Beyond compliance : harnessing accountability measures in schools as tools for professional praxis

Abstract

This Masters of Research thesis is an evaluation of the mandated policy for all NSW Department of Education teaching staff, the Performance and Development Framework, and its accompanying Performance and Development Plan, as implemented in one school over 2017 and 2018. The benchmark for the evaluation is whether the implementation has gone 'beyond compliance' (Groundwater-Smith, Mitchell, & Mockler, 2016) to produce meaningful teacher professional development or whether it is simply resting as a compliance measure. The tool for analysis in the policy enactment in the one site of Karragung High School is the practice architectures framework (Kemmis et al., 2014) , which was employed through a case study involving whole staff surveys and focus groups. The findings indicate that endeavouring to reach compliance whilst not seeking to impede teacher autonomy at the site studied, has in fact rendered the Performance and Development Plan as a functional irrelevancy for most staff and the potential for enhanced teacher praxis has not been harnessed through this policy. There is clear evidence that many of the staff are self-reflective teachers keen to develop their skills and capacity, but the link between this and their engagement with the Performance and Development Plan has not being made possible through current school leadership practices.

Date of Award	2018
Original language	English