I would like to introduce myself. My name is Ian Widdows and I am a postgraduate research student at the University of Sheffield working towards a PhD which is looking at ‘secondary school performance measures in England – their effectiveness, effects and an exploration of alternative approaches’. (https://www.sheffield.ac.uk/is/people/phd-researchers/ian-widdows ).
Until 2020 I was the headteacher of a secondary school in Lincolnshire, England. I started teaching in 1992 and have held positions in various groups, including (amongst others) representing secondary academies in the ESFA’s post 16 funding group and the Lincolnshire Schools Forum. I am also the founder of the National Association of Secondary Moderns (NASM). In 2020 I had change of direction and went back to university. I first completed an MSc in Physics and then a MA in Social Research. In 2022 I started my PhD.
My PhD includes a range of methods and concepts. So far I have broken it down into smaller projects, including:
- qualitative analysis of legislation, white papers, government guidance and transcripts of parliamentary debates around school accountability
- quantitative analysis of factors affecting headline secondary school performance measures in England, including an examination of the concept of ‘performance’
- mapping of the processes (eg theories of change) and data-assemblage associated with school accountability
- text mining of Ofsted reports to compare/contrast with school performance measures
- a 3 month placement in the Department for Education’s Strategy Unit
I am now engaging with focus groups to first consider the effectiveness and effects of school performance measures and then to develop some alternative approaches to this.
I also have a relatively large ‘advisory group’ for the focus group project. This is made up of people from various backgrounds who are not in a position currently to contribute to the focus group discussions. I will share with them some of the findings of the focus groups (and other research), with the aim of gathering some feedback/comments/questions etc. They are free to give as much or as little feedback as they want.
If you would like to be part of the advisory group, please let me know. Also if you know of anyone else who might be interested in any aspect of this project – please share.
Finally, If you would like any further details, or would like to discuss any aspects of this research please do not hesitate to get in touch.
Thnk you.
Ian Widdows
Postgraduate Research Student
Information School,
The University of Sheffield,
C223 The Wave,
2 Whitham Street,
Sheffield,
S10 2AH
University profile: https://www.sheffield.ac.uk/is/people/phd-researchers/ian-widdows
Website: icwiddows.co.uk
X: @wids_widdows
LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/ian-c-widdows-33a767247
WhatsApp/Mobile: +44 7979 576291