"How can you measure something like aromatic salt?" Competing discourses on school development within a municipal quality improvement model
2026 (English)In: Scandinavian Journal of Educational Research, ISSN 0031-3831, E-ISSN 1470-1170Article in journal (Refereed) Published
Abstract [en]
This study explores discursive encounters between school leaders, teachers, and local education authority (LEA) officials within a local school improvement initiative in Sweden. Using a primary school case, the research examines how competing discourses, focused on results-oriented accountability and professional autonomy, are interpreted and enacted locally, and how this shapes interactions between teacher leaders, principals, and LEA officials. Drawing on field notes from a meeting and interviews with key stakeholders, the analysis employs critical discourse theory to investigate discursive patterns, tensions, and the emergence of shared understandings. Findings reveal that a results-driven discourse emphasizing measurability and accountability intersects with a counter-discourse valuing collective processes, professional judgement, and holistic teaching practices. This intersection represents a process of hybridization, producing ruptures and moments of mutual understanding that reconfigure the "chain of effects'. The study demonstrates how dialogue-driven hybridization can transform competing discourses into shared resources for school improvement.
Place, publisher, year, edition, pages
Informa UK Limited , 2026.
Keywords [en]
School improvement, local education authority, result dialogue, discourses, accountability, professional judgement, systematic quality development work
National Category
Pedagogy
Identifiers
URN: urn:nbn:se:mdh:diva-76925DOI: 10.1080/00313831.2026.2671734ISI: 001768313700001Scopus ID: 2-s2.0-105038999979OAI: oai:DiVA.org:mdh-76925DiVA, id: diva2:2063135
2026-05-282026-05-282026-05-28Bibliographically approved