The ways in which social workers experience a range of emotions that are evoked in their professi... more The ways in which social workers experience a range of emotions that are evoked in their professional relationships with children and families is an area that is little focused upon and yet the processes involved in their expression and management can have profound implications for all involved. Theoretically informed by sociological concepts and combining data from a two year, UK four nation, ESRC-funded research project 'Talking and Listening to Children' (TLC), this paper explores the ways in which social work organisational contexts and dynamics give rise to 'feeling rules' in the workplace and the impact of these on social workers' relationships with children and families. Using Hochschild's (1983) emotional labour analytical framework, the paper highlights that the management and expression of social workers' feelings is filtered through personal, professional and organisational contexts. The implications of these pervasive and powerful processes are explored. The paper concludes by considering the significant, wide-reaching implications of this focus on the experience, expression and management of emotion for every day, social work practice in both children and families settings specifically, and other social work practice contexts more broadly.
Researching the efficacy of lesson study has been complicated by the manner in which it has been ... more Researching the efficacy of lesson study has been complicated by the manner in which it has been reinterpreted in different settings and contexts. Drawing on research into a national school improvement programme in England, this paper looks at how various reconfigurations of lesson study were affected by the different collaborative arrangements among schools and practitioners in the programme. Utilising a mixed methods approach, the paper provides and problematizes new empirical evidence concerning the effectiveness of lesson study. It concludes with a consideration of how those researching lesson study intitaives would benefit from adopting a more critical contextual analysis. received: the national/local system (macro), the organisation (meso), and lesson study process itself (micro). In this critique we have drawn on the findings of what is so far the only systematic review of lesson study (Cheung & Wong, 2014), which considered what constitutes lesson study, the nature of its intended effects, and the relationship between actual effects and the practices of lesson study by examining the evidence base relating to Lesson Study and its effectiveness, as reported in journal articles published between 2000 and 2010. 2.1 System context (macro) The macro level of contextual analysis focuses on differences between and within educational systems. The issue of variations between different education systems' interpretation of the practice known as jugyou kenkyuu in Japan and renamed Lesson Study elsewhere (Yoshida, 1999; Watanabe, 2002) has been the focus of considerable debate (Perry & Lewis 2009; Yoshida & Jackson, 2011). The issue is exacerbated by a paucity of case studies that set the process within its original Japanese context (Ermeling & Graff-Ermeling, 2014). This led Cheng and Ling (2013) to argue that widespread uptake of lesson study in North America: is based more on the perception of an ideal rather than on a fidelity approach. This is true of all countries adapting the lesson study approach. This also explains why the interpretations and practices of lesson study vary so widely across countries (p. 2).
This book focuses on the leadership of practice and, in particular, how to bring about changes wh... more This book focuses on the leadership of practice and, in particular, how to bring about changes which improve practice. It draws on research into a group of early years leaders which followed them for almost three years as they attempted to improve provision in their settings as 'change agents' and 'leaders of practice'. Through exploring their successes and failures, the book builds a picture of what it takes to lead improvements in practice.
Decentralisation and localism have become increasingly common drivers and outcomes of policy chan... more Decentralisation and localism have become increasingly common drivers and outcomes of policy changes in many education systems in recent years, often supported by an emphasis on collaboration. This paper uses research into three collaborative initiatives in England and Wales to explore these changes. Informed by insights from network theory, it reveals a number of issues and tensions relating to decentralisation and localism and ends with a call to move away from a defi cit perspective in order to use the multiplexity of current systems as a starting point for future developments in policy and research.
The first national survey of practitioners who have achieved Early Years Professional Status (EYP... more The first national survey of practitioners who have achieved Early Years Professional Status (EYPS) set out to ascertain: • more detailed demographic information about their backgrounds and experience • their views on their ability to carry out their role since gaining EYPS • information about career trajectories including their intentions to change setting, role or career • an overview of their professional development activities and plans • an assessment of the impact of obtaining EYPS on professional identity • their views on the difficulty of achieving change in their settings. This survey is part of a three year longitudinal study investigating the role and impact of early years professionals (EYPs) in their working environments (settings) and also investigating practitioners’ personal career development and aspirations. There are two main parts to the study: • a survey of all EYPs, asking about their career development needs and aspirations • case studies in 30 settings across...
