This study examined early childhood professionals' (ECPs) stress regulation and the demands a... more This study examined early childhood professionals' (ECPs) stress regulation and the demands and resources they encounter at work, and considered how these factors are associated with the quality of pedagogical work in daycare. The participants were 117 ECPs from 24 daycare centers in the Helsinki metropolitan area, Finland, with data collected using surveys, cortisol measurements, and observational assessments. The results indicated that the professionals generally found their work resources to be adequate and, on average, their stress regulation measured through cortisol activity showed a typical diurnal pattern. Highly important resources at work proved to be support from supervisors, which was associated with stress regulation and the quality of pedagogical work in teams. Although we found only minor associations between cortisol activity and job demands and resources, cortisol activity did relate to pedagogical work, particularly to teamwork; the higher the quality of the te...
Educational Management Administration & Leadership, Jun 15, 2017
In the Australian early childhood sector the role of educational leader emerged as part of a very... more In the Australian early childhood sector the role of educational leader emerged as part of a very large process of policy reform that began in 2009. The position of educational leader was established to drive the quality improvement requirements of the reform, but many organizations did not establish these positions until several years after the reforms were introduced. Lack of clear role descriptions and authority make it difficult for educational leaders to fulfil the expectations held of them. This study examines the sense leaders make of the policy reforms and the street-level bureaucracy they perform to translate the policy into action. This sense-making and street-level bureaucracy is taking place in a neoliberal context where, we argue, the demands for professional discretionary decision-making are in conflict with the top-down standardization inherent in neoliberalism. Educational leaders have the potential to challenge neoliberalism through their professional decision-making but, in the Australian context, many are currently focusing on compliance with their street-level bureaucracy.
The Australian Government has provided funding to evaluate the effectiveness of Indigenous law an... more The Australian Government has provided funding to evaluate the effectiveness of Indigenous law and justice programs across five subject areas to identify the best approaches to tackling crime and justice issues and better inform government funding decisions in the future. This report presents the findings of subject area "D", which examined two different approaches to delivering community and night patrol services for young people: the Safe Aboriginal Youth Patrol programs in New South Wales, and the Northbridge Policy project (the Young People in Northbridge project), in Western Australia. Night patrols can address crime either directly or indirectly, by prevention work or by addressing the social causes of crime through community development.
International Journal of Educational Management, 2019
The purpose of this paper is to explore sense-making of early childhood (EC) leaders in EC servic... more The purpose of this paper is to explore sense-making of early childhood (EC) leaders in EC services rated as exceeding/excellent in Australian accreditation.,An interpretivist ontology and social constructivist epistemology informs the study. The conceptual framework uses the concept of sense-making to explore how leaders make sense of the policy frameworks and use these to shape practice.,Previous research identified that many leaders focussed on ensuring staff complied with new policy requirements. In contrast, this study found that these leaders paid more attention to relationships with staff and less to directing compliance.,The paper posits high quality service delivery is possible when leaders (in the words of a participant) look after their staff.,In Australia, neoliberal discourses have profoundly impacted on recent reforms in the EC sector. Previous research identified the ambiguities inherent in the Australian EC leadership role as leaders and staff grappled with new understandings and practices, and the uncertainties around lines of authority and influence. This paper is the first to explore the understandings of those leaders whose services are assessed to be operating at the highest level of quality.
International Electronic Journal of Elementary Education, Mar 1, 2022
The hierarchy in our educational institutions and services often mirror societal attitudes toward... more The hierarchy in our educational institutions and services often mirror societal attitudes towards power and whose voices are privileged or ignored. Historically, those with power feel uncomfortable when marginalised voices are heard. There is a lot at stake when power is threatened and new voices demand changes within society. This discussion paper explores various instances of where that has happened and the backlash faced by those who are given a chance for their opinions to be heard or those who assist them to voice their narrative through research and reporting. Using publicly available data and our own experiences, we examine incidences where society has listened to children, the victims of sexual abuse in institutions and Indigenous Australians. For people to reach their potential, their voices need to be heard in matters that affect them, according to the United Nations Human Rights Declaration (United Nations, 1948). Using discourse and narrative analysis, the authors discuss the cost of exercising those rights within a neoliberal context and examine how this influences peoples' agency as they face media backlash, online trolling and death threats. Despite this, when marginalised people are bold enough and are allowed to tell their stories, societies, educational institutions, and services have the chance to adapt and improve. This will interest those who educate and research with marginalised people or who study social and institutionalised power.
