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Why Would Schools Choose to Have Two-Year-Olds? an Exploration of ‘Quality’ from a Complexity Viewpoint

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Why Would Schools Choose to Have Two-Year-Olds? an Exploration of ‘Quality’ from a Complexity Viewpoint Why would schools choose to have two-year-olds? An exploration of ‘quality’ from a complexity viewpoint. Andrea Cheryl Lancaster A thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of: Doctor of Education The University of Sheffield Faculty of Social Sciences School of Education Submission date: September 2018 Abstract It is widely accepted that ‘quality’ is both a necessary attribute in the provision of early childhood education (ECE) and that it is also an extremely difficult concept to define. Multiple meanings co-exist within individual organisations and the wider education system. Building on the work of Edgar Morin, the French philosopher and sociologist, this study uses critical complexity theory as both a theoretical and methodological framework to explore how quality is being conceptualised in relation to the policy of schools offering Free Early Learning (FEL) places for two-year-olds. The thesis offers a case-study of four schools within one English local authority when they were just starting to offer two-year-old FEL places in Summer 2014. The research does not attempt to arbitrate over what is considered to be ‘quality’ provision or practice for two-year-olds. Instead it considers how current understandings of quality for two-year-olds in schools have evolved over time and how ideas about quality originating in the business sector appear to have informed practices such as early intervention strategies and the measurement of children’s academic outcomes. The argument is made that because of the impact of high-stakes accountability measures there is a danger that manufacturing or production-based understandings of quality become the norm and that other important understandings of quality are marginalised or lost. Suggestions are made about where future attention could be focused by those in leadership or advisory roles to redress the balance in how quality is perceived in schools. 2 Contents Glossary of terms .................................................................................................................. 6 Chapter One - Introduction .................................................................................................. 7 1.1 Why this research interest? .......................................................................................... 7 1.2 The problem with quality .............................................................................................. 11 1.3 The research questions ............................................................................................... 13 1.4 Organisation of the thesis ............................................................................................ 14 Chapter Two - Complexity ................................................................................................. 17 2.1 From systems theory to critical complexity ............................................................... 17 2.2 Complex open systems ............................................................................................... 21 2.3 Emergence .................................................................................................................... 22 2.4 Stability and change ..................................................................................................... 23 2.4.1 Open systems are unpredictable .................................................................... 25 2.4.2 Applying complexity theory to system management and the concept of power ............................................................................................................................. 26 2.5 Using a critical complexity methodology in research .............................................. 29 2.5.1 Thinking in a complex way ............................................................................... 31 2.5.2 The inseparability of the separable ................................................................. 32 2.5.3 Dealing with ‘mess’ ........................................................................................... 34 2.5.4 My interpretation of Morin’s critical complexity methodology ..................... 35 2.6 Chapter conclusion ....................................................................................................... 36 Chapter Three - Methodology ........................................................................................... 38 3.1 Positionality.................................................................................................................... 39 3.2 Methods ......................................................................................................................... 41 3.2.1 Drawing a boundary around the system: the inseparability of the separable ...................................................................................................................... 41 3.2.2 Selecting the case schools .............................................................................. 45 3.2.3 Semi-structured interviews............................................................................... 49 3.3 Dealing with data and presenting findings ................................................................ 51 3.3.1 Dealing with the messiness of the research process .................................. 52 3.3.2 The use of cases ............................................................................................... 57 3.3.3 Analysis/ synthesis – thinking in a complex way .......................................... 60 3.3.4 Mapping the history of the system .................................................................. 63 3.4 Chapter conclusion ....................................................................................................... 64 Chapter Four - Quality ........................................................................................................ 67 3 4.1 Quality is a contested term .......................................................................................... 68 4.1.1 The Quality Debate versus the Quality Movement ...................................... 69 4.1.2 Engaging (or not) with the concept of quality ................................................ 74 4.2 Defining quality in education ....................................................................................... 78 4.2.1 Workforce ‘quality’ and the ‘quality’ of qualifications .................................... 79 4.2.2 Is a teacher a ‘high quality’ practitioner in relation to two-year-olds? ....... 82 4.2.3 The relationship between staff-child ratios, staff qualifications and group- size – implications for two-year-olds ........................................................................ 84 4.2.4 Employing staff with different levels of qualification - efficiency as an expression of quality ................................................................................................... 87 4.2.5 Measuring quality - durability as an expression of quality .......................... 90 4.3 How to achieve quality - lessons from the business sector ................................... 93 4.3.1 Operations Management and Statistical Process Control .......................... 94 4.3.2 Disruptive innovation: Getting more for less and encouraging innovation in the system .................................................................................................................... 96 4.4 Chapter conclusion ....................................................................................................... 99 Chapter Five – Recent History ........................................................................................ 101 5.1 The background of the two-year-old FEL initiative ................................................ 102 5.1.1 Background to the involvement of schools .................................................. 106 5.1.2 The distribution of two-year-old places across the school and PV sectors ..................................................................................................................................... 108 5.2 The concepts of ‘education’ and ‘care’ .................................................................... 110 5.2.1 The impact of measurement .......................................................................... 112 5.3 Poverty and school readiness, the role of parents and social mobility .............. 116 5.3.1 The role of parents .......................................................................................... 119 5.3.2 The correlation between disadvantage and poor outcomes ..................... 122 5.4 Chapter conclusion ..................................................................................................... 124 Chapter Six – Context and Cases .................................................................................. 126 6.1 Rationale for taking on two-year olds ...................................................................... 128 6.2 Preparation for working with two-year-olds ............................................................ 136 6.2.1 Sycamore Primary ........................................................................................... 138 6.2.2 Willow Academy .............................................................................................. 142 6.2.3 Oak Primary ..................................................................................................... 145 6.2.4 Maple Academy ..............................................................................................
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