
Brent DaviesUniversity of Hull · The Business School
Brent Davies
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Introduction
Skills and Expertise
Publications
Publications (54)
Strategic leadership is a critical component in the effective development of schools. This book focuses on building strategic capability within the school in order to ensure long-term success and sustainability. Drawing upon Brent Davies's extensive experience in presenting nationally and internationally to school leaders, this book distils the col...
Moving from operational leadership to strategic leadership is the key development task of those wishing to take up senior
leadership roles in schools. In this chapter we outline the nature and dimensions first of strategy and then of strategic
leadership. We put forward the view that strategic leaders need to enhance or develop their leadership abi...
Purpose
Academies are semi‐autonomous schools set up outside the normal local government structures with sponsors from business and charity groups to create new and innovative ways of creating and sustaining school transformation. The aim of this paper is to assist in a strategic conversation within the academy movement on talent development.
Desi...
Research has shown that school leadership is second only to classroom teaching in its effect on pupil learning. As the demands on management teams become ever more complex, this volume offers a fresh and expansive view on the challenges to be met in developing a leadership career. With contributions from some of the most accomplished commentators o...
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to examine the implications of Public Private Partnerships (PPPs) for education delivery, attainment, attitude, behaviour and attendance. Partnership success factors are identified, and transferable lessons extracted. Barriers to the success of the partnership are explored and suggestions for improvement are mad...
Despite extensive attention (positive and negative) devoted to the philosophical, public policy and political dimensions of public–private partnerships (PPPs) in education, little attention has been devoted to their managerial implications as well as the broader organizational context (strategic alliances) within which they are a special case. In t...
Strategic leadership is a critical component in the effective development of schools. Currently the educational debate is shifting to focus on how short-term improvements can become strategically sustainable. This article will put forward the view that renewed attention needs to be paid to the strategic dimension of leadership to ensure this sustai...
This paper will address the challenge of how strategic leadership can be defined and articulated to provide a framework for developing a strategically focused school drawing on a NCSL research project. The paper is structured into three main parts. Part one outlines the elements that comprise a strategically focused school, develops an understandin...
The last five years have seen a significant increase in the involvement of the private sector in the core areas of education delivery and not just in the provision of educational support services. This growing involvement of the private sector in education has been commented on in the press and in debates on education, but it is often misinterprete...
Education reform continues to be a dominating feature of education in the UK and many other countries throughout the world. As a result of this, it is now more important than ever that headteachers and school managers develop the skills which enable them to manage their new responsibilities effectively. In School Leadership in the 21st Century all...
Writing for, and editing, the second edition of this book has presented me with the opportunity to act on feedback from readers of the first edition. The intention of the first edition, and indeed this edition, was not to describe every facet of leadership nor to put a new adjective before leadership. The purpose is to engage readers with some of t...
This article builds a conceptual framework to examine how school leaders can move away from a planning framework that emphasizes only short‐term target setting and move to an effective strategic approach. It examines early evidence from research on what dimensions are critical in establishing a strategically focused school within a medium‐term time...
This article looks at the nature and dimensions of strategic leadership. In particular, it looks at the role of strategic leaders in five main areas: (1) developing strategic and organizational processes; (2) leading and developing people; (3) developing culture and value systems; (4) developing distinct organizational competencies; and (5) develop...
Schools will not be able to continue to improve unless they move away from an over-concentration on the short-term and focus on the strategic nature of planning and development. The more targets, the less the effects - what we need is strategy and sustainability. This book links school improvement planning and strategic development for leadership e...
This article reviews the nature of strategy and strategic leadership in schools. It moves away from traditional frameworks associated with the strategic planning movement and reconceptualizes the nature of strategy in schools. It considers how leaders can map the strategic architecture of the school and develop strategic capabilities for longer-ter...
Incl. bibl., abstract. This article reviews the nature of strategy and strategic leadership in schools. It moves away from traditional frameworks associated with the strategic planning movement and reconceptualizes the nature of strategy in schools. It considers how leaders can map the strategic architecture of the school and develop strategic capa...
Teachers of pupils with learning difficulties will be more than aware of the phenomenon of ‘learning loss’. Indeed, most build into their teaching programme elements of revision and recovery, particularly after the long summer break. Here Trevor Kerry and Brent Davies take us through the research into this issue and alternative school calendar year...
Incl. abstract, bibl. School leaders face many changes and challenges as they navigate their schools through complex and turbulent educational environments. Highly effective school leaders cope with complexity by building mental models or frameworks to understand the world that they face and operate in. This paper sets out a framework of six change...
