When ‘becoming a 50% school’ is success enough: a principal–agent analysis of subject leaders’ target setting

Abstract

Using the perspective of principal–agent theory, we suggest that the target setting process imposed by the government has shifted teachers’ focus away from their personal educational priorities. Our evidence suggests that schools with a higher proportion of students with high academic achievement differ in their practice of target setting from schools with a below average proportion of students achieving high examination grades. We examine possible explanations for variations in teachers’ practice and suggest some implications for policy and school leadership and management.

We are grateful to the teachers who participated in this study, Nick Adnett and Robert Coe, and to participants at the British Educational Research Association Annual Conference, 12–14 September 2002, University of Exeter, for their comments on an earlier version of this paper.