Beyond The Self Managing School

The broad approach of local management of schools or self-managing schools is now widely accepted. In Britain, there is even consensus between the three major political parties that the approach should be continued and extended. A key issue, though, is what comes next for self- managing schools? Drawing on their work and experience in research consultancy, Caldwell and Spinks examine the way in which education is changing, and outline what is desirable and workable for schools today, with clear guidelines for policy-makers and practitioners. The focus is specifically on the school, the classroom, the student, and the future of learning in society. Practitioners will find this book immediately accessible and useful.

First published in 1988. This book concerns one of today’s key educational issues: how schools can be encouraged to develop their own management skills. The present British government has introduced legislation for schools to manage their own budgets and to enable schools to opt out of LEA control and become independently run and financed by central government. In other countries such as Australia, Canada, the Scandinavian countries and also in some parts of the United States, the devolution of budgeting and management power to schools and the decentralisation of educational administration are being pursued with vigour.

This text examines how education is changing and outlines what is desirable and workable. The authors suggest clear guidelines for policy-makers and practitioners.

The shift from the model of central government educational control to school- based management has been widely adopted and acclaimed and has created the general impression of increased democracy and participation.; The international contributors to this book tackle this important policy issue and look behind the scenes of the moves towards school self- management. They investigate the phenomenon of the self-managing school, Why It Is Happening Now, What Is The Truth Behind This Notion And The problems which lie behind devolution and self-management.; The self- managing school, it is claimed is not about "grassroots democracy" or "parent participation" but absolutely the reverse and this contradiction is best understood in terms of the ideology of the New Right. Enlightened and informed perspectives of the reality behind school self-management suggest that the devolution of power is only superficial. Hierarchies continue to exist as unequally funded schools which perpetuate class, gender and ethnic divisions. The mechanism involved promotes the Survivial Of The Fittest Through Notions Of Choice.; For Those Involved in school management and education generally, this book should provide a useful insight into the struggle surrounding the control of schooling.

This book, which is the eighth volume in the 12-volume book series Globalisation, Comparative Education and Policy Research, presents scholarly research on major discourses in decentralisation, school-based management (SBM) and quality in education globally. This book, which focuses on decentralisation and SBM as a governance strategy in education, presents theoretical aspects of the phenomenon of decentralisation/privatisation and contextualises them within the education research literature. It provides an easily accessible, practical yet scholarly source of information concerning the dynamics of decentralisation and SBM that normally take place when reforms are instituted to decentralize authority and power. Above all, the authors offering the latest findings regarding major discourses in dec- tralisation, SBM and quality in educational systems in the global culture emphasise aspects of that dynamic interactive process (see also Geo-JaJa 2006a; Gamage and Sooksomchitra 2006, Zajda 2009). This dynamic interaction in the process that is implicit in the title of the book is reified by calls for restructuring of schools f- lowing the idea that schools are not promoting human rights, social cohesion and sustainable development. The chapters as a source book of ideas for researchers, practitioners and policy makers in decentralisation and SBM in education contr- ute to the educational literature while enhancing the understanding of the larger dynamics involved in educational reform. It offers a timely overview of current issues affecting decentralisation in education in the global culture.

This work is a sequel to The Self-Managing School and deals with leadership responsibilities on two levels - as head of a school responsible for loca management and as a director in a Local Education Authority responsible

Leadership for Quality Schooling provides the latest thinking and research on school leadership from a range of international scholars in the field of educational administration. Because of the growing acceptance of school- based models of school management, there is now developing a greater focus on how quality education can be more fully achieved in this increasingly commonplace administrative context. Since one major aspect of promoting quality is the role of school leadership, this book offers a particular focus on the question of the connection between leadership and school improvement, effectiveness and performance. Leadership for Quality Schooling will be of interest to educational practitioners, students, researchers, academics and policymakers. It is intended as a guide to the latest research on leadership, as well as a stimulus to further thought for those looking for alternative ideas to existing practices.