We start by mapping which tools and mechanisms that mediate interpretations of the legal standards in the Education Act and which school leaders at different levels rely on.
The analysis of the tools provides a stepping stone to multi-site case studies in three municipalities and six compulsory schools and two counties and four upper secondary schools. We will conduct semi-structured interviews and organize focus groups with key actors to collect information on the translation of the law into meaning and action at municipal and school level.
These data are supplemented by a national survey among school leaders on the translation of the Education Act into meaning and action at local authorities and school levels. In addition, we will observe how three inspection teams exercise their judgments.
The project will employ two PhD-students. One of the candidates will be enrolled in the PhD program at the Faculty of Law, while the other will be enrolled at the Faculty of Educational Science. The first will focus on the transformation of legal standards into professional action at the school level and take legal methods as a point of departure; the other will focus on national inspections of local educational authorities and draw upon methodology in social sciences.