Leading Professionals to Innovation

Despite the last years’ efforts to innovate public education in Denmark the Danish public school has remained hesitant to change, and relations with the surrounding world have remained in their early stages. Using Michel Callon’s concept of translation our study sheds light on the social processes that form the conditions of managing innovation among professionals. It shows how
managing innovation in practice is part of a complex network of social nteraction and evolves as a constant ‘translation’ aiming at enrolling opposing actors, and positioning oneself in relation to the professional identities and positions that innovation put at risk. The analytical contribution of our aper is to add comprehension to innovation management in the public sector as a process of positioning innovation in relation to a variety of human and non-human actors as well as professional identities. Innovation is shown to challenge the professional identities of the teachers and school leaders, as the teachers experience that innovation is not recognized in standardized tests and thereby jeopardizes their professional position. Onwards the paper outlines three
management strategies that evolve in the social processes of the translation of innovation and the different management positions that these strategies entail.