Understanding performance management in schools: a dialectical approach

Abstract

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to provide a dialectical framework for the examination of performance management in schools. Design/methodology/approach – The paper is based upon a qualitative study of ten headteachers that involved in-depth semi-structured interviews. Findings – The findings identified four dialectical tensions that underpin performance management in schools: the responsibility to teachers and the responsibility to pupils; external accountability and professional autonomy; discipline of teachers and support of teachers; fixed processes and improvisational practices. Research limitations/implications – This paper provides a means of examining the performance management of teachers from an alternative perspective, one that embraces tensions and contradictions and gives headteachers a richer understanding of how teachers are evaluated and judged. Originality/value – This paper moves beyond the traditional perspective of performance management in schools as a means of subjugation and control and offers an original dialectical framework within which to examine the phenomenon.