Liberating schools through devolution: the Trojan horse of the state

The Gillard Labor Government seeks to liberate schools through the mechanisms of devolving authority to the school level. Such devolution is often advocated for on the basis that they enable schools to shape their own directions. However, despite the rhetoric of empowerment and participation at the school level, the state, through various apparatus such as systemic authorities and publicly available data continues to set the agenda by defining what is an 'effective school'. This article argues that school-based strategic planning, as a devolutionary practice, is little more than the Trojan horse of the state. That is, school level planning has been used by the state to get beyond the school fence and into the daily practices of school leaders. Drawing on empirical work undertaken in the NSW public school system, primarily through policy analysis and interviews with principals, this article seeks to bring to the level of discussion some of the seemingly invisible actions of the state in the management of education.