(Da Shuttleworth) School Management in Transition

School Management in Transition
School Management in Transition examines the impact of the neo-

conservative political agendas which still hold sway in education. It
describes the transition that has occurred in the school leader’s role from
teacher/administrator to quality control supervisor and how some schools
have developed strategies to deal with the resulting issues.
Based on a study carried out by the Organisation for Economic Co-
operation and Development (OECD), the book analyses issues such as
decentralisation, testing, external assessment and privatisation in the edu-
cation systems of nine of the world’s most industrialised countries: the
USA, UK, Japan, Mexico, Belgium, the Netherlands, Sweden, Greece and
Hungary. It contrasts different school management models in these coun-
tries and goes on to identify innovation and best practice designed to
tackle such concerns as declining professional morale, premature retire-
ments and teacher shortages.
School Management in Transition provides a unique insight into what is
really happening in school leadership and management, and will be of great
interest to school leaders, academics, researchers and policy makers.
Dr Dale E. Shuttleworth is currently executive director of the Training
Renewal Foundation in Toronto and has over 40 years’ experience as a
community educator, previously holding posts as a teacher, principal, super-
intendent of schools and university lecturer. He is also author of Enterprise
Learning in Action (Routledge 1993).
Student Outcomes and the Reform of Education
General Editor: Brian Caldwell
Professor of Education, Dean of the Faculty of Education, University of
Melbourne, Australia
Student Outcomes and the Reform of Education is concerned with the reform of pub-
lic education and its impact on outcomes for students. The reform agenda has gripped
the attention of policy-makers, practitioners, researchers and scholars since the 1990s.
This series reports research and describes strategies that deal with the outcomes of
reform. Without sacrificing a critical perspective, the intention is to provide a guide to
good practice and strong scholarship within the new arrangements that are likely to
provide the framework for public education in the foreseeable future.
School Effectiveness and School-Based Management

A mechanism for development
Yin Cheong Cheng
Transforming Schools Through Collaborative Leadership
Helen Telford
The Inner Principal
David Leader
The Future of Schools
Lessons from the reform of public education
Brian Caldwell and Donald Hayward
Beyond the Self-Managing School
Brian Caldwell and Jim Spinks
Designing the Learning-Centred School
A cross-cultural perspective
Clive Dimmock
Creating the Future School
Hedley Beare
Leadership for Quality Schooling
International perspectives
Kam-Cheung Wong and Colin W Evers
School Management in Transition
Schooling on the edge
Dale E. Shuttleworth, Ph.D.
School Management in
Transition
Schooling on the edge
Dale E. Shuttleworth
First published 2003 by RoutledgeFalmer
11 New Fetter Lane, London EC4P 4EE
Simultaneously published in the USA and Canada
by RoutledgeFalmer
29 West 35th Street, New York, NY 10001
This edition published in the Taylor & Francis e-Library, 2004.
RoutledgeFalmer is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group
 2003 Dale E. Shuttleworth
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or repro-
duced or utilised in any form or by any electronic, mechanical, or
other means, now known or hereafter invented, including photcopy-
ing and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system,
without permission in writing from the publishers.
British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library
Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data
Shuttleworth, Dale E. (Dale Edwin), 1938–
School management in transition : schooling on the edge / Dale E.
Shuttleworth
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 0-415-28246-2
1. School management and organization—Political aspects—
Cross-cultural studies. 2. Education and state—Cross-cultural
studies. 3. Conservatism—Cross-cultural studies. I. Title.
LB2806.S47 2003
371.2—dc21
2003046515
ISBN 0-203-42633-9 Master e-book ISBN
ISBN 0-203-43981-3 (Adobe eReader Format)

ISBN 0-415-28246-2 (Print Edition)
Contents
Preface vii
Acknowledgements ix
1 Crisis in the classroom 1

2 Leadership in transition 8
3 Loosening the ties 13
4 Test-score Olympics 23
5 Top-down reform 32
6 Outsourcing the service 41
7 Bottom-up renewal 48
8 Community education partnerships 56
9 Micropolitics of governance 68
10 Zero tolerance 74
11 Digital divide 86
12 Learning to manage knowledge 99
13 Tracking innovation 111
14 Management for a learning society 125
15 Leaders for the twenty-first century 136
Appendix: National profiles 143
Bibliography 153
Index 163
Preface
As industrial societies struggle with the demands of the twenty-first century,

public schooling finds itself in a rather dysfunctional state striving to satisfy
the diverse needs of an ever-changing social, political and economic milieu.
Born in the nineteenth century and universalised in the twentieth century,
public education has emerged ‘on the cutting edge of a new age’ shrouded in
a cloak of crisis and contradiction. During the twentieth century the admin-
istration of the public service sector, including primary and secondary
schooling, has been radically transformed. The one room/one teacher rural
schoolhouse of the agrarian age has spawned the creation of large multi-
classroom institutions in our industrial cities and consolidated rural areas.
The role of the school administrator has also dramatically changed. Once, a
practising teacher with added supervisory skills in plant operations, disci-
pline and record keeping was in charge of the building, the teachers and
their students. In the twenty-first century a full professional manager
responsible for financial, instructional, human resources and facilities lead-
ership is demanded.
School governance has also changed. Central authorities with control of
legislation, funding and curriculum and programme standards are increas-
ingly downloading some of these responsibilities to local municipalities or
individual schools. This process of decentralisation and deregulation has
had a profound impact on the role of the school manager. The movement to
a more market-driven economy and the advent of new information and
communication technologies have strongly affected all forms of public ser-
vice, including schooling. Political and media forces are demanding more
quality and accountability from our service delivery systems. The publish-
ing of student test scores, teacher testing and curriculum and programme
reform have often resulted in a public perception that teachers may be
incompetent and schools poorly managed. Many professional educators are
suffering from employment insecurity, stress-burnout, decreasing job satis-
faction and low self-esteem. As we continue to embrace a lifelong,
learner-focused economy, the need to strengthen this area of human capital
has never been more apparent. This is of particular concern as the teachers
and principals of the post-war baby boom reach retirement age. Who will
viii Preface
engender the learning organisations, social skills, moral values, civility and
childcare which parents expect of schools in our new information-driven
society?
What is the future role of the student, the parent, the teacher, the princi-
pal and the school in this ever-changing social, political and economic
environment? Early in the twentieth century, educational philosopher John
Dewey saw the future of schools as either ‘preservers of the status quo’ or
‘anticipators of the future’. It is the latter role that most educators are striv-
ing to pursue.
In the year 2000, I was lead author and expert consultant for a study of
innovations in school management conducted by the Centre for
Educational Research and Innovation at the Organisation for Economic
Co-operation and Development in Paris. The membership of the OECD
includes the 30 most industrialised nations in the world. Nine member
countries chose to be part of the study: Belgium (Flanders); Greece;
Hungary; Japan; Mexico; the Netherlands; Sweden; the United Kingdom
(England) and the United States of America (OECD 2001c). The following
chapters are derived partially from insights and data gained from partici-
pating in the study, my own research in the field and personal experience
over 35 years as a teacher, principal and school superintendent. They will
trace the evolution of school administration from the nineteenth-century
agrarian economy, through the industrial age of the twentieth century to the
emerging knowledge economy as we enter the twenty-first century.
Factors which are currently transforming the nature of public education
management include the ongoing debate as to whether ‘reform’ or ‘renewal’
is the best means to improve school performance. This involves the struggle
between ‘top-down versus bottom-up’ styles of school leadership in a neo-
conservative political environment.
The impact of such issues as decentralisation and deregulation; academic
testing; external assessment; self-evaluation; performance incentives; privati-
sation; community involvement; resource development; the politicisation of
the school environment, safety and security; information communication
technology; and knowledge management are delineated. Finally, experiences
gained from preparing school leaders among the nine OECD countries and
beyond are compared and contrasted. The book concludes with a survey of
the innovations and ‘best practices’ which seem to be making a difference as
school management training comes of age, while our social, political and
economic forces continue to struggle to understand the nature of leadership
in a society where ‘the only constant is change’.
Dale E. Shuttleworth, Ph.D.
Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Acknowledgements
I wish to express my appreciation to Jarl Bengtsson, David Istance and

