Academies in England and Independent Schools in Finland: A Distributed Leadership Perspective
Many education systems adopt neoliberal privatisation and marketisation approaches to diversify education provision and improve quality. England is a leading example, transforming local authority-maintained schools into academies. In contrast, Finland resists neoliberalism and maintains a small numb...
| Principais autores: | , |
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| Formato: | Artigo |
| Idioma: | English |
| Publicado em: |
MDPI AG
2024-12-01
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| coleção: | Education Sciences |
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| Acesso em linha: | https://www.mdpi.com/2227-7102/14/12/1376 |
| _version_ | 1826917317561286656 |
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| author | Meng Tian Matti Rautiainen |
| author_facet | Meng Tian Matti Rautiainen |
| author_sort | Meng Tian |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Many education systems adopt neoliberal privatisation and marketisation approaches to diversify education provision and improve quality. England is a leading example, transforming local authority-maintained schools into academies. In contrast, Finland resists neoliberalism and maintains a small number of independent schools. This paper examines how resources and leadership are distributed in academies and independent schools to explain the different educational paths taken by England and Finland. This study uses a scoping review approach to explore and contrast academies and independent schools. The comparison covers aspects such as history, education administration, local governance, accountability, curriculum and performance, teacher professional development and home–school–community relationships. The findings reveal that academies in England often concentrate leadership roles and resources among a privileged few, including large Multi-Academy Trusts, technocratic trustees and curriculum experts. This concentration tends to marginalise local communities and parents, particularly those from disadvantaged backgrounds. In Finland, independent schools serve a supplementary role within the education system, catering to specific cultural, linguistic and religious groups while adhering to the national core curriculum and regulations. While existing studies critique the academisation movement in England and commend the high-performing public school system in Finland, a direct comparison between academies in England and independent schools in Finland has been lacking. This systematic review offers original insights into these two types of schools and clarifies why neoliberal approaches often exacerbate rather than mitigate disparities in education access and equity. |
| first_indexed | 2025-02-17T12:29:58Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-fd8c0c8a973d4f82b1648b79aec73c2f |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2227-7102 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2025-02-17T12:29:58Z |
| publishDate | 2024-12-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Education Sciences |
| spelling | doaj.art-fd8c0c8a973d4f82b1648b79aec73c2f2024-12-27T14:22:40ZengMDPI AGEducation Sciences2227-71022024-12-011412137610.3390/educsci14121376Academies in England and Independent Schools in Finland: A Distributed Leadership PerspectiveMeng Tian0Matti Rautiainen1Department of Teacher Education, University of Birmingham, Birmingham B15 2TT, UKDepartment of Teacher Education, University of Jyväskylä, 40014 Jyväskylä, FinlandMany education systems adopt neoliberal privatisation and marketisation approaches to diversify education provision and improve quality. England is a leading example, transforming local authority-maintained schools into academies. In contrast, Finland resists neoliberalism and maintains a small number of independent schools. This paper examines how resources and leadership are distributed in academies and independent schools to explain the different educational paths taken by England and Finland. This study uses a scoping review approach to explore and contrast academies and independent schools. The comparison covers aspects such as history, education administration, local governance, accountability, curriculum and performance, teacher professional development and home–school–community relationships. The findings reveal that academies in England often concentrate leadership roles and resources among a privileged few, including large Multi-Academy Trusts, technocratic trustees and curriculum experts. This concentration tends to marginalise local communities and parents, particularly those from disadvantaged backgrounds. In Finland, independent schools serve a supplementary role within the education system, catering to specific cultural, linguistic and religious groups while adhering to the national core curriculum and regulations. While existing studies critique the academisation movement in England and commend the high-performing public school system in Finland, a direct comparison between academies in England and independent schools in Finland has been lacking. This systematic review offers original insights into these two types of schools and clarifies why neoliberal approaches often exacerbate rather than mitigate disparities in education access and equity.https://www.mdpi.com/2227-7102/14/12/1376education privatisationneoliberalismacademyindependent schoolEnglandFinland |
| spellingShingle | Meng Tian Matti Rautiainen Academies in England and Independent Schools in Finland: A Distributed Leadership Perspective Education Sciences education privatisation neoliberalism academy independent school England Finland |
| title | Academies in England and Independent Schools in Finland: A Distributed Leadership Perspective |
| title_full | Academies in England and Independent Schools in Finland: A Distributed Leadership Perspective |
| title_fullStr | Academies in England and Independent Schools in Finland: A Distributed Leadership Perspective |
| title_full_unstemmed | Academies in England and Independent Schools in Finland: A Distributed Leadership Perspective |
| title_short | Academies in England and Independent Schools in Finland: A Distributed Leadership Perspective |
| title_sort | academies in england and independent schools in finland a distributed leadership perspective |
| topic | education privatisation neoliberalism academy independent school England Finland |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2227-7102/14/12/1376 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT mengtian academiesinenglandandindependentschoolsinfinlandadistributedleadershipperspective AT mattirautiainen academiesinenglandandindependentschoolsinfinlandadistributedleadershipperspective |