Contradictory policy demands – perspectives on educational leaders’ shared responsibility for educational improvement

Purpose This study aims to contribute to knowledge about how contradictory policy demands play out in practice in the intersection where educational leaders meet and interact. It explores how local education authority (LEA) managers make sense of and frame problems related to the national policy of shared responsibility for educational improvement and how principals respond to this. Design/methodology/approach Empirical data from a multiple-case study of six strategically selected municipalities are presented. The data consist of semi-structured interviews (n = 81) with LEA managers, administrators and principals. Findings Findings illustrate how LEA managers’ ideas of principal autonomy influence how the contradictory policy of shared responsibility is framed and enacted. Two diverging ways of framing and enactment are identified: shared responsibility as intertwined across hierarchical levels or shared responsibility as divided between hierarchical levels. When pressured, LEA managers increase their control, thereby reducing principal autonomy. The findings raise questions about LEA capacity and endurance. Practical implications Findings illustrate variations in contextual adaptation of contradictory policy demands. They highlight difficulties in resisting external pressure, thereby stressing the need for endurance and encouraging adaptations to local needs. This knowledge is vital for local and national governance as well as educational leaders at different levels. Originality/value The study offers understandings of how power relations between principals and LEA managers influence the construction of the policy meaning of shared responsibility and its outcomes within local contexts, hitherto little explored in research.