Thesis

Raising attainment in the Scottish secondary school : a theoretical exploration of the influence of Scottish education policy on the practices of the Curricular Principal Teacher in raising attainment

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Awarding institution
  • University of Strathclyde
Date of award
  • 2024
Thesis identifier
  • T16976
Person Identifier (Local)
  • 201962044
Qualification Level
Qualification Name
Department, School or Faculty
Abstract
  • In the past 30 years, the role of the school middle leader in general has changed from a largely administrative role to one which requires further skills, such as leading and mobilising teachers to improve the outcomes for learners, evaluating evidence of outcomes and practices, and developing strategies to lead change. Rather than investigating the complexities of current middle leadership, it has been argued that middle leadership research has tended to focus on descriptions of various roles a school middle leader undertakes within their position in schools. It has now been recognised that there is a need for a more theoretical approach to understanding the more complex role of the school middle leader. This thesis responds to that call and explores the practices of school middle leaders through the lens of Cultural Historical Activity Theory (CHAT). This thesis demonstrates the crucial role of middle leadership positioned within education policy and explores the practices of the Scottish secondary school Curricular Principal Teacher (CPT) in raising attainment using the CHAT framework. This is achieved by illustrating the Scottish Government’s National Improvement Framework (NIF) policy and the CPT as an interconnected network that shares the NIF policy objective of closing the attainment gap. Critical policy analysis, based on the methodology of Young and Diem (2017), was used to explore how the National Improvement Framework policy has evolved over time. An online survey explored how confident CPTs were in recognising their practices as defined by the Standards for Middle Leadership devised by the General Teaching Council for Scotland (GTCS) and a semi-structured interview was used to discuss the practices of the CPTs in enacting the NIF policy objective of raising attainment.
Advisor / supervisor
  • Beck, Anna
  • Kennedy, Aileen
Resource Type
Note
  • This thesis was previously held under moratorium from 10/06/2024 until 10/06/2026.
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