Motoyo Kamiya of the Centre for Educational Research and Innovation
in Paris for the opportunity to work on the OECD study and to my wife
Marilyn Shuttleworth who assisted me in the study and preparation of
this book.
1 Crisis in the classroom
A provocative series by Louise Brown in the Toronto Star newspaper dealt

with the ‘crisis in the classroom’. She provided the following ‘sample want
ad’ for a prospective school principal in the year 2000.
WANTED – Experienced manager; someone who can influence client
groups of all ages, boost staff morale, hold spending under budget,
juggle union contracts, referee arguments, defuse violence, schmooze
politicians, grasp new legislation and spell it out for others, who can be
discreet yet speak out when needed and who, in any spare time, can
charm the larger community into donating items for which there is no
longer any budget.
WARNING – The hours are long, job security is weak and you will bear
the brunt of public reaction to every change to hit the school system.
Louise Brown’s job description captures a feeling for the sense of crisis and
despair which school leaders face as educational managers in a new social,
political and economic age.
Schooling for an industrial age

The emergence of schooling as an essential public service has most often
mirrored economic and societal trends. In an agricultural economy, work-
related apprenticeship and problem-solving skills were the learning mode
with limited need for literacy and numeracy. Children contributed to the
wealth and well being of the family through their labour – tending the
flocks, tilling the soil or weeding the garden. There was a job and a sense of
identity for everyone as valued members of the economic unit. That all
began to change, as farming became more automated and improved literacy
and numeracy skills were needed to support commerce in agricultural goods
and services.
The industrial revolution, particularly in the late nineteenth and early
twentieth centuries in the United Kingdom and the United States, defined
and accelerated the need for literacy, numeracy and scientific skills. Public
schooling blossomed as society became increasingly urbanised, providing a
workforce for the burgeoning manufacturing and resource harvesting
industries. The size of the family, once a source of rural pride and economic
strength, now became a liability in the crowded cities and mill towns. As
academic and vocational training became essential to fill the employment
needs of the industrial age, the strength and well-being of the family was
continually threatened. More parents were drawn onto the production lines
allowing less time for nurturing and value mentoring. Schools not only met
the need for a skilled and literate workforce, but they also became agents of
socialisation, morality and citizenship, as well as providing safety and secu-
rity for children in an increasingly complex and threatening urban
environment.
Schools have also reflected their times both physically and organisation-
ally. During the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, their architecture had
much in common with the utilitarian and functionalism associated with the
housing of assembly lines. As organisations, they often assumed the super-
visory style of a manufacturing enterprise feeding its branch plants. The
principal, as branch manager, was responsible for providing services
according to a predetermined common set of standards, and anticipated
outcomes, called the curriculum and programme. It was very much a hier-
archical managerial model with principals directing teachers, who
supervised and instructed children, in response to the needs of parents and
employers. By the latter part of the nineteenth century, national (and state)
governments mandated formal systems of education, with a set curriculum
and provision for teacher training and certification, to ensure loyal, produc-
tive and socially contented citizens. State schooling signalled the advent of
mass education and the spread of popular literacy throughout the United
Kingdom, the United States, continental Europe and beyond.
In the 1880s the American efficiency expert, Frederick Winslow Taylor,
introduced a technique, later to be known as ‘time and motion studies’, to
the steel industry. He applied objective scientific data and management to
increase output by ‘working smarter’. Scientific management believes that
every act of every worker can be reduced to a mechanical principle and then
made more efficient (Stein 2001). Productivity exploded as machines cre-
ated greater capacity and Taylorism was applied to the industrial process.
The self-esteem of workers suffered however as individual craftsmanship
and problem-solving skills were sacrificed in an ever-spiralling quest for
increased production. What they gained was an increase in wages and lower
prices for consumer goods, but the relationship of workers to the workplace
changed dramatically.
After World War I, the success of American industrial production made
scientific management influential throughout the world. It was not long
before the lessons gained from the American (and British) workplace
jumped from the factory floor to the classroom. The Carnegie Foundation
for the Advancement of Teaching led the way by espousing the organisation
Crisis in the classroom 3
of schools along more modern, national, scientific and bureaucratic lines –
‘the factory school was born’ (Abbott and Ryan 2000).
The key to worker success in the scientifically managed factory was the
ability to read and comprehend shop manuals and do basic mathematical
calculations. All workers then needed the ‘3Rs’ to survive in the modern
industrial workplace. Schools met the challenge very successfully, and in
several decades literacy and numeracy rates soared from single digits to the
eightieth and ninetieth percentiles.
Schools were also given the task of ‘sorting’ individuals to suit the needs
of an increasingly specialised labour market. A system of ‘meritocracy’
evolved to decide which students should receive advanced education and
training to assume managerial and leadership positions and which should
be relegated to toil on the factory floor. It was a system that operated under
the premise that 10 per cent would lead and 90 per cent would follow. To
quote Charles Eliot, president of Harvard University in 1897:
The duty of democratic education, in addition to preparing a whole lit-

erate populace, was to cultivate the natural aristocracy, so that the
whole community could benefit from the fulfilment of its ablest citizens
… and so that educational resources would not be wasted on those
unable to employ them profitably.
(Boorstin 1973)
This process of ‘educational sorting’ and meritocracy was seen by gov-
ernments of the day as a just way to reward intelligence and avoid
discriminating on the basis of class, race or gender. To promote good gov-
ernment and avoid corruption, professional administrators became
enamoured with the creed of scientific management to improve organisa-
tional performance and efficiency.
The factory system of education was not unique to the United States and
soon gained a world following. To quote the English historian David
Wardle concerning British schools:
It was the factory put into the educational setting … Every characteris-
tic was there, minute division of labour … a complicated system of
incentives to do good work, an impressive system of inspection and
finally an attention to cost efficiency and the economic use of plant.
(Wardle 1976)
Schooling for a new economy

Schools of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries helped governments,
business and industry to cope with a traumatic shift from an agrarian soci-
ety of small, dispersed communities, to an industrial factory-based
economy of large impersonal cities and workplaces. Schools were also
organised efficiently to provide safety and security to the children (and ado-
lescents) of working adults unable to impart the skills, values and attitudes
to ensure survival in a mass industrial society.
The later part of the twentieth century however began a revolutionary
restructuring of our social, cultural and economic environment. Our massive,
entrenched system of education, designed for a different time, is now strug-
gling to cope with a radically transforming post-industrial age. To quote
Harvard’s Howard Gardner:
It would not be an exaggeration to maintain that schools have not
changed in a hundred years. Both in the United States and abroad, there
are new topics (such as ecology), new tools (personal computers,
VCRs), and at least some new practices – universal kindergarten, spe-
cial education for those with learning problems, efforts to ‘mainstream’
students who have physical or emotional problems. Still apart from a
few relatively superficial changes, human beings miraculously trans-
ported from 1900 would recognise much of what goes on in today’s
classrooms – the prevalent lecturing, the emphasis on drill, the decon-
textualised materials and activities ranging from basal readers to
weekly spelling tests. With the possible exception of the Church, few
institutions have changed as little in fundamental ways as those charged
with the formal education of the next generation.
(Gardner 1999)
There has also been a dramatic change in the way we produce and distrib-
ute goods and services; organise companies; workplaces, and indeed the
overall economy. In the former economy, ‘vertical integration’ was a basic
principle in organising a company so that it could control as much in-house
as possible. The new economy encourages outsourcing and even ‘virtual
companies’ made possible by new information and communication tech-
nologies and the Internet. It is estimated that by 2004, these ‘e-commerce’
systems will generate U.S. $6.8 trillion compared to $80 billion in 1998.
Companies are faced with the challenge to move to the new economy in
order to be at the forefront of new opportunities that emerge in this new
industrial revolution. Traditional limits to economic expansion are no
longer relevant (Crane 2000a).
Where does this leave schooling and our traditional educational service
systems? The increased globalisation of trade and the influence of informa-
tion technology have led to a period of prolonged prosperity among the
world’s richest, most industrialised countries. For the average worker in
these countries, however, the new economy has often meant employment
instability due to plant closures, restructuring of workforces and global out-
sourcing (the end of the ‘job for life’). But in the United States and Britain,
workers actually put in more hours on the job (or more than one job) than
their counterparts in other industrialised nations. Greater earning power
and easier credit has fuelled a boom in prosperity and consumer spending,
but at what cost?
An increasing number of women have joined the labour force to sustain
the economy and life style of the family unit (especially lone-parent families)
or to enlarge their purchasing power. As a result, fewer children are being
born in developed countries, especially to parents with more than high
school education. When adults do have a family, there is an increasing trend
to ‘outsource’ the raising of their children to child care and educational pro-
fessionals. School personnel are being asked to do more and more to pick
up the deficit in the parenting role. To quote Abbott and Ryan (2000): ‘Kids
are being born into more affluence, but they get less and less time with
adults who love them.’
Schooling in the industrial age was very much shaped by the science of
behaviourism, which defined educational success as:
● mastery of basic skills;

