School governance and the mediation of engagement

The 1988 Education Reform Act radically transformed the local governance of education, according school governing bodies new delegated powers for budgets and staff as well as responsibility for the strategic direction of the school in a quasi market place of parental choice. To take up these new responsibilities the earlier Education Act 1986 had created over 350,000 volunteer citizens in England and Wales to occupy reformed governing bodies: it was the largest democratic experiment in voluntary public participation. The governing bodies were constituted on the principle of partnership between all the groups with a 'stakeholder' interest in the school: parents, teachers and support staff would be elected, while other governors would be appointed by the local authority, and drawn from the local community (including local industry and commerce). All the interests would be regarded as equal, one no more important than another. The underlying principle had been that schools would only work well when the different constituencies were provided with a space to express their voice and reach agreement about the purpose and development of the school. The governing body was to have regard for the overall strategic direction of the school, evaluating its progress, and acting as the trustee of the community, publicly accountable for national and local policies (DfEE, 1998)