Self-managed leadership: An alternative school governance structure

This paper explores how the current governance structure of American schools detracts from their ability to solve the educational problems that confront them. The paper argues that the current structure restricts the problem-solving capabilities of teachers. Teacher empowerment is a step in the right direction, but is frequently too narrowly defined and thus falls short of maximizing the utilization of potential. An alternative structure, self-managed leadership, is proposed. Implications for principal and teacher roles and behavior are examined. Implementation and potential issues and problems are discussed.