Incl. abstract, bibl. This paper looks at the changing patterns of resourcing (financing) education in the twenty-first century. It identifies five trends that are altering the resourcing and provision of education through their impact on the organization of education systems. As a consequence of these trends, it puts forward the view that the role...
This article builds on an earlier one which we published in this journal, in which we proposed a new model for school planning. In proposing the new model, we recognised that it provided a framework for school planning but that it did not discuss the process of building a plan for the school’s future. Here we explain how the new model has developed...
This paper argues that traditional approaches to school planning no longer serve the needs of schools. In particular, it puts forward the view that strategy, as applied to school planning, is only of partial use. It argues that there should be a new way forward for schools seeking to meet the challenge of effective leadership and management in the...
Incl. abstract, bibl. School planning has developed significantly over the last ten years with the universal acceptance of school development planning formats and approaches. However, the move to school-based management and greater autonomy has increased the need for schools to take on a wider planning role and responsibility. This paper considers...
Focuses on school staff as part of the authors’ work involving surveys of pupils, parents and staff in a range of school planning and improvement strategies. Believes there is a danger that assumptions will be made about what staff think of the school. It is important to have mechanisms to gather genuine views rather than making such assumptions. A...
ABSTRACT This paper examines the nature and dimensions of reengineering. It draws on the original business background of reengineering to explore its key concepts. It then moves on to consider how the reform and restructuring movement in education can adopt a reengineering perspective to provide a 'lens' to consider the radical changes necessary in...
Re-engineering, or, to call it by its correct name, business process re-engineering, has been sweeping the business world for the last few years. But does it have any implications for education? Puts forward the view that a re-engineering approach is a valuable way of rethinking the nature of school leadership and management to meet the challenge o...
How can schools measure quality or school effectiveness? Performance indicators such as Standard Assessment Tasks (SATs), the General Certificate of Secondary Education (GCSE) and A level results provide a valuable perspective, as do truancy rates and other factors. This paper suggests that alternative measures of school effectiveness could be cons...
How can schools measure quality or school effectiveness? Performance indicators such as Standard Assessment Tasks (SATs), the General Certificate of Secondary Education (GCSE) and A level results provide a valuable perspective, as do truancy rates and other factors. This paper suggests that alternative measures of school effectiveness could be cons...
Decentralization proponents argue that autonomous decision making at the school level will significantly affect teaching and learning, leading to improved outcomes. The problem is to distinguish real autonomous decision making from a degree of managerialism that decentralizes administration, rather than decision making. A five-part analytical taxon...
Just when you had registered for the award of your gold standard BS5750, it now seems as if our schools shouldn't be bothering with it. Will relief or anger be your reaction to this article?.
There are many forms of school decentralization within and among countries. This paper presents findings of a study that compared decentralization efforts in England and the United States to identify changes that have been made in school-management structures and the effect of these changes on school operation. Data were derived from: (1) interview...
The development of self‐managing schools over the last seven years has created new management development needs for headteachers. Combining the educational leader and institutional manager role is the challenge facing every headteacher. One of the forms of development available to headteachers is the traditional Business MBA or one of the burgeonin...
The English education system is going through an era of radical
change which has been initiated by central government. A major thrust of
this change focuses on local management of schools (LMS) – the
extensive delegation of financial control to the school level. The
effect of this is not just a financial one because it has a radical
impact on the n...
Financial system should facilitate not control
This paper reviews the pattern and organisation of governors' meetings and their effectiveness for managing the new environment established by the 1988 Education Reform Act. It suggests that the move towards a sub‐committee structure may be counter‐productive in educational terms. A different approach is put forward which may be more appropriate fo...
Describes the structure of finance in the English education system; and examines the significance of the local management of schools legislation in terms of the following concepts: (1) formula; (2) delegated finance; (3) staffing delegation; (4) open enrollment; and (5) performance indicators. (18 references) (MLF)
The management issues raised when comprehensive schools consider adopting a formula-based system for allocating capitation allowances are examined. The mechanics of the formula approach are considered but the main thrust of the paper is the underlying management issues raised in all schools and, in particular, in a case-study school.
British secondary school department heads surveyed generally wanted a higher level of participation in decision making, especially in the areas of resource allocation, budgeting, use of community funds, and school curriculum design. Improved communication, better decisions, and greater commitment to organizational policy are identified as probable...
Incl. bibliographical references, app., index, biographical notes on the authors