● largely solitary study;
● generally uninterrupted work;
● concentration on a single subject;
● much written work;
● higher analytical ability.
Today’s social and economic environment argues for a different model of

learning:
● mastery of basic skills;

● ability to work with others;
● being able to deal with constant distractions;
● working at different levels across different disciplines;
● improving of verbal skills;
● problem solving and decision making.
These are the kinds of competencies which employers often quote as basic
characteristics of the post-industrial age employee. It is interesting to note
that ‘basic skills’ is the only common element between the two ages. Could
it be that schools, which focus on the first (nineteenth- and twentieth-century)
list, are creating ‘disabilities’ among students destined for living and learn-
ing in the new economic age (Abbott and Ryan 2000)?
Rise of neo-conservatism
After World War II, industrialised nations, particularly the United States and
the United Kingdom, experienced a growing disillusionment with big busi-
ness, big labour and big government. Building on the free market theories of
F. A. Hayek and Milton Friedman, social security and the welfare state were
under attack (Hayek 1944; Friedman and Friedman 1979). In the 1970s
these theories became a movement, led by Margaret Thatcher and Keith
Joseph in the U.K., which embraced the idea of an economy that offered
greater risks and greater rewards to achieve a higher standard of living and
prosperity for all. They wished ‘to liberate the economy from what they saw
as the negative influences of government ownership, union domination and
regulation in order to release the drive and ambition of individual entrepre-
neurs’ (Abbott and Ryan 2000).
They blamed big government for stripping citizens of their individual
rights by seizing control of essential services such as schools, welfare, roads
and even garbage collection. Ronald Reagan in the U.S. soon picked up the
chant in 1984, when he argued that government had ‘pre-empted the fam-
ily, neighbourhood, church and school organisations that act as a buffer
and a bridge between the individual and the naked power of the state’
(Coleman 1987).
Thus the neo-conservative revolution was born with Thatcherism and
Reaganomics demanding and securing a downsizing of government spend-
ing, particularly on essential human services, such as health and education.
As a result, the call for lower taxes, a balanced budget and debt reduction
became the pathway to political power across the western world. These
policies have been championed by successive governments at both national
and state levels. While the result in the 1990s has been unparalleled eco-
nomic growth and increased prosperity for some, it has also led to massive
socio-economic inequalities in both U.S. and the U.K. To quote the
Economic Policy Institute in Washington, D.C.:
The United States had the highest overall poverty rate among 16
advanced economies in the late 1980s and 1990s. High-income families
(those in the ninetieth percentile of family income) in the United States
earn almost 6 times more than their low-income counterparts (those in
the 10th percentile). The average ratio for other advanced economies is
under four with only the United Kingdom (with a ratio of about five)
anywhere near the United States level.
In fact, U.S. inequality is so severe that low-income families in the United

States are worse off than low-income families in the 12 other advanced
economies for which comparable data exist, despite the higher average
income level in the United States. (The United Kingdom is the only country
where low-income families are worse off than in the United States).
Inequality in the United States (along with the United Kingdom) has also
shown a strong tendency to rise over the last two decades, even as inequal-
ity was relatively stable or declining in most of the rest of the advanced
economies (Mishel et al. 1999). Today’s policies of decentralisation, deregu-
lation, privatisation and school reform are among the legacies of the
neo-conservative political movement.
The result for students, teachers, parents and school managers has been a
sense of confusion as to what their role should be as we move from the twen-
tieth to the twenty-first century – from the industrial to the post-industrial
age. Is learning and schooling compatible with the demands of scientific man-
agement from the industrial age seeking ‘one best system’ of standardisation
and homogenisation? This ‘cult of efficiency’ demands that schools be more
effective when there is no understanding of what makes a school effective in a
post-industrial economy which stresses innovation, differentiation and flexi-
bility rather than top-down command and control.
While neo-conservatism has applied the rigid industrial principles of sci-
entific management and cost effectiveness to schooling and other public
services in its quest for political domination, the needs of the emerging post-
industrial economy are not being met. Schools find themselves struggling to
survive on the cutting edge of a social, political and economic revolution.
Reflections
It has been said that the educational reform movement that is sweeping the
world was born out of an industrial age neo-conservative political ideology
formulated in the United States and the United Kingdom. The language of
educational reform would have been familiar in the Tayloresque industrial
boardrooms of the early part of the twentieth century. Concern is expressed
about ‘improving performance’ (through standardised testing?); increasing
standards across the system (national or state-mandated curricula?) or mak-
ing management more accountable (to company directors and other
shareholders?).
This is ironic in 2003 considering the Arthur Andersen accounting scan-
dals and stock market failures of such industry giants as Enron, WorldCom
and Vivendi causing investors the loss of billions of dollars. In the United
States the business dealings of CEOs and other senior executives of some
energy, communications and ‘dot.com’ companies are being investigated
for fraud, stock manipulation and insider trading with criminal charges
pending. At the same time, thousands of their former workers are without
jobs or pension protection. Are these the managerial role models the neo-
conservative leaders would have our schools emulate?
Education as an essential public service is not synonymous with a twentieth-
century production system for the manufacturing of automobiles. This
disfunction, in both language and managerial behaviour, would seem to be a
product of a ‘back to the future’ ideology which is out of touch with prevail-
ing social and economic realities. Teachers and other educational leaders
seem to be caught in a ‘time warp’ of divergent expectations.
2 Leadership in transition
As discussed in the previous chapter, the nature of public education is

experiencing a rather radical transformation. This is no more apparent than
in the area of school leadership. The terminology for school leader may
range from such titles as principal, headmaster, head teacher, school man-
ager, site manager, school director or administrator, depending upon the
country. In each instance, however, we are speaking of the person
appointed by a district school board, governing body, local or central
government authority to be responsible for the day-to-day administrative
and managerial duties concerning a school facility, its staff and students.
In the top-down industrial age, the job may have been more technical in
nature with the principal enforcing a strict set of operating procedures,
courses of study and programme specifications mandated from above.
These responsibilities would most often be in addition to regular teaching
duties. During the latter part of the twentieth century, the role began to
change from an administrative technician, implementing policies mandated
by central authority, to a semi-autonomous manager/instructional leader
and developer of human resources. The change in job description has
reflected the different social, cultural, economic, political and technological
environment in which we find ourselves, as we begin a new millennium.
This chapter will examine some of the policy changes which have brought
about this transformation.
Safety and security