Education institutions today operate in a climate of neoliberalism which foregrounds managerialis... more Education institutions today operate in a climate of neoliberalism which foregrounds managerialism. The key idea underpinning managerialism is that individuals are interested in their own self interest so that the role of managers is to control staff through the use of incentives and punishments. The assumption is that teachers will be motivated to perform when there are clear rewards for success (promotion, pay increments) and when they are frightened by the threat of punishment. Performance becomes what is measured by metrics. For the past decade academics were expected to demonstrate their research performance by the number of publications they had and by the impact and quality of those publications. In the past 12 months the federal government have refocused the research agenda, identifying innovation, industry partnerships and research funding as the most important measures of research success. Just this month I have become aware of managers who are refusing to appoint academics because they do not have a research grant despite having numerous publications – how quickly the goal posts shift! Work that was valued as high quality last month is not now sufficient to get a job. The point about measuring success via metrics is that managers no longer have to make judgement calls based on a range of data. No longer using individual judgement leads managers to treating people as if they are all the same, based on the metrics of the day, leading to major injustices and inequities. What matters is the amount of money an academic has in grant income and not the quality of their research. Appointing people to positions on the basis of metrics evident in cvs can often lead to disastrous mistakes as individual personalities, values and beliefs may result in a clash of performance expectations that can only be resolved at great expense to the employer. Teaching quality is also measured by metrics, usually student perceptions. Despite significant research that demonstrates that student evaluations are often no more than a popularity contest, academic careers are still 'managed' by supervisors who question every score on unit evaluations. A number of my colleagues this year have been 'spoken to' by supervisors concerned about their unit scores despite the major criticism from students being the amount of content they were expected to cover in a short time (in a context where neither the length of the trimester nor the amount of content-required by the course accreditation-covered in the unit is within their control). In a recent essay David West argues that managers in education are increasingly being judged on their ability demonstrate staff obedience. Loyalty to the institution has become increasingly important to the point where those who complain are considered troublemakers who need to be more closely supervised to ensure they 'fit' into the required mould. Those who do comply are rewarded with benefits such as promotion, teaching release for specific projects, study leave and conference leave. Complaints procedures favour managers so that few staff use them with confidence, particularly as complaints are processed through the very hierarchy that generated the behaviour underlying the complaint. Given the underlying supposition that good employees confirm whilst those who do not are maladjusted, any complaint is immediately perceived as arising from a staff member who is problematic. To succeed in this system requires submitting oneself to the ideologies of managerialism and neoliberalism. Why should we care? Ultimately, a toxic education system delivers a low quality education to our children and young people. Declining education standards are not only reflected in dissatisfied employers, they also result in tightening controls over curriculum and pedagogy which, in a vicious circle, results in decreasing educational quality. As an education city, Armidale can choose to stand out from the crowd and fight for quality.
This paper holds to account the ideas legitimising staff management practices currently experienc... more This paper holds to account the ideas legitimising staff management practices currently experienced in my workplace, a university, as bullying. Making these practices visible, and locating them in theories allows movement beyond current understandings of reality and points “to new ways of thinking and action about freedom, civic courage, social responsibility, and justice” [1]. Whilst this is titled a story of frustration I aim at a position of hope using auto-ethnography to reflect on my experiences as a volunteer case worker for the staff union (National Tertiary Education Union NTEU). I have supported staff complaining of bullying in the workplace and have struggled to achieve fair and equitable outcomes. I have witnessed hard working, valued colleagues becoming disenchanted, disengaged, and resigning. Accepting this without attempting to drive change is unacceptable, thus this study was born. I locate this work in literature related to workplace bullying and the Australian highe...
This study examined early childhood professionals' (ECPs) stress regulation and the demands a... more This study examined early childhood professionals' (ECPs) stress regulation and the demands and resources they encounter at work, and considered how these factors are associated with the quality of pedagogical work in daycare. The participants were 117 ECPs from 24 daycare centers in the Helsinki metropolitan area, Finland, with data collected using surveys, cortisol measurements, and observational assessments. The results indicated that the professionals generally found their work resources to be adequate and, on average, their stress regulation measured through cortisol activity showed a typical diurnal pattern. Highly important resources at work proved to be support from supervisors, which was associated with stress regulation and the quality of pedagogical work in teams. Although we found only minor associations between cortisol activity and job demands and resources, cortisol activity did relate to pedagogical work, particularly to teamwork; the higher the quality of the te...
