Confronting the disadvantage gap: the challenges to transformative leadership in a high-stakes assessment system

ABSTRACT

Students with low socio-economic status (SES) often have lower levels of academic achievement. In England, various UK governments have sought to address this disadvantage gap through reforms to national large-scale assessments, school accountability mechanisms, and educational governance structures. While scholarly research highlights the important mediatory role of educational leaders in policy implementation and student performance, typologies of successful leadership tend to emphasise ‘what works’ at the organisational level. Conversely, theories of transformative leadership acknowledge that efforts to provide an equitable education are related to, and should address how to transform, wider social power structures. With an abductive methodology, this qualitative study explores the experiences and perspectives of three academy headteachers in their work with the most disadvantaged students in their school communities. Semi-structured interview data were analysed thematically to evaluate whether and how their leadership practices might be considered transformative. The findings suggest that these headteachers are mostly transformative at the individual level which aligns with the current UK government social mobility agenda. Moreover, despite their courage to promote equity of opportunity, transformative leadership is restricted by government cuts to public expenditure, a high-stakes accountability system focused on students’ academic performance, and the limited political capital of students and headteachers.

KEYWORDS:

• Transformative leadership
• socio-economic disadvantage
• assessment
• inclusion
• England

Disclosure statement

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

Notes

1 EduAccess.aau.dk

2 English language and literature, mathematics, sciences, history or geography, and a language.

3 English and mathematics (double weighted), three EBacc subjects and three other subjects.

4 The Duke of Edinburgh Award is a programme through which 14–18-year-olds complete activities (volunteering, physical, skills, expedition and residential) at different levels (Bronze, Silver and Gold) to have fun, make friends, improve self-esteem, build confidence and gain skills for work and life (https://www.dofe.org/).

5 An academic qualification taken at age 18.

6 Figures are correct for the academic year 2018/2019 (Source: GOV.UK).

7 To the nearest percentage.

8 Average score for state schools was 46.7 (Source: GOV.UK).

9 Average entry for state schools was 40% (Source: GOV.UK).

10 The England average was 94% (Source: GOV.UK).

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by Danmarks Frie Forskningsfond: [Grant Number 8047-00063B].

Notes on contributors

Alison L. Milner

Alison L. Milner is an assistant professor in the Centre for Education Policy Research at Aalborg University, Denmark. She was a postdoctoral researcher on the Sapere Aude-funded project ‘Education Access under the Reign of Testing and Inclusion’.