Governing schools through state sanctions: The effects of reinforced supervision for principals and governing bodies

In a doctoral thesis the national governing system is studied through the Swedish Schools Inspectorate’s use of sanctions, and effects for the local governing and managing schools by principals and governing bodies. The study draws on theories about governing, auditing and management. In a document study, the reinforced supervision and the new sanctions were analysed. Case studies were also conducted at three different schools, which all have had different commands and sanctions imposed following inspection. Interviews and document studies are methods used for the case studies. The analytical concept of effects (Swedish: verkningar) is central, signifying both effects in terms of consequences and constitutive effects dependent on the contextual settings and assumptions. Governing system, policy enactment, scope for action, and the logics of accountability and professional responsibility are other concepts used for the analysis.

The study shows that the use of sanctions underscores the purpose of accountability and turns up the voice of the state in the governing chain. The goal of compliance is central, and the purpose of deterrence is also visible in the use of sanctions. The results of an inspection are often utilized in an instrumental way by the principals and superintendents at the level of governing body and do not mainly contribute to local school development or other learning purposes. The use of sanctions changes the local actors’ scope for action, both directly and indirectly. Results from the study also show how principals and governing bodies under certain circumstances are “passivated”, waiting for normative dictum from the Inspectorate. The introduction of the reinforced supervision and the new sanctions is described and how the regulations are interpreted as a process of juridification. This process also interacts with the general regulations of schools, with further implications for the professional discretion of principals.

The project continues.