Technologies of Power in a State-initiated School Improvement Programme. Governing by school self-improvement

Abstract in English

This thesis investigates the power dynamics between state and municipal actors within the state-initiated school improvement program, Co-operation for the Best School Possible (CBS). CBS can be seen as an example of the numerous reforms driven by the global education reform movement (GERM), which is rooted in neoliberal ideologies. The thesis aims to illuminate how power operates within the CBS program, focusing on the construction and regulation of local school actors. It explores the intricate power relations between the Swedish National Agency for Education (SNAE) and local school actors, including headteachers, local education authorities and local politicians.

A Foucauldian perspective serves as the overarching analytical framework, incorporating key concepts such as governmentality, sovereign, disciplinary, and pastoral power, along with neoliberalism, discourse, and resistance. The study also employs soft governance and policy instruments. The research adopts a case study approach, utilising data collected through interviews, meeting observations, and documents from a municipality, as well as national policy documents. The analysis methods include narrative discourse analysis, thematic analyses, and a scoping review.

The findings underscore the constitutive role of language in official policy texts and how local actors are governed through policy instruments such as carrots, sticks, and sermons. From a Foucauldian perspective, local school actors are identified as deviant under the normalising gaze of experts, internalising state-imposed norms and standards. Subtler methods of steering involve pastoral techniques, such as self-evaluation, requiring local actors to reflect on their weaknesses and how to better themselves. The Systematic Quality Assurance (SQA) work exemplifies a self-monitoring trend in education, where schools continuously self-evaluate based on preset standards, combining disciplinary, sovereign, and pastoral power to improve performance. The SNAE functions as both a monitor and a pastor, providing the local actors with a roadmap to redemption.

Eight years after CBS’s implementation, research on its various aspects remains limited. This thesis contributes to understanding how power technologies operate in large-scale school improvement initiatives like CBS. It addresses gaps in existing research by examining how power functions in public education and how neoliberal reforms shape the professional identities and practices of local school actors.