Examining school inspectors and education directors within the organisation of school inspection policy: perceptions and views

State school inspection creates expectations in the interface between transnational ideas and national policy contexts. However, few Scandinavian studies address how new expectations currently shape the role of school inspectors, relating to national policy frameworks and transnational influences. This article investigates how inspectors and education directors understand and reformulate their regulatory roles through governing schools and local school authorities, in relation to the new framework for school inspection policy in Norway. Using data from the LEX-EL project, semi-structured interviews with three educational directors and six school inspectors in three County Governors’ Offices were analysed. The article draws on organizational theory, interpreted within the concept of institutionalization. Findings suggest inspectors function as change agents, experiencing greater dependency through inter- and intra-institutional cooperation than previously. Additionally directors are more tightly coupled to their counterparts in other counties. Moreover, the role of school inspectors is changing, moving from a compliancy-based focus to increased emphasis on selfevaluation and quality assessment. © 2016 Taylor & Franci