One outcome from the merging of industrial/economic and educational/
schooling outcomes during the mid to late twentieth century has been the
evolving role of the school as an alternative source of child care. The intro-
duction of both parents into the workforce and the increase in the number
of single-parent families has transformed the nature of the public school.
Teachers and school administrators are expected to contribute to the safety,
security and nurturing of students during the school day. With the decline of
the influence of religious institutions, educators are required to impart
social skills and moral values to their pupils.
Leadership in transition 9
Parents in their busy economic struggle to put food on the table,
while making mortgage or rent payments, have less time to devote to the
care and nurturing of their children. As the predominant socialising
institution in society, schools have grudgingly taken on this extended
role, further complicating the life of teachers and school leaders.
Additions to the curricula have included courses and programmes in life
and social skills, anger and conflict management. The school day has
often been extended from early morning to early evening to care for
children of working parents. In this regard, schools have often assumed
a custodial function for children whose family life is in a state of crisis
due to marital break-down, lack of parental supervision and economic
insecurity.
The increase in the incidence of violent acts involving bullying,
weapons, assault and even murder has resulted in a cry for more safety and
security by parents, politicians and other taxpayers. The Colombine High
School massacre in the United States (and more recently in Erfut,
Germany: ABC News 2002) has increased the use of metal detectors and
security patrols in schools further expanding the responsibilities of the
teacher and school manager. Indeed, the 11 September 2001 attack on the
World Trade Center and incidents of bioterrorism are magnifying the inse-
curity, fear, and even hysteria, currently felt by parents and teachers.
Another area of concern has been in the increased incidence of violence
directed toward teachers by students. This has become of particular con-
cern in England where the National Union of Teachers reports an average
of one occurrence per day of violent attacks by pupils against teachers. To
quote the general secretary of the National Association of Headmasters:
‘Teachers are expected to put up with the type of behaviour that if it hap-
pened anywhere else would be treated as a criminal act … a reflection of
the increasing number of dysfunctional families and dysfunctional parents’
(BBC News 2002a).
Concerns about safety and security in the United States have resulted in
new laws and policies being enacted to deal with student offenders. Often
referred to as ‘zero tolerance’, in a growing number of jurisdictions, those
committing offences such as weapon possession; assault; possession or deal-
ing drugs; or even the use of offensive language, can be expelled indefinitely.
Such offenders might also be confined to so-called strict discipline or boot
camp facilities operated by the private sector.
In the United Kingdom, the government decided that the battle against
drugs needed ‘shock tactics’ and encouraged head teachers to adopt a ‘one
strike and you’re out’ approach. The result has been a dramatic rise in the
number of students being permanently expelled. This is in spite of the fact
that a 1988 government study found that such ‘shock tactics’ seldom
work (BBC News 2002d).
Rural/urban consolidation
As previously stated, the movement of families from an agrarian to an
industrial-based economy has had a profound influence on the nature of
schooling. The small, often one-room rural schools of the nineteenth and
early twentieth century, to which pupils could walk from their farm homes,
have been consolidated into large, multi-class institutions. Today’s rural stu-
dents may spend up to three hours per day on school buses to gain an
education.
Of greater impact has been the automation of agriculture with a small
fraction of the previous workforce required to achieve the same level of pro-
duction. Those displaced from the rural areas migrated to the towns and
cities in search of work in the factories and mills of the industrial heartland.
The same architects who designed such structures were often assigned the
task of building schools to house the children of these workers. Thus the
same sense of efficiency by design and scientific management was to be
found in both settings. The behaviour of students, teachers and school man-
agers in both rural and urban areas was profoundly affected by these
demographic changes.
Knowledge economy
The later part of the twentieth century saw the advent of the computer dri-
ven knowledge-based economy. Manufacturing, service and natural
resources have been virtually integrated. The new economy has shifted from
a top-down vertical system of scientific management to a style of leadership
driven by information and communication technologies such as the Internet.
Knowledge management is an essential source of innovation in confronting
problems of competitiveness facing organisations in the new economy. It
may be defined as ‘any process or practice of creating, acquiring, capturing,
sharing and using knowledge, wherever it resides, to enhance learning and
performance in organisations’ (Scarborough et al. 1999).
Primary and secondary schools have traditionally been defined as ‘a place
or establishment where instruction is given’ (New Webster’s Dictionary
1981). But schools are also places where learning takes place – ‘a highly per-
sonal and reflective activity that enables the individual to draw upon
previous experience to understand and evaluate the present, so as to shape
future action and formulate new knowledge’ (Abbott and Ryan 2000).
Schools are no longer being viewed as simply an efficient means to pre-
pare workers for the industrial economy. They are seen rather as a means
of preparation for lifelong learning which ‘involves people learning in a
variety of places – leisure, work, home – not just formal educational organ-
isations, which requires a fundamental shift in how people define
education, take personal control of it, and shape it to their goals and lives’
(OECD 2000e).
Leadership in transition 11
Schools of the twenty-first century are therefore being seen as learning
organisations ‘where people continually expand their capacity to create the
results they truly desire, where new and expansive patterns of thinking are
nurtured, where collective aspiration is set free, and where people are con-
tinually learning how to learn together’ (Senge 1990).
A contradiction arises, however, when school managers are expected to
enforce a top-down-mandated curriculum, compete with other schools in
improving standardised test scores, and operate a safe, secure and disci-
plined environment. Peter Senge’s description of the ‘learning organisation’
would seem to be in conflict with the scientific management agenda advo-
cated by the neo-conservatives.
Reform versus renewal

The former part-time teacher/administrator of the nineteenth to mid-
twentieth century must now become the full-time principal/manager
strengthening social and human capital in a learning organisation. The
‘school reform’ movement as applied across the developed world has been
most often shaped by the scientific management methodology of the
industrial age. It refers to the top-down restructuring of the educational
curriculum and programme by advocating clearly defined academic stan-
dards and student testing procedures, while holding educational
personnel strictly accountable for improving their levels of productivity
(student achievement). The disparity between scientific management with
its ‘school as factory’ industrial efficiency and the learning organisation
envisioned by the knowledge economy has left teachers and principals
frustrated and confused as to their role in society.
Another approach to educational improvement has been ‘school
renewal’ – a bottom-up process whereby people in and around schools
improve their practice by developing the collaborative mechanisms neces-
sary to improve the quality of their schools relatively free of the linearity of
specialised ends, means and outcomes.
Kenneth Sirotnik in his article ‘Making sense of educational renewal’
contrasts educational reform versus educational renewal:
Reform is about whatever is politically fashionable, pendulum-like in

popularity and usually underfunded, lacking in professional develop-
ment and short-lived. Renewal is about the process of individual and
organisational change, about nurturing the spiritual, affective and intel-
lectual connections in the lives of educators working together to
understand and improve their practice… it is about continuous, critical
inquiry into current practices and principled innovation that might
improve education.
(Sirotnik 1999)
John Gardner believes educational renewal begins with ‘self-renewal’. In
living a renewing life people are apt to:
1 recognise and break out of ruts or patterns;

2 reflect on and carry out an ongoing process of self-inquiry;
3 see education as a lifelong process;
4 embrace failure as one of the best of all learning experiences;
5 be capable of mutually respectful, just and caring relationships with
others.
(Gardner 1963)
These are seen as being consistent with the moral dimensions which should
guide those who would be educators in a democratic society.
Renewal is about collaboration and its leaders need to acquire five criti-
cal skills to improve the educational environment:
1 to establish a shared mission;

2 to work as change agents;
3 to collaborate with colleagues;
4 to think inclusively about all constituents;
5 to perceive and make explicit the connections between theory and
practice.
(Smith 1999)
School renewal appears to be a process which complements the ideals of the

knowledge economy and the learning organisation. However, today’s teach-
ers and school leaders too often seem victims of a cult of efficiency, which
demands accountability to a managerial system which is no longer relevant.
The fact that education is vulnerable to cost cutting as part of a neo-conser-
vative political agenda further complicates and threatens the future role of
schools in a post-industrial society (Stein 2001).
3 Loosening the ties
Decentralisation involves the downloading of decision-making tasks,

