The main aim of this dissertation is to investigate the impact of UK schools adopting more business-like approaches and the effect this has had on teachers. Specific concepts schools can implement a business-like approach, and those that will be assessed, are academisation and privatisation. The impact these have caused on teachers can be very generally explored, however, the aim is to uncover the specific change this has caused to the teacher identity of those working in UK schools. Whilst assessing the main aim of the research other topics to also consider are, the specific impact of privatisation, the impact of business-like approaches on teacher identity, and the impact of academisation.
The work and research for this business research project occurred in my third and final year at the University of Lincoln. Throughout which, an exhaustive literature review and primary research enabled me to ensure I met each aim and objective of the study. Within the literature review, it was apparent that specific research concerning these topics, were absent, hence, highlighted the research gap and requirement for this dissertation. In order to gather in-depth opinions of teachers, the primary research consisted of semi-structured interviews with a number of teachers within the UK. In which, participants were asked questions, regarding their personal views on matters with a teacher school focus. These allowed for the research aim and objectives to be met.
From the responses within the interviews, the results show that though adopting certain business-like approaches within the education system can be beneficial. Generally, participants had quite strong views concerning the topics and held negative perceptions towards imposing schools to become more business-like. In addition, considering the nature of teacher identity, the organisational shift within the education system has also had an impact on school wide and individual teacher identity.
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