What is ‘progress’ in the English secondary school system? Perceptions of secondary school leaders

Abstract

The idea of ‘progress’ in the English Education system has become defined by Government policy to create a performative measure for which teachers and school leaders can be held to account. The introduction of the Progress 8 measure, whereby schools are accountable for the progress that students make, between end the Key Stage 2 to the end of Key Stage 4, has had an impact on the perception of progress in the English Secondary School system. Taken as a burden of proof policy decisions are made at all levels in the pursuit of ‘progress’ shackling all involved in the English system to an economic view of ‘progress’. Systems connected to the performative measures which are used to contrast schools in league tables, students one against the other and hold teachers accountable creating competition, which allows for accusations of failure to progress. Literature on the idea of ‘progress’ spans centuries and has been the discussion of philosophers, economists, teachers, and politicians with the perception being affected by historical context. Literature points to the way in which the performance measures have become a technology that has impacted the policy decisions and agenda of government in attempts to drive up standards, create robust systems and compete globally. In the current understanding of the impact of the introduction of the ‘progress’ measure there is the need to understand how the perception of ‘progress’ has changed over time as well as covering key policy agendas with an exploration of perceptions of School leaders in the English system. The contribution this study makes is to present a view on how School leaders have managed the policy of ‘progress’ in their work and the extent to which there is a resistance to the centralised performative view. This study also addresses notions of ‘fantasy’ and how through fantastical logic policy decisions can be made and the impact they have on the education system in England. This thesis contributes an understanding of how ‘progress’ is perceived and looks to disrupt the acceptance of the prevailing orthodox through which right wing behaviourist fantasies have been the driving force, with a focus on discipline, and a model of delivery to ensure that policies are proven to succeed. This thesis considers how ‘progress’ has become part of that ‘fantasy’ and the effects on the students, teachers, and society. In addition, through the method there is a personal approach using biographical links and visual images that have been created to explore thinking through a novel attempt at theorised subjectivity. These explore how the research came into being and why a focus on ‘progress’ was decided upon as well as how my own perceptions around ‘progress’ in the English system have been affected. There is the exploration of family history and educational experiences as a practitioner and student which supports the originality of this thesis due to the approach. The use of images to develop this thesis adds to the contribution to knowledge, through this innovative and alternative approach as a driving factor in the research design and analysis. At this point in time this thesis matters as a contribution to the direction of education in the English system where the pursuit of ‘progress’ has become a pursuit of numeric targets. Through this research there is the chance to listen to the perspectives of a group of school leaders and reflect on their experience to rethink what ‘progress’ might be.