Educational Management Administration & Leadership, Jun 15, 2017
In the Australian early childhood sector the role of educational leader emerged as part of a very... more In the Australian early childhood sector the role of educational leader emerged as part of a very large process of policy reform that began in 2009. The position of educational leader was established to drive the quality improvement requirements of the reform, but many organizations did not establish these positions until several years after the reforms were introduced. Lack of clear role descriptions and authority make it difficult for educational leaders to fulfil the expectations held of them. This study examines the sense leaders make of the policy reforms and the street-level bureaucracy they perform to translate the policy into action. This sense-making and street-level bureaucracy is taking place in a neoliberal context where, we argue, the demands for professional discretionary decision-making are in conflict with the top-down standardization inherent in neoliberalism. Educational leaders have the potential to challenge neoliberalism through their professional decision-making but, in the Australian context, many are currently focusing on compliance with their street-level bureaucracy.
The Australian Government has provided funding to evaluate the effectiveness of Indigenous law an... more The Australian Government has provided funding to evaluate the effectiveness of Indigenous law and justice programs across five subject areas to identify the best approaches to tackling crime and justice issues and better inform government funding decisions in the future. This report presents the findings of subject area "D", which examined two different approaches to delivering community and night patrol services for young people: the Safe Aboriginal Youth Patrol programs in New South Wales, and the Northbridge Policy project (the Young People in Northbridge project), in Western Australia. Night patrols can address crime either directly or indirectly, by prevention work or by addressing the social causes of crime through community development.
International Journal of Educational Management, 2019
The purpose of this paper is to explore sense-making of early childhood (EC) leaders in EC servic... more The purpose of this paper is to explore sense-making of early childhood (EC) leaders in EC services rated as exceeding/excellent in Australian accreditation.,An interpretivist ontology and social constructivist epistemology informs the study. The conceptual framework uses the concept of sense-making to explore how leaders make sense of the policy frameworks and use these to shape practice.,Previous research identified that many leaders focussed on ensuring staff complied with new policy requirements. In contrast, this study found that these leaders paid more attention to relationships with staff and less to directing compliance.,The paper posits high quality service delivery is possible when leaders (in the words of a participant) look after their staff.,In Australia, neoliberal discourses have profoundly impacted on recent reforms in the EC sector. Previous research identified the ambiguities inherent in the Australian EC leadership role as leaders and staff grappled with new understandings and practices, and the uncertainties around lines of authority and influence. This paper is the first to explore the understandings of those leaders whose services are assessed to be operating at the highest level of quality.
International Electronic Journal of Elementary Education, Mar 1, 2022
The hierarchy in our educational institutions and services often mirror societal attitudes toward... more The hierarchy in our educational institutions and services often mirror societal attitudes towards power and whose voices are privileged or ignored. Historically, those with power feel uncomfortable when marginalised voices are heard. There is a lot at stake when power is threatened and new voices demand changes within society. This discussion paper explores various instances of where that has happened and the backlash faced by those who are given a chance for their opinions to be heard or those who assist them to voice their narrative through research and reporting. Using publicly available data and our own experiences, we examine incidences where society has listened to children, the victims of sexual abuse in institutions and Indigenous Australians. For people to reach their potential, their voices need to be heard in matters that affect them, according to the United Nations Human Rights Declaration (United Nations, 1948). Using discourse and narrative analysis, the authors discuss the cost of exercising those rights within a neoliberal context and examine how this influences peoples' agency as they face media backlash, online trolling and death threats. Despite this, when marginalised people are bold enough and are allowed to tell their stories, societies, educational institutions, and services have the chance to adapt and improve. This will interest those who educate and research with marginalised people or who study social and institutionalised power.