including financial, personnel and facilities management to a lower level.
Deregulation consists of a devolving of decision-making powers in the belief
that the central authority is too remote from the action to be held account-
able to the local recipients of service.
The combination of senior government decentralisation and deregulation
may create a loose/tight conundrum for educators. Both policies are steeped
in the ideology of neo-conservatism. Down loading financial responsibilities
to the local school or school district allows the senior level of government to
reduce spending and introduce tax cuts at the national or state level. As the
costs of schooling and health care are often the most expensive lines in the
budget, any reduction in taxation could gain votes for the senior govern-
ment in the next election.
Schools and school districts are then left with the problem of avoiding a
reduction of services, by seeking compensatory funds through either an
increase in taxes to local ratepayers or through other kinds of revenue gen-
eration (e.g. fees, facility rentals or fundraising). The burden of parental
and student discontent then falls on locally-elected trustees or school gover-
nors. More senior levels of government remain insulated from the impact of
service reduction or voter discontent. The downloading of fiscal responsi-
bility without a comparable transfer of the financial resources continues to
be a major concern in the governance and management of schools.
In the educational context, the central (or state) government may con-
tinue to control the content of what is taught through a ‘national curriculum’
enforced by external standardised testing. The programme of the school and
the performance of principals and teachers may also be regularly scrutinised
through personnel assessment or inspectoral visits by central authorities or
their delegates. Results of academic achievement testing and the assessment
of school performance may be released to area news media to justify central
and local political policies such as spending cuts, privatisation of services
and school closures. This ‘do better with less’ ideology has been extremely
successful as a political strategy to ‘bash the teachers and trash the schools’.
If the public sees the schools as ‘broken institutions in need of repair’ and
teachers and principals as ‘lazy and incompetent’ they become more vulner-
able to political manipulation and personal disillusionment. Examples of the
effects of decentralisation and deregulation are to be found among the fol-
lowing nations comprising this study.
Flanders
Since 1970, Belgium has been a federal state with three communities:
Flemish; French; and German-speaking. Each community is responsible for
its own education policy, but the federal government retains jurisdiction
over pensions, compulsory education and diploma-granting provisions. The
Flemish community, however, has moved towards a more decentralised sys-
tem by giving greater autonomy to local school councils as opposed to the
two school networks of subsidised private schools and provincial or munic-
ipal schools. More resources, therefore, now go directly to individual
schools with fewer responsibilities vested in the ‘umbrella’ organisations.
This implies more autonomy, more participation of the stakeholders and
encouragement of the process of local self-evaluation.
England
School reforms in England since 1988 have delegated organisational deci-
sion making to the school level and divided curricular decision making
between central government (content) and schools (pedagogy). Parents have
been encouraged to choose schools on the basis of their examination
results. School funding in turn is dependent upon per pupil grants, meaning
they must improve their recruitment strategies to survive.
This market-driven form of competition among schools also has a
process known as ‘target setting’. The governing body of a school is
required to publish a target value for test performance for a cohort of stu-
dents in advance of studying for their exams. Targets are to be negotiated
with the local education authority dependent upon one element: ‘the past
achievements of the best of similar schools’. Thus instead of just bettering
their previous test performance schools must now compete with the past
achievements of the best of similar schools. Brian Fidler in a 1998 article in
School Leadership and Management poses the question: ‘If competition is
to be used as a major source of pressure on schools to improve, what evi-
dence is there from the commercial sector that market forces do actually
spur organisations to improve?’
The corporate commercial sector maintains market driven competition is
the way to improve schools. But what have recent developments in the mar-
ket-driven economy demonstrated to public schooling? In little more than
one year, Marconi plc, the once high-flying British telecom company, has
crashed to earth. Its shares, worth $18 each in 2000 have now been reduced
to a couple of pennies in value. The new millennium has seen the collapse of
Loosening the ties 15
the telecommunications sector, leaving thousands of workers without jobs
and millions of small shareholders with almost worthless paper (McBride
2002).
The Education Reform Act of 1988 has had a profound influence on the
management of schools in England and Wales. Prior to the Act, local educa-
tion authorities (LEAs) were responsible for the provision of schools in their
areas. While the central government controlled overall spending levels,
LEAs set funding and staffing rates for each of their schools, student catch-
ment areas and most curriculum policies.
The 1988 Act changed all of that. The central government assumed
responsibility for a national curriculum and school operating budgets. It
encouraged competition between schools and the privatisation of services
traditionally offered by the LEAs. Budgets were delegated to the individual
schools according to numbers and ages of students enrolled. While LEAs
continued to set the formula used to calculate specific allocations, they were
no longer able to control budgets for individual schools or staffing levels.
Control of the budget was delegated to school governors appointed by the
government to oversee the day-to-day operations of the school. As a result,
principals were required to be influential over such decisions as the number
and level of staff employed by the school. Therefore, schools were able to
hire their own teachers rather than just deploy staff allocated by the LEAs.
In addition, school governors were responsible for appointing head teachers
with limited input from the LEAs.
United States
According to the United States constitution, the responsibility for public
education is divested to the states. Each of the 50 states has its own depart-
ment of education, which delegates the actual operation of schools from
kindergarten to grade 12 to a number of local public school districts. The
current national concern for school reform has meant that virtually every
state has set standards of accountability for curriculum content and acade-
mic performance for students at each grade level and for each subject area.
These results are typically made public, with comparison data across dis-
tricts so that communities can assess their district’s performance in relation
to other districts. Public opinion, fuelled by electronic and print media com-
mentary, has translated into political policies designed to ensure school
performance and local accountability.
In the United States, states and school districts are exploring ways to give
schools more autonomy. Proponents of decentralisation quote examples of
corporate restructuring in the private sector where decentralised and simpli-
fied administration has increased efficiency. They point to research studies
that link school effectiveness to school-level decision making. Those ulti-
mately responsible for school success – teachers, students and parents –
need to participate in key school-level decisions (CPRE 1990).
School-based management (SBM) in the United States promotes
improvement by decentralising control from central district offices to indi-
vidual school sites. Administrators, teachers, parents and other
community members are to gain more authority over budget, personnel
and curriculum in individual schools. In order to achieve performance
improvement through SBM, control of four resources needs to be decen-
tralised throughout the organisation:
● power to make decisions that influence school practices, policies and

