Human Resource Management in Education: Contexts, Themes and Impact (Leadership for Learning Series)

204 Pages·2010·1.51 MB·English

by  Justine Mercer

Human Resource
Management in Education
The effects of globalization are evident in education policy around the world.
Governments from the United States to China are driving their education systems
to produce more skilled, more flexible, more adaptable employees. The pressure to
perform is all-pervasive, meaning present-day leaders have to go beyond the prin-
ciples of humane and equitable management practice and look for a competitive
advantage through strategies that enhance motivation, build capacity for organi-
zational improvement, and produce better value-added performance.
Human Resource Management in Education debates the fundamental question
of how far effective human resource management policies can enable schools and
colleges to transcend the paradoxes of the global reform agenda. It analyses the
relationship between leadership, the classroom and results, and uses case studies to
explore the extent to which performance is enhanced by distributed leadership and
constrained by social, political and economic contexts.
The book is divided into three parts:
• examining the current context of human resource management, by critically
analysing globalization, human capital theory, and worldwide trends in govern-
ment legislation, societal values, and teacher culture(s);
• exploring two pairs of contemporary themes in human resource management,
by comparing the roles of leaders and followers, on the one hand, and con-
trasting learning and greedyorganizations, on the other;
• looking at how the context and the themes impact on particular contemporary
practices in human resource management, by analysing the selection and devel-
opment of professionals, the remodelling of school teams and the management
of performance.
The authors carefully blend advocacy with evidence to ensure relevance for both
practitioner and academic audiences across the globe. The book would be of partic-
ular use to students on masters courses in educational leadership.
Justine Merceris an Associate Professor at the Institute of Education, University of
Warwick, UK.
Bernard Barkerwas formerly Chair in Educational Leadership and Management and
Director of Postgraduate Research Studies at the School of Education, University of
Leicester, UK.
Richard Bird is Legal Policy Consultant to the Association of School and College
Leaders (ASCL), UK.
Leadership for Learning Series
Series Edited by Les Bell, Mark Brundrett and Clive Dimmock
The study of educational leadership makes little sense unless it is in relation
to who the leaders are, how they are leading, what is being led, and with
what effect. Based on the premise that learning is at the heart of leadership
and that leaders themselves should be learners, the Leadership for Learning
series explores the connections between educational leadership, policy,
curriculum, human resources and accountability. Each book in the series
approaches its subject matter through a three-fold structure of process,
themes and impact.
Also available:
Education Policy
Les Bell and Howard Stevenson
Leading Learning
Tom O’Donoghue and Simon Clarke
Forthcoming:
Leadership in Education
Clive Dimmock
School Leadership for Quality and Accountability
Mark Brundrett and Christopher Rhodes
Human Resource
Management in
Education
Contexts, themes and impact
Justine Mercer, Bernard Barker
and Richard Bird
First published 2010
by Routledge
2Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon OX14 4RN
Simultaneously published in the USA and Canada
by Routledge
270 Madison Avenue, New York, NY 10016
Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group, an informa business
This edition published in the Taylor & Francis e-Library, 2010.
To purchase your own copy of this or any of Taylor & Francis or Routledge’s
collection of thousands of eBooks please go to www.eBookstore.tandf.co.uk.
©Justine Mercer, Bernard Barker and Richard Bird
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or
reproduced or utilized in any form or by any electronic, mechanical,
or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including
photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or
retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publishers.
British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data
Acatalogue record for this book is available from the British Library
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Mercer, Justine.
Human resource management in education : contexts, themes, and
impact / Justine Mercer, Bernard Barker, and Richard Bird. – 1st ed.
p. cm. – (Leadership for learning series)
Includes bibliographical references and index.
1. School personnel management. 2. Educational leadership.
I. Barker, Bernard. II. Bird, Richard. III. Title.
LB2831.5.M44 2010
371.2'01–dc22
2009048765
ISBN 0-203-85081-5 Master e-book ISBN
ISBN10: 0–415–41280–3 (hbk)
ISBN10: 0–415–41279–X (pbk)
ISBN10: 0–203–85081–5 (ebk)
ISBN13: 978–0–415–41280–3 (hbk)
ISBN13: 978–0–415–41279–7 (pbk)
ISBN13: 978–0–203–85081–7 (ebk)
To Ann, Chris, Andrew, Elizabeth, Gabriel and Madeline
in appreciation of their tolerance and support

Contents
List of illustrations ix
Acknowledgements xi
List of abbreviations xiii
PART I
The current context of human resource management 1
1 Introduction: globalization, human capital theory
and human resource management 3
2 Government legislation and societal values 16
3 Teacher culture(s) and the crisis of confidence 29
PART II
Contemporary themes in human resource management 45
4 Leading school and college improvement 47
5 Empowering groups and teams (with Dave Allman) 63
6 Designing learning organizations 79
7 Greedy organizations 95
PART III
Contemporary practices in human resource management 107
8 Selecting and developing professionals 109
9 Remodelling: new learning and teaching teams 124
viii Contents
10 Appraisal and performance 139
11 Conclusion: from micro-politics to sustained
improvement 152
References 157
Index 182
Illustrations
Figures
2.1 Old-age dependency ratio 21
4.1 Six models of distributed leadership 52
4.2 Leadership practice 52
4.3 GCSE trends at Norcross 55
5.1 Development cycles model 69
6.1 Characteristics of schools as learning organizations 85
Tables
1.1 Case studies used in the book 12
4.1 GCSE higher grades at Norcross: recent trends 56
4.2 GCSE higher grades at Felix Holt: recent trends 60
6.1 List of interviews with Shire School staff 86
9.1 Number of full-time equivalent employees in LA-maintained
schools, academies and city technology colleges in England 127