A key issue for the social work profession concerns the nature, quality and content of communicat... more A key issue for the social work profession concerns the nature, quality and content of communicative encounters with children and families. This article introduces some findings from a project funded by the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) that took place across the United Kingdom between 2013 and 2015, which explored how social workers communicate with children in their everyday practice. The Talking and Listening to Children (TLC) project had three phases: the first was ethnographic, involving observations of social workers in their workplace and during visits; the second used video-stimulated recall with a small number of children and their social workers; and the third developed online materials to support social workers. This paper discusses findings from the first phase. It highlights a diverse picture regarding the context and content of communicative processes; it is argued that attention to contextual issues is as important as focusing on individual practitioners' behaviours and outlines a model for so doing.
The TIME Project was an effort to improve the access to and use of higher level vocational educat... more The TIME Project was an effort to improve the access to and use of higher level vocational education and training among the black communities of Nottingham (England). The emphasis was on the city's community of African Caribbeans. This paper discusses the development of the TIME Project from the perspectives of a white academic community from the University of Nottingham, the university associated with the project, and a black community development worker. Their different perspectives reflect both an outsider's view of the situation of the African Caribbean community and the view of an insider. The paper's central argument is that the development of the TIME Project revealed new forms of racist practices that required project workers to rethink the scope of access programs in the African Caribbean community. These practices were new forms of racism in that they arose within contexts of policy and practice that did not exist until relatively recently and they were not pri...
Making meaningful connections: using insights from social pedagogy in statutory child and family ... more Making meaningful connections: using insights from social pedagogy in statutory child and family social work practice. Child and Family Social Work, 22 (2). pp. 1015-1023.
The paper argues that case study will need to play an increasingly important role in the evaluati... more The paper argues that case study will need to play an increasingly important role in the evaluation of leadership development programmes as both formal and substantive theories of leadership place greater emphasis upon the role played by organizational context on leaders' ability to bring about change. Prolonged engagement within a case study provides researchers with opportunities to capture the dynamics between leaders and their organisational contexts. However, adopting a case study approach is no substitute for inadequate theorization of the link between leadership approaches and leadership effects. The paper argues for the use of inclusive and expansive theoretical notions of leadership and its relationship to organisational context. The evaluation used to illustrate these arguments was based on a longitudinal multi-site case study methodology. The case studies ran over a three-year period and tracked the effect of 42 leaders on the quality of provision in some 30 early years settings. Both individual and collective theoires of leadership were used to trace leaders' steps, paths and routes to improvement. Three overlapping theoretical lenses were used to study the dynamics of these leaders' interactions with a key aspect of their organisational contextsthe existing formal and informal leadership structures-and how these affected their attempts to improve the quality of provision of their settings. The analysis, and related findings, were tiered in order to provide progressively more detailed descriptions of the relationships between leaders' approaches and changes in their settings' quality of provision. Each layer of analysis operated with a causal logic that became gradually less general and linear and increasingly more 'local' and complex.
Researching the efficacy of lesson study has been complicated by the manner in which it has been ... more Researching the efficacy of lesson study has been complicated by the manner in which it has been reinterpreted in different settings and contexts. Drawing on research into a national school improvement programme in England, this paper looks at how various reconfigurations of lesson study were affected by the different collaborative arrangements among schools and practitioners in the programme. Utilising a mixed methods approach, the paper provides and problematizes new empirical evidence concerning the effectiveness of lesson study. It concludes with a consideration of how those researching lesson study intitaives would benefit from adopting a more critical contextual analysis.
