The setting-up of multi-site school collaboratives: The benefits of this organizational reform in terms of networking opportunities and their effects

This article, which is set within the Maltese education scenario of unfolding decentralization through the setting-up of multi-site school collaboratives (legally termed ‘colleges’) via a policy mandate, explores a particular aspect of this reform – that of ‘networking’. This is examined in terms of the potential for ‘networking’ that educational leaders have at both school and college levels and the ‘effects’ of these (non-)opportunities on both the leaders and the network itself. My study is framed within a postmodern paradigm and interpreted through a Foucauldian theoretical framework. Data for this case study are collected via semi-structured, in-depth interviews; participant observation; and documentary analysis; which are then subjected to narrative analysis. The findings reveal a very detached bond within and across levels, with this detachment unfolding simultaneously within both micro and macro strata. This article, besides theoretically addressing a gap in literature regarding the shortcomings of networks and network dynamics, has a particular significance for educational practitioners, policy makers, and all those who have school improvement on their agenda.