Educational management and educational leadership are central concepts in understanding organising in educational institutions but their meaning, the difference between them and their value in educational organising remain the subject of debate. In this article, we analyse and contrast the two concepts. We conclude that educational management entails carrying the responsibility for the proper functioning of a system in an educational institution in which others participate. Carrying a responsibility of this kind is a state of mind and does not necessitate actions, though it typically and frequently does. In contrast, educational leadership is the act of influencing others in educational settings to achieve goals and necessitates actions of some kind. When those carrying a delegated responsibility act in relation to that responsibility, they influence and are therefore leading. Although educational leadership is ideally undertaken responsibly, in practice it does not necessarily entail carrying the responsibility for the functioning of the educational system in which the influence is exercised. Through our analysis, the notion of responsibility, which is underplayed in considerations of organising in educational institutions, comes to the fore. Educational responsibility is an important notion and it should play a more prominent role in analyses of organising in educational institutions.

In recent years, the number of International Schools around the world has increased rapidly largely as a result of growth of new forms of International Schools, which differ markedly from the traditional forms. These new forms: are often operated on a for-profit commercial basis; are usually for children from the local (indigenous), wealthy population; and have been defined as International Schools because they are located in a non-English speaking country and English is the school's medium of communication. The growth of International Schools of the non-traditional type raises issues about the legitimacy of such schools. These new forms of International School face particular challenges in establishing themselves legitimately as 'international'. In this article, we develop a framework which is grounded in institutional theory to analyse the institutionalisation of and the consequent legitimacy of International Schools. We use the three pillars of institutionalisation which, by means of carriers, underpin the institutionalisation of organisations. We employ this framework to analyse and illustrate the legitimacy of a school's claim to be an International School and also to bring to light the challenges that schools face in establishing a legitimate claim to be 'international'.

No abstract

The governing bodies of publicly funded schools in England are currently facing a number of substantive challenges of various kinds. Many of the challenges are long-standing, while others relate to the current context for governing wrought by recent education policy developments initiated by central government. A number of the challenges are immediate and intense, and may well develop over time. The challenges result from both policy imperatives and the challenge of governing effectively – procedural imperatives. The intention of this article is to analyse the challenges facing governing bodies in England. We argue that the challenges interact and synergize and could develop into ‘a perfect storm’, which could have significant implications for the security and stability of the education system and for society generally. Our thinking is shaped by the notion of interactive governance (Kooiman, 2003), which posits that the workings of the school governance network, of which school governing is a part, is best understood in terms of interactions. Following this introduction, we provide some background information for those not familiar with the school governing system in England. We then very briefly describe the three research projects in which we have been involved that form the empirical base for the article (Balarin et al., 2008; James et al., 2010, 2012, 2013). The challenges facing governing bodies are considered under the headings: school governing’s low profile; the institution and the environment; accountability; and the role and the responsibility of school governing bodies. The way these different challenges interconnect and add together is discussed in the penultimate section. In the final section, we make some concluding comments.

The research reported here analysed the role of the chair of the school governing body in England, drawing on a national survey of governors and the study of governing in 30 schools. The role encompassed: being a governor; appointing and working with the head teacher; acting as a change agent; active participation in the school; organising the governing body; dealing with complaints; working with parents; and chairing meetings. We discuss the role and the way it is experienced and conclude that the position of chair is substantially under-played; given insufficient status; and is a significant educational and community leadership responsibility.