The ways in which social workers experience a range of emotions that are evoked in their professi... more The ways in which social workers experience a range of emotions that are evoked in their professional relationships with children and families is an area that is little focused upon and yet the processes involved in their expression and management can have profound implications for all involved. Theoretically informed by sociological concepts and combining data from a two year, UK four nation, ESRC-funded research project 'Talking and Listening to Children' (TLC), this paper explores the ways in which social work organisational contexts and dynamics give rise to 'feeling rules' in the workplace and the impact of these on social workers' relationships with children and families. Using Hochschild's (1983) emotional labour analytical framework, the paper highlights that the management and expression of social workers' feelings is filtered through personal, professional and organisational contexts. The implications of these pervasive and powerful processes are explored. The paper concludes by considering the significant, wide-reaching implications of this focus on the experience, expression and management of emotion for every day, social work practice in both children and families settings specifically, and other social work practice contexts more broadly.
Researching the efficacy of lesson study has been complicated by the manner in which it has been ... more Researching the efficacy of lesson study has been complicated by the manner in which it has been reinterpreted in different settings and contexts. Drawing on research into a national school improvement programme in England, this paper looks at how various reconfigurations of lesson study were affected by the different collaborative arrangements among schools and practitioners in the programme. Utilising a mixed methods approach, the paper provides and problematizes new empirical evidence concerning the effectiveness of lesson study. It concludes with a consideration of how those researching lesson study intitaives would benefit from adopting a more critical contextual analysis. received: the national/local system (macro), the organisation (meso), and lesson study process itself (micro). In this critique we have drawn on the findings of what is so far the only systematic review of lesson study (Cheung & Wong, 2014), which considered what constitutes lesson study, the nature of its intended effects, and the relationship between actual effects and the practices of lesson study by examining the evidence base relating to Lesson Study and its effectiveness, as reported in journal articles published between 2000 and 2010. 2.1 System context (macro) The macro level of contextual analysis focuses on differences between and within educational systems. The issue of variations between different education systems' interpretation of the practice known as jugyou kenkyuu in Japan and renamed Lesson Study elsewhere (Yoshida, 1999; Watanabe, 2002) has been the focus of considerable debate (Perry & Lewis 2009; Yoshida & Jackson, 2011). The issue is exacerbated by a paucity of case studies that set the process within its original Japanese context (Ermeling & Graff-Ermeling, 2014). This led Cheng and Ling (2013) to argue that widespread uptake of lesson study in North America: is based more on the perception of an ideal rather than on a fidelity approach. This is true of all countries adapting the lesson study approach. This also explains why the interpretations and practices of lesson study vary so widely across countries (p. 2).
This book focuses on the leadership of practice and, in particular, how to bring about changes wh... more This book focuses on the leadership of practice and, in particular, how to bring about changes which improve practice. It draws on research into a group of early years leaders which followed them for almost three years as they attempted to improve provision in their settings as 'change agents' and 'leaders of practice'. Through exploring their successes and failures, the book builds a picture of what it takes to lead improvements in practice.
Decentralisation and localism have become increasingly common drivers and outcomes of policy chan... more Decentralisation and localism have become increasingly common drivers and outcomes of policy changes in many education systems in recent years, often supported by an emphasis on collaboration. This paper uses research into three collaborative initiatives in England and Wales to explore these changes. Informed by insights from network theory, it reveals a number of issues and tensions relating to decentralisation and localism and ends with a call to move away from a defi cit perspective in order to use the multiplexity of current systems as a starting point for future developments in policy and research.
The first national survey of practitioners who have achieved Early Years Professional Status (EYP... more The first national survey of practitioners who have achieved Early Years Professional Status (EYPS) set out to ascertain: • more detailed demographic information about their backgrounds and experience • their views on their ability to carry out their role since gaining EYPS • information about career trajectories including their intentions to change setting, role or career • an overview of their professional development activities and plans • an assessment of the impact of obtaining EYPS on professional identity • their views on the difficulty of achieving change in their settings. This survey is part of a three year longitudinal study investigating the role and impact of early years professionals (EYPs) in their working environments (settings) and also investigating practitioners’ personal career development and aspirations. There are two main parts to the study: • a survey of all EYPs, asking about their career development needs and aspirations • case studies in 30 settings across...
