![Sample our Education journals, sign in here to start your access, latest two full volumes FREE to you for 14 days]({"type":"image" , "src" : "/sda/5932/TOC-Subject-Sample-2021-Education.jpg"})
ABSTRACT
Multi-academy trusts are groups of schools in England led by an Executive Head Teacher and a Board of Trustees. High profile failures of these organisations raise questions over the way they are strategically led. Leadership studies argue that the absence of strategic thinking is a major detractor from performance & sustainability. However, creating strategy for a single organisation is very different to creating it for a collaboration. This article adopts a schema-based approach to examine the ways in leadership boards approach strategy as learning. Drawing on 42 qualitative interviews it asks: What evidence is there that strategy is a learning activity; What organisational implications are there for this? What are the implications of this for Trustee and CEO development in this area? And what theoretical contribution does this study make to what is known about strategy learning in multi-level organisations? The paper concludes that there is evidence to suggest that respondents view strategy as learning, whilst also suggesting areas for professional development for school leaders. From a theoretical perspective, the paper adds to knowledge on the role of metacognition in a strategy as learning approach to strategic decision-making.
Disclosure statement
No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).
Additional information
Funding
Notes on contributors
Jacqueline Baxter
Dr Jacqueline Baxter is Associate Professor in Public Policy and Management and Director for the Centre of Innovation in Online Business and Legal Education (SCILAB). She is Principal Fellow of The Higher Education Academy, Fellow of The Academy of Social Sciences and Elected Council Member of Belmas. She has been Editor in Chief of the Sage Journal Management in Education (MiE) for 4 years. Her current funded research projects examine the interrelationship between trust, accountability and capacity in improving learning outcomes; and the strategic management of online learning in secondary schools during and beyond Covid19. Dr Baxter is based in The department of Public Leadership and Social Enterprise at the Open University Business School. She tweets @drjacqueBaxter and her profile can be found at : http://www.open.ac.uk/people/jab899. Her latest book is: Trust, Accountability and Capacity in Education System Reform (Routledge, 2020).
Anna John
Dr Anna John is Lecturer in Strategy at the Open University Business School, her research interests lie in the areas of Managing non-market risk to foreign investments.