directions;
● knowledge that enables staff to understand and contribute to school
performance, including technical knowledge to provide the service,
interpersonal skills and managerial knowledge and expertise;
● information about the school’s performance including revenues, expen-
ditures, student achievement, progress towards meeting its goals and
how parents and other citizens perceive its services;
● rewards that are based on school performance and the contributions of
individuals.
(Wohlstetter and Mohrman 1993)
Seattle public schools in the United States allocate financial resources to their
schools to enhance SBM. The district has developed and adopted a decen-
tralised financial management strategy. Resources are allocated to schools
based on a weighted student enrolment formula in which students with greater
learning resource needs generate a larger allocation of funds to the school site.
Principals act as chief executive officers for their schools and have broad
authority to allocate resources to school-determined priorities. The district has
developed a web-based budget development and management system to
enable schools successfully to carry out the formula budgeting policy.
But, in fact, there is mixed evidence that schools get better just because
decisions are made by those closer to the classroom. The Consortium for
Policy Research in Education conducted an in-depth study of 27 schools in
three U.S. school districts, one Canadian province and one Australian state
that had been involved in school-based management for at least four years.
Slightly more than half of the schools studied could be characterised as
‘actively restructuring’ in that reform efforts had produced changes in cur-
riculum and instruction. The other half were going through the motions of
SBM but little change had occurred.
The study concluded that ‘the decentralisation of power is most likely to
lead to performance improvement if accompanied by organisational
changes that enhance the information, knowledge and skills of local partic-
ipants, and that align the reward system with clearly articulated desired
outcomes’ (Wohlstetter and Mohrman 1994).
Research indicates that school-based management ‘can help foster an
improved school culture and higher quality decisions’. It is a potentially
valuable tool for engaging more talents and enthusiasm among stakeholders
than traditional, top-down governance systems. There is a concern, how-
ever, that principals receive improved pre-service and in-service training to
be better school-based-managers.
Mexico
In Mexico the federal Ministry of Public Education (SEP) has traditionally
directed a centralised bureaucratic education system devoted to school
administrative procedures rather than managerial responsibilities. Teachers,
principals and supervisors became preoccupied with political issues concern-
ing working conditions, with education worker unions being very
influential. School technical councils, established to provide academic plan-
ning, spent most of their time on administrative details rather than academic
instruction and assessment and school improvement. Parental involvement
was practically non-existent and teachers, principals and supervisors were
poorly trained and lacked clearly defined tenure and retirement provisions.
In 1992, however, the Ministry of Public Education joined with the gov-
ernments of 31 states and the National Union of Educational Workers
(SNTE) to create the ‘National Agreement for the Modernisation of Basic
Education’. As a result the responsibility for basic educational services, pre-
viously provided by the federal government, was transferred to each
individual state. This included the management of all pre-school, elemen-
tary and lower secondary schools as well as teacher education services.
Funding was allocated to ensure the quality of these services.
While funds were transferred to state governments to identify needs and
provide educational services to meet these needs, the federal government
retained the responsibility for the provision of study plans, educational
materials (e.g. primary school texts) and instructional resources for teachers.
In 1995 the federal government proclaimed the ‘1995–2000 Educational
Development Programme’. Strategies and actions undertaken by SEP have
included:
● public spending for education was increased with 4.5 per cent of the
GDP (1997) assigned to improve access to schooling for students at the
basic, upper secondary and post-secondary levels;
●
state governments were given the right to manage 10 per cent of the
federal budget to include personnel training, construction, maintenance
and the equipping of schools;
● the Programme for Education, Health and Nutrition (PROGESA) was
created to serve disadvantaged populations including indigenous peo-
ples, farm and migratory workers, marginalised communities and
special needs children;
● curricular reform at the basic level was introduced to improve literacy,
numeracy and mathematical problem solving.
Pre-service and in-service teacher training was enhanced through the
National Programme for the Permanent Modernisation of Basic Education
Teachers (PRONAP) and the Teacher Career Programme. In 1996 the
‘Programme for the Transformation and Academic Reinforcement of Initial
Education Institutions’ encouraged teacher education institutions to under-
take curricular and infrastructure reform. About 500 teacher centres were
established, equipped with satellite receivers, television, libraries and other
facilities (OECD 2001c).
The Netherlands
The Ministry of Education in the Netherlands has a stated policy to decen-
tralise and deregulate its educational services. Seventy per cent of schools
are operated by the private non-profit sector (e.g. denominational schools)
while 30 per cent are administered by local municipalities (state schools).
This ‘right of choice’ allows parental, religious or cultural groups to estab-
lish, maintain and independently manage schools, which are financially
supported by the Dutch government.
The Ministry of Education, however, continues to govern from a distance
through a series of laws and regulations, which ensure ongoing financial,
curricular and school monitoring policies to maintain ‘quality control’ at
the local school level. A ‘basic education’ curriculum during the first three
years of secondary school is regulated through final exams providing
‘benchmarks’ for levels and skills to be achieved. Intensive school monitor-
ing by the inspectorates in primary and secondary education enforces
normative standards of achievement.
A formula budget based on enrolment is allocated to each local school
and its governing board. This consists of both ‘lump sum’ grants at the sec-
ondary level and the ‘job budget’ for staff allocation at the primary level
providing local school autonomy in areas of financial, facility and personnel
management. The outcome is a ‘loose/tight’ deregulation versus regulation
conflict. Schools are expected to be more autonomous in their day-to-day
financial, building and personnel areas while the national government con-
tinues to tighten controls on curriculum content, student achievement and
school management, often resulting in a complex and contradictory envi-
ronment.
In the Netherlands, school directors (principals) are responsible for the
quality of their schools. They have their own budget, which is barely ade-
quate and often has to be subsidised by money from sponsors. They are
free, however, to spend the part of the budget known as the ‘lump sum’. But
if building repairs are necessary and there are no financial reserves, funds
must be taken from other budgetary reserves such as the salary account
(which amounts to 80 per cent of total expenditures). The school director
also has responsibility for all personnel matters including hiring and firing,
staff appraisals and union negotiations (Karstanje 1999).
Hungary
Emerging from the Soviet era, Hungary has gone through a process of
democratisation and decentralisation with particular emphasis on the
growth of the private sector. During the early 1990s, the country faced eco-
nomic restructuring and a loss of export markets, which seriously affected
the standard of living. Recession, unemployment, poverty and disparities
among regions and social groups resulted in the introduction of a more
market-driven stabilisation programme in the mid-1990s to encourage eco-
nomic recovery. Restrictions on public spending, however, have seriously
affected the provision of government services, including education.
A serious shortage of financial resources has led to low teacher salaries,
which have not kept par with inflation. As a result, many teachers (the
majority of them women) have had to take a second job to survive. Many
leave the profession to seek better salaries in the private sector. Another
concern is an overall decline in the number of young people aged 15 to 19.
From about 850,000 in the late 1960s, the youth population has declined to
about 650,000 in 2000. Schools and classes have traditionally been smaller.
More than 800 schools out of a total of about 3,700 have fewer than 100
students. The average pupil/teacher ratio stands at about 12 in primary
schools and 10 at the secondary level.
School financing has been based on a distribution of funds on a per stu-
dent basis from the state to local self-governments who set the school
budgets in their areas. Enrolment decreases may result in school closures
and the merging of smaller schools. To attract students, schools must com-
pete by advertising academic achievements, better working conditions for
teachers and more attractive programmes.
Local self-governments or ‘maintainers’ consist of municipalities for public
schools and churches and other groups for private schools. The Ministry of
Finance allocates the same level of grants (based on the number of students,
grade level, type of programme, etc.) to the municipalities and the private
maintainers. In addition to per capita grants, maintainers may apply for special
project funding to encourage innovation. Some schools also raise additional
funds through the rental of facilities and special fee-paying courses. Vocational
schools may receive up to 25 per cent of their budget from employers.
A national core curriculum was established in 1995 with guidelines for
courses of study up to grade 10. It emphasises broad areas of knowledge
and attainment targets for each grade level. Each school, however, is free to
set the level of education and the type of programme to be provided.
In 1998 the newly elected government decided that schools needed
more specific guidelines. It is currently introducing a so-called ‘frame cur-
riculum’ which determines the number of lessons to be taught and the
targets to be attained for each grade. This move to more centralisation
promises to limit school autonomy and flexibility. A school has three
options in adopting curriculum:
● develop its own;
● adopt one of those offered by a national data bank of 700 curricula
developed by the National Institute of Public Education in 1996–97;
● modify the above to meet their own requirements.
(OECD 2001c)
Sweden
Sweden has adopted a policy of greater decentralisation and deregulation
including the devolution of responsibility for curricula, teacher salaries and
financial powers to the local municipalities. Educational management has
evolved from one based on central rules and regulations to goal-based result
management. It is the responsibility of the government to set the overall
goals but local municipalities may follow different approaches to reach
these goals. Local politicians, management staff and teachers are responsi-
ble for transferring national goals to a local curriculum known as the
‘working plan’. The municipality must ensure that the working plan is
implemented, monitored and evaluated. The emphasis shifts from tradi-
tional top-down teaching to the creation of a ‘learning environment’
(OECD 2001c).
Greece
Greece has had a long tradition of highly centralised, tightly regulated pub-
lic education with legislation determining the organisation of schools
including the national curriculum; teaching methods; texts; exams; funding;
and staffing. More recently the government has sought to encourage inno-
vation by decentralising and deregulating public administration including
schooling. Difficulties have been experienced, however, in delegating duties
from the Ministry of Education to the prefectures and between the prefec-
tures and individual schools.
In 1985 a new framework allowed representatives from teachers’ unions
and parental organisations to participate in decision-making processes.
Funds and responsibilities were transferred to prefectures while the owner-
ship and management of schools was to be transferred to public bodies.
Parents and teachers’ unions were encouraged to participate in the manage-
ment, planning and control of schools.
While welcomed by the media and various stakeholders, the legislation
has proved difficult to implement. Centralised structures have remained
resistant to change with parents, teachers and local communities having
extremely limited influence. The role of the school administrator has con-
tinued to lack authority.
Because of difficulties in the transfer of funds from prefectures to local
schools, the Minister of Education in 2000 decided to abandon the prefec-
tural level and provide direct financial support to local schools. Some
schools are also gaining experience in handling school budgets through
funding for national and transnational projects supported by the central
government and the European Union (OECD 2001c).
Japan
Thatcher/Reagan economic policies continue to sweep the world. In 1997
the former Japanese Prime Minister Kiichi Miyazawa had these comments:
The end of the long Cold War has led to the defeat of centralised sys-
tems of bureaucratic control, one of which is Japan’s system of
bureaucracy-led co-operative administration. Today, with the nation
plagued by economic stagnation, political indecision, lack of individu-
ality and creativity and a host of other problems, many Japanese have
become acutely aware of the defects of the Japanese-style system of
social and economic management and of the need for radical reform. In
a world-wide trend, radical administrative and fiscal reform, from cen-
tralised to decentralised systems, is coming to be seen as the most
effective way to break out of such an economic and social impasse and
bring renewed vitality. An important means of decentralising adminis-
trative and fiscal systems is the complete abolition of restrictive
regulations.
(Miyazawa 1998)
Traditionally, centralised administration has been strong in Japan. In recent

