School-Based Management: Reconceptualizing to Improve Learning Outcomes

This article examines educational decentralization efforts in both developed and developing countries, guided by two questions: (1) under what conditions does school-based management (SBM) produce best results and (2) what are the roles and relationships of the school/community and of the region/center. The authors summarize, from recent literature, reasons for the usual failure of SBM and identify the conditions under which SBM works, noting school/community relations and external infrastructure as important factors. In looking at research from developing countries, the authors highlight similarities and differences compared to Western research, focusing on projects with promising results. Finally, the article draws strategic implications for establishing the kind of school-based developments that will positively affect learning outcomes.     

Leadership Effectiveness and School Development: Putting Reform in Perspective

System‐wide and school‐based initiatives continue to be linked through staff and leadership development programs. Factors such as reduced funding are having an impact on structures and organization. The clear focus on instruction and school based planning have helped the district maintain its direction while adapting initiatives to meet changing needs and resources.     

Large-scale reform comes of age

This article reviews the history of large-scale education reform and makes the case that large-scale or whole system reform policies and strategies are becoming increasingly evident. The review briefly addresses the pre 1997 period concluding that while the pressure for reform was mounting that there were very few examples of deliberate or successful strategies being developed. In the second period—1997 to 2002—for the first time we witness some specific cases of whole system reform in which progress in student achievement was evident. England and Finland are cited as two cases in point. In 2003–2009 we began to observe an expansion of the number of systems engaged in what I call tri-level reform—school/district/government. As Finland, Singapore, Alberta, Canada, Hong Kong, and South Korea continued to demonstrate strong performance in literacy, math and science, Ontario joined the ranks with a systematic tri-level strategy which virtually immediately yielded results and continues to do so in 2009. The nature of these large-scale reform strategies is identified in this article. It can be noted that very little productive whole system reform was going on in the United States. Aside from pockets of success at the level of a few districts since 2000, and despite the presence of a ‘policy without a strategy’ in the form of No Child Left Behind the US failed to make any progress in increasing student achievement. In the final section of the paper I consider the early steps of the Obama administration in light of the ‘theory of action’ of whole system reform identified in this article and predict that there we will see a great expansion and deepening of large-scale reform strategies in the immediate future, not only in the U.S. but across the world.     

The Role of Leadership in the Promotion of Knowledge Management in Schools

Knowledge building is a critical capacity for all organizations, and especially for schools and school systems. Schools, however, are historically weak at knowledge sharing within and across schools. The present paper draws on school systems and successful business to identify what knowledge sharing looks like in successful organizations. It also focuses on what kind of school and district leadership is needed in leading change-oriented organizations. Six core capacities are identified in moral purpose, understanding the process of change, relationship building, knowledge management, and coherence making. Finally, the question of sustainability is taken up by identifying four conditions under which sustainable leadership could be developed.     

Strategic leadership for large‐scale reform: the case of England's national literacy and numeracy strategy

Both ‘strategic’ and ‘distributed’ forms of leadership are considered promising responses to the demands placed on school systems by large‐scale reform initiatives. Using observation, interview and survey data collected as part of a larger evaluation of England's National Literacy and Numeracy Strategies, this study inquired about sources of leadership, the distribution of leadership functions across roles and how such distribution could also provide the strategic coordination necessary for successful implementation of such an ambitious reform agenda     

Improving the implementation of educational change

In the academic year 1987–1988 24 primary school Headteachers were interviewed about the appraisal of their managerial performance. In the course of the interviews the Heads discussed their perceptions of their jobs and what they perceived as the changing nature of their roles. They felt under considerable pressure to focus on the administrative and managerial aspects of headship and to reduce the time they spent in teaching. There was evidence that they found the non‐teaching tasks were increasing markedly in recent years in primary schools. They did not, however, appear to consider delegation of these tasks to other staff to be an appropriate strategy. This paper then goes on to consider issues surrounding delegation and collegial structures and makes recommendations about levels of consultation in primary schools.     

The Return of Large-Scale Reform

Education Reform on a large scale was first attempted in the 1960s. Itfailed to make a difference largely because advocates of reform ignoredissues of implementation and did not address local institutions and cultures.In the 1990s, we see a return to large-scale reform. This time there is agreater appreciation of the complexity of the task, and greater attentionpaid to implementation strategies as well as a growing sense of urgency aboutthe need for reform.This article reviews three ``types' of large-scale reform and theemerging lessons being learned. The three forms of reform reviewedthrough case studies and associated research are:1. whole school district reform involving all schools in a district;2. whole school reform in which hundreds of schools attempt toimplement particular models of change, and3. state or national initiatives in which all or most of the schoolsin the state are involved.Eight factors and issues are identified and discussed – factors,if addressed, promise to achieve reform on a larger scale than ever before.