‘Indentured autonomy’: headteachers and academisation policy in Northern England

ABSTRACT

The academisation of schooling in Northern England is an example of a new mode of educational governance that promises greater autonomy for schools and school leaders. A common claim regarding the benefits of academisation is that it will improve student outcomes by delivering greater autonomy for Headteachers. In this paper, six Headteachers from Northern England, who had decided to academise their schools for various reasons, reflect on this promised autonomy. We develop the concept of ‘indentured autonomy’ (an outcome of negotiating autonomy, continued precariousness and cruel optimism) to explain how these Headteachers’ initial optimism for the academies programme has given way to the concern that they are probably less autonomous now than what they were previously. Paradoxically, these HTs still express a desire for autonomy, even as they reflect that the promised autonomy has not delivered what they had hoped.

KEYWORDS:

• School autonomy
• academy schools
• responsibilisation

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by Australian Research Council: [Grant Number DP170103647].

Notes on contributors

Greg Thompson

Greg Thompson is Professor of Education Research at Queensland University of Technology.

Bob Lingard

Bob Lingard is a Professorial Fellow at the Institute for Learning Sciences and Teacher Education at Australian Catholic University. He is also Emeritus Professor at The University of Queensland.

Stephen J. Ball

Stephen J. Ball is Emeritus Professor of Sociology of Education at the Institute of Education, University College London.