Recent international literature offers convincing evidence that enhanced school autonomy, accountability and school led improvement strategies can be effective, especially when promoting equity across schools (Deppeler & Ainscow, 2016; Ehren & Perryman, 2018). This approach calls for educational practitioners to be given a certain level of autonomy in order to assess their own contexts and enact school-led improvement plans, however for school leaders in more centralized systems of education this can be difficult to achieve (Constantinou & Ainscow, 2020).

It is important to note that school structures should not be simply conceptualized as either ‘centralized’ or ‘decentralized’ because school organizational structures often combine elements of both modes of governance (Boyd & Crowson, 2002). For even within a school system perceived and often characterized as centralist, examples can be found where school leaders achieve agency and take action to promote school transformation and turnaround. School-based action research, with an emphasis on inquiry, collaboration and networks can increase a school’s capacity to improve despite the barriers created by centralized policy making (Burns & Köster, 2016). This study utilizes a qualitative multiple case study approach to gain a better understanding of how school leaders were able to improve their schools from within a centralized system of education in Bahrain public schools.

Authors:
Hala Al Khalifa, Bahrain Teachers College, Bahrain

About the Presenter(s)
Hala Al Khalifa is a lecturer at the Bahrain Teachers College who specializes in the areas of Inclusive Education & Educational Leadership. She is currently undertaking a PhD at IOE UCL in the area of Leadership and Learning.

See this presentation on the full schedule – On Demand Schedule

Bookmark