Education institutions today operate in a climate of neoliberalism which foregrounds managerialis... more Education institutions today operate in a climate of neoliberalism which foregrounds managerialism. The key idea underpinning managerialism is that individuals are interested in their own self interest so that the role of managers is to control staff through the use of incentives and punishments. The assumption is that teachers will be motivated to perform when there are clear rewards for success (promotion, pay increments) and when they are frightened by the threat of punishment. Performance becomes what is measured by metrics. For the past decade academics were expected to demonstrate their research performance by the number of publications they had and by the impact and quality of those publications. In the past 12 months the federal government have refocused the research agenda, identifying innovation, industry partnerships and research funding as the most important measures of research success. Just this month I have become aware of managers who are refusing to appoint academics because they do not have a research grant despite having numerous publications – how quickly the goal posts shift! Work that was valued as high quality last month is not now sufficient to get a job. The point about measuring success via metrics is that managers no longer have to make judgement calls based on a range of data. No longer using individual judgement leads managers to treating people as if they are all the same, based on the metrics of the day, leading to major injustices and inequities. What matters is the amount of money an academic has in grant income and not the quality of their research. Appointing people to positions on the basis of metrics evident in cvs can often lead to disastrous mistakes as individual personalities, values and beliefs may result in a clash of performance expectations that can only be resolved at great expense to the employer. Teaching quality is also measured by metrics, usually student perceptions. Despite significant research that demonstrates that student evaluations are often no more than a popularity contest, academic careers are still 'managed' by supervisors who question every score on unit evaluations. A number of my colleagues this year have been 'spoken to' by supervisors concerned about their unit scores despite the major criticism from students being the amount of content they were expected to cover in a short time (in a context where neither the length of the trimester nor the amount of content-required by the course accreditation-covered in the unit is within their control). In a recent essay David West argues that managers in education are increasingly being judged on their ability demonstrate staff obedience. Loyalty to the institution has become increasingly important to the point where those who complain are considered troublemakers who need to be more closely supervised to ensure they 'fit' into the required mould. Those who do comply are rewarded with benefits such as promotion, teaching release for specific projects, study leave and conference leave. Complaints procedures favour managers so that few staff use them with confidence, particularly as complaints are processed through the very hierarchy that generated the behaviour underlying the complaint. Given the underlying supposition that good employees confirm whilst those who do not are maladjusted, any complaint is immediately perceived as arising from a staff member who is problematic. To succeed in this system requires submitting oneself to the ideologies of managerialism and neoliberalism. Why should we care? Ultimately, a toxic education system delivers a low quality education to our children and young people. Declining education standards are not only reflected in dissatisfied employers, they also result in tightening controls over curriculum and pedagogy which, in a vicious circle, results in decreasing educational quality. As an education city, Armidale can choose to stand out from the crowd and fight for quality.
This paper holds to account the ideas legitimising staff management practices currently experienc... more This paper holds to account the ideas legitimising staff management practices currently experienced in my workplace, a university, as bullying. Making these practices visible, and locating them in theories allows movement beyond current understandings of reality and points “to new ways of thinking and action about freedom, civic courage, social responsibility, and justice” [1]. Whilst this is titled a story of frustration I aim at a position of hope using auto-ethnography to reflect on my experiences as a volunteer case worker for the staff union (National Tertiary Education Union NTEU). I have supported staff complaining of bullying in the workplace and have struggled to achieve fair and equitable outcomes. I have witnessed hard working, valued colleagues becoming disenchanted, disengaged, and resigning. Accepting this without attempting to drive change is unacceptable, thus this study was born. I locate this work in literature related to workplace bullying and the Australian highe...
Organisational narratives are foundational to inform the actions and directions of an organisatio... more Organisational narratives are foundational to inform the actions and directions of an organisation. Modern organisations often place great weight and invest significant time crafting their narratives that are communicated through mission statements, strategic plans, policies, directives and self-promotion. Sometimes these narratives align with the lived reality of the workers and those who deal with the organisation, but at other times there is a significant gap, or even chasm, between the portrayed ideal and the reality. This paper situates such narratives, and the lived experiences within critical organisational theory and a neoliberal framework. Utilising auto-ethnographic accounts of four academics within a higher education context, it highlights this gap and the need to voice concerns about this misalignment. The paper raises awareness of both organisations and workers to the importance of being true to narratives and ensuring they are an accurate representation of what happens. It offers ideas for resisting the disjunction between narrative and reality and a way of challenging neoliberalism within higher education.
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Papers by Margaret Sims