A consistent theme in our interviews and discussions with
research participants has been the
pervasiveness of the audit and systems of accountability in the working life of
those in the post-compulsory sector and particularly in further
education. We have come across so many instances of accountability, the need to
perform audits of oneself and others, and the need to generate increasing amounts
of supporting evidence and data that we have decided to devote an entire part of
our research to an understanding of some of consequences of working within what
some have termed an 'audit culture'.
Related to the
need to account and perform audits is the need to generate credible evidence.
For educational leaders this requires an increasing reliance on forms of
management information (MIS) and information and communications technology (ICT). As we
discuss in our papers below, however, the production and use of such evidence
via MIS and ICT systems is not merely a matter of gathering data that is 'out
there'. As we discuss in the paper on 'Technologies of Leadership' the
production of convincing evidence requires a particular kind of skill or
'organizational acumen' on the part of staff and managers in order to produce
the 'right' figures, to tell the 'right' story, to present to
the 'right' audience.
The 'Technologies of Leadership' work below discusses these
issues directly, whereas the 'Shome mistake surely' presentation is a brief
overview of some of the data we have collected along similar lines as part of a diary study of a
newly appointed FE middle manager.
Research paper:
Tough at the top, even tougher at the bottom: the role of leadership in
making staff feel valued
Slide presentation: Technologies of
Leadership
Research paper: Technologies of Leadership
Slide Presentation: Shome mistake surely
