What are the power relations, exercised through educational discourses supporting the national curriculum, influencing the classroom practice of science teachers working in areas of high socio-economic disadvantage?

Whillis, Emma Jane (2025) What are the power relations, exercised through educational discourses supporting the national curriculum, influencing the classroom practice of science teachers working in areas of high socio-economic disadvantage? Ed.D thesis, University of Glasgow.

Abstract

The current context of secondary education (age 11-16) in England, is a complex system of schools overseen by local authorities and schools run by multi-academy trusts. In addition, there are a range of key stakeholders, operating in the system, responsible for delivering continuing professional development and training for teachers at different stages in their career. The Education Endowment Foundation (EEF) is one example of a stakeholder providing teachers and school leaders with information about evidence-based practice through a range of regular publications, including guidance reports on specific areas of educational practice. The aim of this study is to determine the discourses that surround secondary school science teachers’ practice and, from a Foucauldian perspective, the power relations that inform the actions of these teachers.

The assumption will be made that the educational context represents a version of neo-liberal capitalism, quasi markets, and managerialism with institutions conforming to the dictates from government, interpreting and translating these policies to staff. An adaptation of Codd’s (1988) approach of deconstructing educational policy texts will be used during the document analysis phase. These will include Educational Excellence Everywhere 2016 white paper, produced by the Department for Education, to represent government policy and EEF’s Improving Secondary Science: Guidance report (2018) to represent the influence of key stakeholders. Semi-structured interviews were carried out with experienced secondary school teachers using the online platform, Zoom. Themes from the interviews were produced using Braun and Clarke’s (2021) Reflexive Thematic Analysis.

Findings from the document analysis and interviews were woven together and analysed using a Foucauldian theoretical framework to identify power relations enacted through governmentality, disciplinary power, technologies of the self, parrhesia and selftransformation. It is proposed that key discourses at work on teachers, identified from the documents, have contributed to the production of the ‘technicist teacher’ which results in experienced teachers’ feelings of being de-professionalised.

• Item Type: Thesis (Ed.D)
• Qualification Level: Doctoral
• Subjects: L Education > LB Theory and practice of education; L Education > LB Theory and practice of education > LB1603 Secondary Education. High schools
• Colleges/Schools: College of Social Sciences > School of Education
• Supervisor's Name: Patrick, Dr. Fiona and Hedge, Professor Nicki
• Date of Award: 2025
• Depositing User: Theses Team
• Unique ID: glathesis:2025-84898
• Copyright: Copyright of this thesis is held by the author.
• Date Deposited: 17 Feb 2025 10:11
• Last Modified: 17 Feb 2025 10:11
• Thesis DOI: 10.5525/gla.thesis.84898
• URI: https://theses.gla.ac.uk/id/eprint/84898