The micro-politics of the enactment of a school literacy policy

ABSTRACT

This article reports on a case study investigating the micro-politics of policy enactment in a school in England. The case is sited in the literacy policy of a primary school in challenging circumstances as it joins a Multi-Academy Trust (MAT). Data gathering consisted of interviews with the school headteacher, assistant headteacher, and literacy coordinator. Data were analysed thematically using the thinking tools of Bourdieu to understand and explain the micro-politics of the policy enactment. Findings suggest that the enactment of policy in schools in England can be a dynamic undertaking when there is judged a need to improve. The micro-politics of the school may become dominated by the need to comply with MATs and private providers of educational solutions, potentially reducing the autonomy of teachers and headteachers.

KEYWORDS:

• Literacy
• policy
• policy enactment
• policy trajectories
• schools

Acknowledgments

The author wishes to thank Professor Helen Gunter and Dr Paul Armstrong at the Manchester Institute of Education, University of Manchester for their guidance and support in supervising this project.

Disclosure statement

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

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Mark Innes

Mark Innes is a Lecturer in Initial Teacher Education and a student on the Professional Doctorate in Education at the Manchester Institute of Education, University of Manchester, UK. Previously he was an English teacher for over ten years in Yorkshire, UK. He is a member of the Critical Education Policy and Leadership Studies research group, and the Disadvantage and Poverty research group at the Manchester Institute of Education.