This paper reports a synthesis of the key qualitative and quantitative findings from an ESRC-RGC (Hong Kong) funded bilateral research project on how successful secondary schools (as measured by pupil progress and attainment outcomes and national inspection judgement results) in England and Hong Kong use government policies as a means of furthering their own improvement agendas. By using a longitudinal, mixed methods design to investigate the interface of reform at macro (country), meso (school) and micro (classroom) levels, this research investigated how government reforms (mandatory and non-mandatory) are received and mediated by principals, senior and middle leaders in improved and effective schools serving communities of contrasting socio-economic advantage.
The research shows that in these schools it is too simplistic to focus on policy as implementation and either a top down or bottom up process. Rather, enactments involved more complex sets of interactions between school leaders, the staff and the wider school community, a clear ethical stance and the exercise of autonomy; that they built upon and developed organisational capacity, and were layered into school identified improvement priorities. Conducting a comparative analysis between schools in contrasting contexts helps to understand better the dynamics underpinning the effectiveness of government reforms in England and complements the system level insights provided by the McKinsey Report (Mourshed, Chijioke and Barber, 2010). The research found that in steering their schools successfully through changing social and policy landscapes, leaders provide optimal conditions, structures and cultures for learning and teaching, enable teachers to interpret, contextualise and reframe external policies in terms of their own educational values, purposes and practices; and through this, sustain their commitment and effectiveness in making a difference to the learning, achievement and life chances of all their students.