years, however, the national government has introduced deregulation and
decentralisation policies to the public sector including education. For exam-
ple, in 1998 the Japanese Ministry of Education, Science, Sports and
Culture (Monbusho) published two reports, one from the Committee for
the Promotion of Decentralisation and a second from the Central Council
for Education entitled ‘Modalities for Local Educational Administration’.
In 1999 Monbusho enacted the ‘Package of Decentralisation Bills’ which
included reviews for school administration; qualifications of principals; the
co-operation and advising of school staff meetings; the introduction of a
school adviser system and more flexibility in class structures and the place-
ment of teaching personnel.
Until 2000 principals and vice principals were required to hold teaching
certificates. An amendment to the School Education Law (January 2000)
allows persons without certification to assume positions as principals or
vice principals. A school adviser drawn from the local community is nomi-
nated by the principal and appointed by the local municipal board of
education as part of a move to create more ‘open schools’.
Another area of reform is ‘freedom of choice of schools’. In 1997
Monbusho allowed boards of education to enrol students from outside their
traditional catchment areas. This freedom of choice at the compulsory
education level is seen by some as introducing principles of free market
competition to public school education. Principals have limited scope in
budgetary and staffing matters but more discretion in interpreting the cur-
riculum. The boards of education are able to formulate their own curricula
within the educational framework (OECD 2001c).
Reflections
In surveying the nations comprising this study, both decentralisation and
deregulation turn out to be very appropriate strategies for a neo-conservative
government bent on reducing public spending and shifting accountability to
a more grass roots level. As spending for a service (such as schooling) is
diminished, the consumers (parents and students) of the service will tend to
vent their dissatisfaction and frustration at the local level. More senior levels
of government, which hold the purse strings, are then buffered and protected
from the wrath of the electorate.
Although some politicians may laud decentralisation and deregulation
policies as a means of bringing ‘accountability to the people’, this is often
not what has occurred. These policies have been used as an excuse to reduce
funding and download services to introduce tax breaks. When financial
support diminishes, principals and teachers may be blamed for a decline in
programmes, such as special education, literacy, second-language and reme-
dial instruction. As dissatisfaction rises at the local level, neo-conservative
ideologues are eager to portray school personnel as lazy and incompetent.
The combination of fewer resources, increasing class sizes, deteriorating
facilities and plunging morale among school personnel is sure to be detri-
mental to student performance. It is, indeed, a self-fulfilling prophecy.
4 Test-score Olympics
There is a current political agenda in the United States and the United
Kingdom, which is also to be found in most of the other countries in the
industralised world. During the past decade 41 countries have participated
in three rounds of testing in mathematics and science (TIMSS). Virtually
every American state has mandated ‘standards of accountability for acade-
mic content with standardised testing to assess the performance of students
at different grade levels or in subject areas’. Comparative results are typi-
cally published in the press as so-called ‘league tables’ as part of a
worldwide ‘test-score Olympics’ which contrasts the mathematics, science
and reading test scores (OECD 2001b). Another example of the power of
top-down academic assessment is to be found in the Canadian province of
Ontario. The decision as to whether a student graduates is no longer left to
the local school but now must be shared with the government. ‘Beginning in
2002, secondary school students in Ontario who fail the compulsory liter-
acy test will not be allowed to graduate’ (Stein 2001).
While the test development agencies have been enriched by this industrial
age quality control mechanism, there is a growing disagreement as to
whether the procedure has really improved performance. The other concern
raised has to do with measurement. What is being assessed – content or
learning skills? If it turns out to be an exercise in ‘teaching to the test’ what
has really been accomplished?
Philosopher John Dewey spoke out for an educational system which
develops the full potential of each individual student. He argues that:
A common error is the assumption that there is one set of subject mat-
ter and skills to be presented to the young, only requiring to be
presented and learned by the child, whose failure to meet the material
supplied is attributed to his own incapacity or wilfulness, not the failure
of the educator to understand what needs are stirring him.
(Dewey 1938)
The educational reform movement has gained considerable political

momentum through a media frenzy of ‘teacher bashing’ based on test-score
performance. This is the ‘carrot and the stick’ with the stick (poor public
image) elliciting insecurity and lowered self-esteem among education practi-
tioners. Not a good motivational tool in the modern business environment
which espouses investment in human capital – co-operation and teamwork
– to improve productivity.
In 1989 the then U.S. President George Bush convened the first educa-
tion summit of state governors to set educational goals for the year 2000,
including:
● making the nation’s schools the world’s highest achievers in maths and
science;
● wiping out adult illiteracy;
● raising high school graduation rates to 90 per cent.
After ten years of increased investment and political posturing, the

Washington Post reported in 1999: ‘With 2000 a few months away,
President Clinton and half the nation’s governors gathered for a third edu-
cation summit with none of the education goals set in 1989 yet within
reach. Despite a decade of reforms, efforts to meet these goals have gener-
ally failed’ (Cooper 1999).
National education policies have traditionally been impacted by such
phenomena as international economic developments, wars, conflicts, ter-
rorism and technological advances (e.g. Sputnik). Various political factions
in the United States zeroed in on ‘reforming education’ as the best means to
improve the nation’s visibility, economic productivity and viability as a
world power (Blasé and Blasé 1999).
Strong, competing, ideological forces and changing political/social fac-
tors have fuelled a continuous debate concerning five fundamental
questions.
1 Who should go to school?

2 What should be the purposes of schooling?
3 What should children be taught?
4 Who should decide issues of school direction and policy?
5 Who should pay for schools?
(Stout 1994)
While there is no consensus on these issues a politically oriented cast of char-

acters struggling for power and control has seen reform as an influential
agenda with voters. To quote the Economist (2000): ‘This election year may
finally bring Americans face to face with the failure of their system of public
education. The confrontation will be painful: 30 years of decline cannot be
easily reversed. But if the right lessons are drawn, they could make American
schools models for the world once again.’ In fact a Harris poll conducted
across the United States in May 2000 saw 19 per cent of Americans list
Test-score Olympics 25
concerns about ‘education’ as their major focus for the 2000 election year.
This was the most important issue, followed by health care at 16 per cent
and crime/violence at 13 per cent (USA Today 2000). The newly elected
President, George W. Bush, responded in 2002 by signing the most far-reach-
ing legislation in four decades. U.S. $26 billion will be spent to broaden
academic testing, triple spending for literacy programmes and help children
escape America’s worst public schools (Doland 2002).
President Bush’s ‘no child left behind’ slogan certainly has not worked
for Baltimore. In 2002, nearly 30 per cent of public elementary and middle
school students began a new school year in the grades attended the year
before. Many performed poorly on national standardised tests and did not
attend summer school. But many of these under-achieving students fit a pat-
tern. They are African American in high-poverty school districts. A report
by The Education Trust, a non-profit organisation to boost student achieve-
ment, lays the blame on inner-city teachers who lack minimal academic
qualifications (Wickham 2002).
However, efforts to improve school curriculum and programme by invok-
ing industrial scientific managerial instruments to evaluate learning are not
new in the United States. There have been repeated policy movements such as
the use of standardised testing for college admissions, the National Defense
Education Act and the ‘back to basics’ movement of the 1970s. Assessment
driven reform as a political agenda is not even a new idea. In an article on the
historical and policy foundations for assessment Madaus and O’Dwyer
recount how in 1845 Horace Mann and his confidant Samual Gidley Hower
‘recognised that school by school test results would give them political lever-
age over recalcitrant headmasters’ (Madaus and O’Dwyer 1999).
The underlying assumptions that drive the standards and assessment
reform movement are disturbing:
● students are unmotivated and need more immediate consequences tied
to their learning;
● teachers are either inadequately skilled or lack the motivation to inspire
students to higher levels of learning;
● local communities, school board members and superintendents do not
know what their students should be learning or to what degree they
should be learning it;
●
accountability through testing will pressure the system to improve.
(Ramirez 1999)
It has apparently been determined that state governors’ summits and corpo-
rate chief executive officers through their national lobby ‘Achieve Inc.’ are
best able to determine education policy. But they are not the only ones.
Among the local political and interest groups encouraging school reform
and more stringent educational accountability are:
● parent groups concerned with quality programmes for children;
● students concerned with curricular offerings, dress codes, behaviour
and freedom of expression;
● teachers concerned with professional and employment issues;
● administrators concerned with channelling the energy of interest groups
into quality educational programmes;
● taxpayers concerned with finance and equity;
● federal authorities concerned with legal mandates and court orders;
● minorities and women concerned with using research for improving
schools;
● business and industry concerned with the knowledge and skills of the
graduates they might eventually hire.
(Parkay and Stanford 1995)
A sampling of national performance testing experience is also to be found in

the following nations participating in the OECD study of 2001(c).
United Kingdom
Almost two decades ago Margaret Thatcher introduced educational reform
to the English-speaking world. She believed standardised testing, curricu-
lum reform and the ranking of schools would boost student performance.
Pupils now receive standardised performance testing at ages 7, 11, 14, 16,
17 and 18. English students have more public exams than any other coun-
try in the developed world.
The United Kingdom has adopted a policy of ranking schools according
to student achievement. This information is published in the media as
‘league tables’ to inform parents and the school’s community concerning
student results, initially in standardised secondary school examinations at
the 16-plus and 18-plus levels. Information is also provided on school
attendance and the destinations of school leavers. However, a variety of fac-
tors influence these results, including the following:
● Is the school selective in the admission process?

