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Drawing on continuing research, and in particular, interviews during 2017-18 in two contrasting local authorities, this article reflects on changing power dynamics and their implications for state schools, local authorities, multi-academy trusts and DfE officials at all levels. In the light of changes recently announced by the Secretary of State, with potential radical implications for school governance and leadership, rapidly implemented without the need for secondary legislation because of the (now) highly centralised nature of the English Education State, the article considers the implications for longer term stability in a depoliticised system. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article is a summary of a small-scale research project which considers the formation of Co-operative Trust Schools. This was carried out in 2013 at a time when the number of schools becoming Academies and Trust Schools through the Co-operative College was burgeoning. Through questionnaire, interview, documentary analysis and exploration of websites, the research has sought to build up a picture of this Movement. A number of emergent issues are identified. These include the nature of new spaces for schools to form networks which provide a half-way house between the much tighter academy chains and the individual stand-alone academies and trust schools and the ‘places’ within the governance landscape within which they can do this. Perhaps the most challenging is the sometimes tenuous link between the value-centric Co-operative Movement and the values declared by these academies. It is suggested that the development of these academies with a connection with Co-operativism is more an association than a movement. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article investigates the realization of ethos and vision in the early stages of sponsored academy schools in England. It is a qualitative nested case study of ten academies. Nineteen key actors were interviewed, including principals and sponsor representatives. The nests were organized by sponsor type. Key themes are discussed within the context of the literature. There were common themes across all of the academies and some that were exclusive to individual cases. The conclusions drawn show that the leaders of these schools were initiating several actions simultaneously in order to develop their academies’ ethos and vision. The ethos and vision realization in sponsored academy schools is more complex than other examples in the literature owing to a greater number of actors and the urgency for change. In particular, the role of the sponsor is greater than much of the literature suggests. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article considers the ways in which government policy in England is causing local schooling landscapes to be reconfigured. By August 2014, 12 percent of primary schools and 53 percent of secondary schools had become academies – ‘independent publicly funded schools’ directly responsible to the Secretary of State. The article begins by considering ways in which schools may choose, or be forced, to respond to this policy environment, and, in particular, the new forms of school grouping that may emerge. It then draws on case studies of three local authorities – a large metropolitan authority, a large rural county and a small unitary authority – to explore changing patterns of schooling. It notes that rates of ‘academization’ vary between the three areas, that local and regional groupings have gained greater purchase than national chains, and that, even allowing for this, almost half the academies are stand-alone – not belonging to any formal grouping. It concludes by arguing that deeper understanding of emerging patterns will require further study of the ways in which the values, purposes and power of key actors interact as decisions are taken about schools’ futures. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This section provides summaries of articles published in the volume 23 issue of the journal "Management in Education." A paper by Ron Glatter explores the policy on Academies in England in relation with issues of democracy, autonomy, governance and accountability. An article by Richard Hatcher discusses his research into local campaigns against proposed Academies. In their article, Philip A. Woods and Glenys J. Woods examine how the Academy appears to be constructing meanings around enterprise.

The article presents abstracts of articles discussed within the issue including "Personal Intelligences--The Fourth Pillar of School Principalship?," by Alex Schneider and Neil Burton, "Researching Academies in England," by Helen Gunter, Philip Woods and Glenys Woods, and "Supporting Governing Bodies With Effective Clerking," by David Sassoon.