School Board Governance in Norway

• In Event: International School Boards in the Governance Process

Abstract

Objectives: Researchers from Norway will present current patterns in local school governance and local democracy as emerging from the national school board study. The Norwegian school governance system has successively changed after the millennium shift towards a more complex mode of governance including a growing number of players. Specifically, the conduct of a national quality system in education has placed municipalities and their school boards in the centre point of quality assurance, at the same time as they are key institutions of local democracy – with a designated role to balance the power of the state in education. The present chapter analyses how local school board members understand their role, how they exert influence on the administrative core of local schooling and how they see municipalities in the national educational discourse. Moreover, their assessments of the capabilities at the local level and upwards conflicts are analysed.
Methods, Data Sources: Researchers formed a collaboration with Finland, Norway, Sweden, Denmark, and the United States. The researchers met over two years to create an International Governance Survey. The re-cultured survey was administered to all school board members in the country.
Results: Results across countries were compared and data trends were noted. Emerging themes across countries were developed and implications and recommendations for (a) control and trust, (b) power and influence, (c) quality assurance and satisfaction (d) politics, administration and professionalism, (e) democracy and ‘member knowledge’, (e) management and leadership, (f) multi-level governance, and (g) school board and superintendent relations was compared between Sweden and the other countries in the study.
Significance: Study findings provide evidence to address a variety of issues currently being debated in all countries regarding school governance. These include democracy, leadership, quality assurance, and power and influence. Findings and emerging themes across the participating countries in the study allow for improving school governance models in multiple countries.

Authors

• Jan Merok Paulsen, Hedmark University College

• Guri Skedsmo, University of Oslo