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The steering of primary schools in Brussels: An analysis of the effects on the performance of the education system within the framework of the « Pacte pour un Enseignement d’Excellence.

par Foucart, Sarah
Référence The International Institue of Administrative Sciences, European Group for Public Administration (26-29 aout 2025: Glasgow)
Publication Non publié, 2025-08-28

Communication à un colloque

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Résumé :

This paper explores how the performance-oriented logic introduced by the Pact for Excellence inTeaching in the French-speaking Community of Belgium is being translated into local practices withinprimary schools in Brussels, through the implementation of performance contracts. Adopting a multi-level governance perspective, we focus on the role of intermediary actors—specifically the Support andAdvisory Units (Cellules de Soutien et d’Accompagnement, CSA)—at a pivotal moment in the policycycle: the mid-term evaluation of the performance contracts. Drawing on the work of Smith andWohlstetter (2001) and Wohlstetter et al. (2003) on educational intermediary networks, we analyse howCSA fulfil three key functions: acting as relays of institutional expectations, mediators between policyand context, and facilitators of inter-school collaboration. Based on a qualitative methodology (semi-structured interviews), our findings reveal significant differences in the support strategies provided byCSA across school networks, which in turn shape the leadership capacity of school principals. Twoleadership styles—authoritarian and distributed—appear to support effective contract implementation.However, pedagogical changes remain limited at this stage of the cycle due to structural constraints suchas the COVID-19 crisis, broad and imprecise goal-setting, short timelines, and difficulties translatinginstitutional goals into classroom practice. Our results underscore the crucial role of supportconfigurations and leadership styles in shaping policy enactment, while also suggesting that it is still tooearly to assess the full impact of the reform on system-wide educational performance in terms ofeffectiveness and equity.