role in leading schools at challenging times.

We also include in this special issue an interview with Professor Ron Hill, who convened the Governance and Governing Research Interest group (RIG) for nine years until July 2020, and we celebrate his contributions to the RIG as well as his thoughts about the governing and governance of education across phases of teaching and learning.

Our final contribution is a review of ‘The Great Education Robbery: How the Government Took our Schools and Gave Them to Big Business’ by Nigel Gann. This book is a well-researched investigation of how academisation in England impacts on school communities and the roles of governance and leadership. Gann is a champion for community priorities and voices being represented in a democratic way and concludes his book by offering a new policy framework for improved governance and accountability.