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

Abstract

State school inspection creates expectations in the interface between transnational ideas and national policy contexts. This article investigates how inspectors and education directors understand and reformulate their regulatory roles in relation to the new framework for school inspection policy in Norway. Using data from the LEX-EL project, interviews with 3 educational directors and 6 school inspectors in 3 County Governors' Offices were analyzed. The article draws on organizational theory, within the concept of institutionalization. Findings suggest inspectors function as change agents, channeled through inter- and intra-institutional cooperation. Additionally directors are more tightly coupled to their counterparts in other counties. Moreover, the role of school inspectors is moving from a compliancy-based focus to increased emphasis on self-evaluation and quality assessment.

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