Translating Teachers as Leaders of Educational Change: Briefcases, Biscuits, and Teacher Participation in Policymaking

Routledge. Available from: Taylor & Francis, Ltd. 530 Walnut Street Suite 850, Philadelphia, PA 19106. Tel: 800-354-1420; Tel: 215-625-8900; Fax: 215-207-0050; Web site: http://www.tandf.co.uk/journals

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17

Educational Change; Educational Policy; Educational Administration; Teacher Role; Teacher Leadership; Futures (of Society); Teacher Education; Policy Analysis; Networks; Teacher Participation; Democracy; Foreign Countries; Teacher Attitudes; Change Agents; Faculty Development

10.1080/00220620.2023.2275126

0022-0620
1478-7431

Global policy discourse promotes teachers as leaders of educational change who should have a voice in policy formation. 'Teaching Scotland's Future', a major teacher education reform in Scotland, feeds off this vision. Taking an Actor-Network Theory inspired Critical Policy Analysis approach, I unpack the participation of human and non-human actors within the National Partnership Group, a network established by the Scottish Government to plan the enactment of the reform. I utilise Callon's four moments of translation and Latour's concept of the token to identify and examine spaces of interest translation. Drawing on interviews with human actors from the network, I discuss the involvement of classroom teachers, and demonstrate the multiple ways that the materiality of the policy process shaped their participation in the network, limiting their ability to inform further development of the policy agenda. I consider the implications of this for education reform and democratic policymaking.

As Provided

2024

EJ1406861