Effective consultants: a conceptual framework for helping school systems achieve systemic reform

Abstract

A growing number of organisations -universities, non-profits, independent consultants -are emerging as partners to school systems pursuing systemic improvement. This proliferation invites questions probing the interaction between school systems and their consulting partners. Drawing on a cross-disciplinary review of literature, this theoretical paper (1) explores the processes and strategies used by consulting organisations as partners to school systems and (2) proposes a conceptual framework as a starting point for implementation and evaluation of effective consulting for systemic improvement.Keywords: education change; school partnerships; leadership IntroductionAs a result of the Great Recession, leaders of public organisations around the world have faced budget constraints while also responding to demands for improved performance. Public school leaders are no exception: they face strong policy pressure to improve test scores, poor technical assistance from agencies who are ostensibly there 'to help', (American Institute for Research 2008), budget cuts that have placed strains on the educational system (Johnson, Oliff, and Williams 2011) and waning support from the general public (Johnson, Rochkind, and Dupont 2011).In response to resource constraints and greater accountability standards, many school systems are turning to outside organisations to help facilitate systemic improvements. Additional motivations for partnerships include a desire to deliver higher-quality services, shared professional values and legal mandates (Davies and Hentschke 2006). In the United States, the federal government's competitive grant program Race to the Top incentivises partnerships, and a growing number of organisations are emerging to provide consulting support to school leaders in pursuit of comprehensive school improvement. Similar initiatives can be seen around the globe. In the United Kingdom, for example, the new Research Councils UK has issued a national funding call, 'to create a structured and strategic mechanism for Higher Education Institutions to work in partnership with secondary schools' (RCUK 2012). Similarly, the Australian Government and state and territory governments have entered into several partnerships which encourage school systems to engage with higher education providers and to form external partnerships with parents, businesses and local communities (Australian Government Department of Education 2013). This growing emphasis on the need for external support in school *Corresponding author. Email: jwelch@uga.edu School Leadership & Management, 2014 Vol. 34, No. 2, 156-178, http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/13632434.2013 (1) What are the appropriate measures for distinguishing between effective and ineffective consulting organisations? (2) What are the practices that characterise organisations that successfully help public education systems build leadership capacity and achieve systemic improvement? (3) What is the theory of action that can guide education systems and consulting organisations to successfully pur...

Consultancy in ‘failing schools’: Emerging issues

“…An outsider may think less in terms of the dependency structures of the school system and thus may be open to alternative approaches to problems. Adviser teams made up equally of insiders and outsiders should also be able to cover the wide range of skills expected of advisers and which has generally been confirmed empirically for external school development consultancy (Hazle Bussey, Welch, & Mohammed, 2014). This is because substantial content expertise (knowledge, experience and credibility in topic-specific work), process skills (ability to strengthen collaboration and to solve complex communication situations) and interpersonal skills (authentic interest in the actors and the aims being pursued in order to set up a relationship of confidence with the consultancy system) are all urgently needed at failing schools.…”