‘It was just as political as it was pragmatic’: the (in)formal roles and policy work of ‘curriculum leaders’ in a federated education context

Figures & data

Table 1. Curriculum leaders’ ‘official’ and ‘informal’ policy work and associated actor positions/roles and influences.

CL	Policy Work		Primary Actor Positions** (From Ball et al. 2012)	Expanded Actor Positions/Roles***	Influences Evident****
	Official	Informal*
1	Interpret curriculum Write/develop curriculum and support material including work samples Supervise reform process Deliver professional development workshops and presentations Manager Consult and advise stakeholders	‘Keep the peace’/Perform a balancing act (personal values/official line and expectations) Follow/communicate a ‘party line’ Observe, monitor others	Narrator Transactor Receiver Critic (Enthusiast towards the Five Propositions)	Insider/outsider Bureaucrat, civil servant Policy maker Cynic Peace maker Pragmatist Pawn	Previous employment Pedagogist Personal values – humanist, social justice, equity, wellbeing New to the organisation and role Politics and position
2	Policy and curriculum advice to government and Minister Curriculum support to teachers Connect and network with teachers, stakeholders, researchers, government agencies and across systems Write/develop curriculum and support material including resources and professional development Verify research and evidence-based practices in HPE Oversee compliance	Protect/buffer teachers Spy/Listen/‘Pay attention’ Be ahead of the game – plan for and react to school-based incidents, media reports, relevant HPE initiatives Consult and provide recommendations to key stakeholders	Translator Narrator (Enthusiast towards 5 Propositions)	Gatekeeper Conduit Connector Adviser Realist Pragmatist Optimist Leader	Teaching experience Short term appointment Personal views of reform Politics and position- ‘trained speak’ (redacting, language, editing, party line) ‘My role is the stay across everything’
3	Connect, a conduit between education, health; schools, state Interpret curriculum in order to translate and make ‘less white’ Advocate Policy ‘filter’ (government to ground)	Filter, ‘water down’ Fight, stand up; cultural advocate Be honest Re-languaging and giving voice to culturally diverse peoples and communities	Receiver Enthusiast (Enthusiast towards 5 Propositions – though not on agenda as in the ‘too hard basket’)	Advocate Realist Pragmatist Connector Sceptic	Teaching experience Personal values – social justice, equity Jurisdictional politics and context Doubts re jurisdictional curriculum reform uptake and teacher ability to implement change
4	Write/develop/advise curriculum and support material Deliver professional development workshops and presentations Oversee compliance Decision-maker re specific content focus	Observer of others, for example, jurisdictions, systems, teachers work Fight battles re content inclusions	Narrator Transactor Translator (Low level enthusiasm towards 5 Propositions)	Realist Defender Mediator Cynic Pragmatist	Background not HPE Politics and personal values – pragmatism, compliance Doubts re teacher change Concern about teacher qualification/training ‘Just get the job done’ approach
5	Supervise HPE reform process and oversee staff across learning areas Write/develop and interpret curriculum Facilitate curriculum consultation and implementation Recruit (teachers), outsource and development of support material, resources, for example, work samples, unit of work, assessments Oversee legislative compliance Deliver conference presentations	Modify,mould, make palatable (simplify curriculum) Recruit, hail and support outsiders	Translator Transactor Entrepreneur (Enthusiast towards 5 Propositions)	Leader Moderator Broker Gatekeeper Lobbyist	Teaching experience Time constraints Politician – cagey/cautious Jurisdictional politics and policyscape Legislative processes/ constraints
6	Oversee compliance Support teachers and provide information, for example, via website, webinars Provide specific support and advice on assessment and reporting, including developing examples and supporting standards Deliver workshops and presentations Respond to Ministerial directives	Fulfil public servant, ‘job’ Maintain advisory role to teachers Advance a broad education action plan, for exmaple, digital technologies Observer of others, for example, jurisdictions, systems, providers	Receiver Transactor (Low level enthusiasm towards 5 Propositions)	Pragmatist Bureaucrat	No HPE background New to role Politics and personal values – pragmatism, compliance, limited knowledge and investment, docile, self-protection ‘Just get the job done’ approach
7	Design/develop/create support materials and resources, that is, textbook Curriculum adviser Deliver conference presentations	Publish and leverage experience Textbook writer/contributor Influential HPE observer (‘sage’) – participant observer over time	Enthusiast Entrepreneur (Enthusiast towards 5 Propositions)	Insider/outsider Producer Pragmatist Opportunist Influencer	Not in HPE space directly HPE enthusiast Has profile/status in field Previous experience and career history Teaching experience Privileged political/policy position and insights Politics and personal values – optimistic re change
8	Supervise, manage, support and oversee curriculum consultants across learning areas Design/develop/publish curriculum Manage jurisdictional assessment, that is, establish standards, collect evidence against standards, gather data Administer and regulate assessment and examinations Consult with, influence and advise high-level stakeholders (e.g. Principals) and government	Have influential casual conversations re HPE, for example, lobby, cajoule, keep peace with stakeholders Provide informal feedback or advice (personal impressions) to other leaders Story-teller; stays in the know across jurisdictions Leverage reputation to influence curriculum reform Influential HPE observer (‘sage’) – participant observer over time	Narrator Translator (Enthusiast towards 5 Propositions)	Leader Consultant Orator/debater Researcher Influencer	Not in HPE space directly HPE enthusiast Career history and status – time in roles, fingers in pies In the know/known – reputation, profile Politics and position – high level (expert, elite), open/candour, mates/contacts

*Informal: reflects aspects of policy work that were characteristically inherent in the policy actors’ work linked to their formal position and roles, but that were not aspects of work or ways of working that would be explicit in those positions/roles. Some aspects of informal policy work are nevertheless expected. Some reflect the actors pursuing opportunities for policy influence.

**Primary actor positions: reflects our annotation on the transcripts of frequency of policy actor work following Ball et al. (2012). Here we list the most frequently occurring.

***Expanded policy actor positions/roles: reflects our attempt to capture the complexities of the policy positions/roles being enacted, and particularly reflect the combination of formal and informal policy work in roles/positions adopted.

****Influences evident: indicate where the speakers’ position, authority, status, knowledge, experience, past history, personal interest, investments, motivations and values came through in interview data.

Ball, S. J., M. Maguire, A. Braun, K. Hoskins, and J. Perryman. 2012. How Schools Do Policy: Policy Enactments in Secondary Schools. Oxon, Abingdon: Routledge.

 Google Scholar