A key issue for the social work profession concerns the nature, quality and content of communicat... more A key issue for the social work profession concerns the nature, quality and content of communicative encounters with children and families. This article introduces some findings from a project funded by the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) that took place across the United Kingdom between 2013 and 2015, which explored how social workers communicate with children in their everyday practice. The Talking and Listening to Children (TLC) project had three phases: the first was ethnographic, involving observations of social workers in their workplace and during visits; the second used video-stimulated recall with a small number of children and their social workers; and the third developed online materials to support social workers. This paper discusses findings from the first phase. It highlights a diverse picture regarding the context and content of communicative processes; it is argued that attention to contextual issues is as important as focusing on individual practitioners' behaviours and outlines a model for so doing.
The TIME Project was an effort to improve the access to and use of higher level vocational educat... more The TIME Project was an effort to improve the access to and use of higher level vocational education and training among the black communities of Nottingham (England). The emphasis was on the city's community of African Caribbeans. This paper discusses the development of the TIME Project from the perspectives of a white academic community from the University of Nottingham, the university associated with the project, and a black community development worker. Their different perspectives reflect both an outsider's view of the situation of the African Caribbean community and the view of an insider. The paper's central argument is that the development of the TIME Project revealed new forms of racist practices that required project workers to rethink the scope of access programs in the African Caribbean community. These practices were new forms of racism in that they arose within contexts of policy and practice that did not exist until relatively recently and they were not pri...
Making meaningful connections: using insights from social pedagogy in statutory child and family ... more Making meaningful connections: using insights from social pedagogy in statutory child and family social work practice. Child and Family Social Work, 22 (2). pp. 1015-1023.
The paper argues that case study will need to play an increasingly important role in the evaluati... more The paper argues that case study will need to play an increasingly important role in the evaluation of leadership development programmes as both formal and substantive theories of leadership place greater emphasis upon the role played by organizational context on leaders' ability to bring about change. Prolonged engagement within a case study provides researchers with opportunities to capture the dynamics between leaders and their organisational contexts. However, adopting a case study approach is no substitute for inadequate theorization of the link between leadership approaches and leadership effects. The paper argues for the use of inclusive and expansive theoretical notions of leadership and its relationship to organisational context. The evaluation used to illustrate these arguments was based on a longitudinal multi-site case study methodology. The case studies ran over a three-year period and tracked the effect of 42 leaders on the quality of provision in some 30 early years settings. Both individual and collective theoires of leadership were used to trace leaders' steps, paths and routes to improvement. Three overlapping theoretical lenses were used to study the dynamics of these leaders' interactions with a key aspect of their organisational contextsthe existing formal and informal leadership structures-and how these affected their attempts to improve the quality of provision of their settings. The analysis, and related findings, were tiered in order to provide progressively more detailed descriptions of the relationships between leaders' approaches and changes in their settings' quality of provision. Each layer of analysis operated with a causal logic that became gradually less general and linear and increasingly more 'local' and complex.
Researching the efficacy of lesson study has been complicated by the manner in which it has been ... more Researching the efficacy of lesson study has been complicated by the manner in which it has been reinterpreted in different settings and contexts. Drawing on research into a national school improvement programme in England, this paper looks at how various reconfigurations of lesson study were affected by the different collaborative arrangements among schools and practitioners in the programme. Utilising a mixed methods approach, the paper provides and problematizes new empirical evidence concerning the effectiveness of lesson study. It concludes with a consideration of how those researching lesson study intitaives would benefit from adopting a more critical contextual analysis.
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Papers by Mark Hadfield