The dearth of managerialism in implementation of national examinations policy

• Published in: Journal of education policy Vol. 24; no. 1; pp. 55 - 81
• Main Authors: Baird, Jo-Anne, Lee-Kelley, Liz
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Routledge 01.01.2009
• Subjects: Administrators; Development policy; Education policy; Educational Change; Educational Policy; examination; Examinations; Foreign Countries; Human resources; implementation; managerialism; National Competency Tests; Politics; Politics of Education; Program Implementation; Qualifications; State; Tests; United Kingdom; United Kingdom
• ISSN: 0268-0939; 1464-5106
• DOI: 10.1080/02680930802382938

Introducing new national examinations is a complex, multi-agency policy implementation. However, there have been some high-profile problems in examination systems in recent years. This research investigated what 10 UK managers involved in the process thought were the main problems. Time pressures were recognised as a serious problem by the managers, as well as the politically driven nature of the reform. It is argued that network management explains the lack of high-profile individual leaders, the delegation issues, the apparent lack of traditional management skills, the low level of planning and monitoring, the absence of scoping, a professionalist approach, the lack of separation between policy and implementation and the fact that managers could not specify from the outset what needed to be done for a new round of examination developments. Inter-agency power relationships accounted for lack of negotiation of timescales. Recommendations are made for construction of a qualification development blueprint, scoping of resources, appraisal of the human resources shortage in the UK assessment sector and better stakeholder management of the qualification development policy community by government.