●
What is the average ability of students entering the school?
●
What is the socio-economic status of students?
●
What is the education level of their parents?
It is not surprising that schools from relatively affluent areas tend to rank
highest on the league tables. Schools may be performing well considering the
socio-economic background of their students but remain low in the rankings
as compared to their more advantaged counterparts. It may be that a school
from an affluent area which carefully accepts students according to ability,
while ranking high on the tables, may in fact be performing poorly in not
reaching their overall potential. Schools high in the rankings are seen as
‘successful schools’ thus attracting more enrolment and generating more finan-
cial resources. Schools from poorer areas must compete for students, staffing
and funding, resulting in a debilitating effect on teacher and parental morale.
Next the government began publishing the results from national curricu-
lum achievement tests at the ages of 7 and 11. Primary school parents are now
scrutinising performance scores in search of the ‘successful school’ willing to
admit their sons and daughters. The result has been a further stratification of
schooling according to socio-economic status and intellectual ability. After 15
years of ‘naming and shaming’ underachieving schools, 53 per cent of 11-
year-olds still failed to meet the national standards for literacy (Ash 2002).
In September 2002, the Education Secretary fired the Chairman of the
Qualifications and Curriculum Authority (QCA) after head teachers called for
an official inquiry to address charges that A-level examination results had been
downgraded. It was reported that exam boards had a perception that they
were being pressured by the QCA chairman to lower pass rates. The Education
Secretary said she removed the chairman because there was ‘a loss of confi-
dence in the QCA which needs to be resolved to give young people and their
parents confidence in reliable A-level results this year and in future years’.
The subsequent inquiry resulted in the re-grading of an unknown num-
ber of A-level papers in 12 subjects including geography, French, German,
Spanish, history, government and politics. As a result of the downgrading,
many students were in danger of losing places at colleges and university.
There was a concern, however, that students who were unfairly marked
would not be re-offered their places. Some might have to change schools
and not be able to transfer for at least a year if demand is too high.
The inquiry cleared the Education Secretary of pressuring the QCA to
lower grade levels. However, the official opposition charged the Secretary
with incompetence in that the rush to implement a new curriculum resulted
in examining bodies and teachers having ‘no clear consistent view’ about
standards required (BBC 2002j).
The Secretary responded by calling for extra training and guidance to
examiners and teachers and promising consultation on a new system of
qualification for 16- to 18-year-olds. However, one month later the Prime
Minister appointed a new Education Secretary whose first priority was to
restore faith in the A-level system. The results of 2,000 students had been
upgraded but many students felt aggrieved and cheated (BBC News 2002j).
The Netherlands
Secondary schooling in the Netherlands focuses on a ‘basic education’ cur-
riculum. A compulsory programme is mandated in the first three years
followed by a mandatory central achievement test. The results of the test
influence the selection of the students’ further education career. However, a
division still exists between pre-vocational less privileged students and the
more privileged senior secondary and pre-university education.
Japan
Japanese students have been known to perform well on international testing
for academic achievement. However, an increase in the rates of juvenile
delinquency, truancy, dropouts and bullying has been a cause of concern for
the Ministry of Education, Science, Sports and Culture (Monbusho). Too
much competition among students in the entrance exams, a lack of life
experience in the natural environment, and excessive uniformity are seen as
causes for violence against students and teachers. The suicide rate among
young people has risen as a result of bullying.
Many students in Japan prepare for standardised tests by studying after
school at privately owned instructional centres known as juku. Attendance
depends upon the region of the country where the student lives, the size of
the city and the student’s grade level. Attendance is greatest in large cities
during the last year of junior high school. Students enrol in remedial
courses to review or enrich their school work or prepare themselves for
high school entrance exams. Obviously, only students whose parents can
afford to pay the tuition benefit from these programmes. In addition to
juku, junior high school and high school students attend hoshu – extra
remedial classes organised by teachers as a seventh period in the school day
(Stevenson 1998).
To respond to these concerns, attempts have been made to alleviate pres-
sure from school examinations through a reduction in the amount of
content in the new courses of study and shortening of the school week from
five and one-half to five days. Students are now encouraged to express their
individuality through more involvement in the life of the community and
through the teaching of cross-curricular themes including international
understanding and environmental education.
Reflections
Across the nations, critics of standardised performance testing see such
assessment as systematically favouring students from homogeneous cultural
and socio-economic backgrounds (e.g. middle-class). Low-income students
who do not quickly grasp school culture and the dominant mode of teach-
ing and learning would not do well on these kinds of tests. Consequently, a
revolt against standardised testing as a single measure of effectiveness and
accountability is growing. Parents dispute the amount of classroom time
taken to prepare students to take the test. This protest is not being led by
parents and teachers from schools performing poorly but by those in afflu-
ent neighbourhoods where students generally do very well (Stein 2001).
But the performance testing juggernaut is not limited to students. Teacher
performance is also coming under the scientific management microscope. To
quote Alfie Kohn, one of the foremost critics of standardised testing:
I think we’re living through a very dark period in American education
where testing of students, testing of teachers, and top-down state stan-
dards all reflect a desire on the part of powerful interest groups to show
how tough they can get with the people in schools. Virtually all of the
criticisms levelled against testing in schools also apply to the quick and
dirty attempt to demand accountability in testing teachers. Timed tests
given to children are really evaluating speed rather than thoughtfulness
and the same is true when they’re given to adults. Multiple-choice tests
and contrived open-response items are not meaningful ways of assess-
ing how much students understand and neither are they particularly
effective in telling us how well educators can educate.
(Appleman and Thompson 2000)
A study undertaken by Dylan William of King’s College London for the

Association of Teachers and Lecturers maintains that ‘over-concentration
on tests can lead to children not being prepared for jobs in the twenty-first
century … rising test scores demonstrate little more than teachers’ abilities
to teach to the tests, and the power of high stakes tests to distort the cur-
riculum’ (BBC News 2001b).
Another study, by the RAND organisation, was based on the analysis of
National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) tests given to stu-
dents between 1990 and 1996 in 44 U.S. states. They found that
achievement scores could jump significantly in states with large percentages
of minority and disadvantaged students if increased funding is invested in:
● lowering pupil/teacher ratios, which translates into smaller class sizes;

● making pre-kindergarten more widely available;
● allocating adequate resources to support the learning process.
Spending money in these three areas was seen as more important than
teacher aides and higher teacher qualifications, experience and salaries. To
quote David Grissmer, a key author of the study:
Our results certainly challenge the traditional view of public education

as ‘unreformable’. The achievement of disadvantaged students is still
substantially affected by inadequate resources. Stronger federal com-
pensatory programmes are required to address this inequity … efforts
to increase the quality of teachers in the long run are important, but sig-
nificant productivity gains can be obtained with the current teaching
force if working conditions are improved.
(Henry 2000)
Test scores became an issue in the 2000 presidential race as Texas Governor
George W. Bush used the Texas Assessment of Academic Skills results as
part of his election platform. Huge increases in scores posted by state
administered tests were not evident in national testing of students from the
state. RAND concluded that ‘schools pressured by policies that reward or
punish them for the scores could be devoting a great deal of class time to
test preparation’ (McQueen 2000).
Schools under intense pressure to improve test scores often sacrifice vital
areas of traditional schooling such as:
● programmes in the arts;

● life skills activities (to promote social and moral learning);
● electives for high school students;
● discussions about current events (not relevant to test material);
● use of literature in the early grades;
● entire subject areas such as science (if tests focus on language, arts or
maths).
To quote Alfie Kohn:
Most of us have pet projects, favourite causes, practices and policies

about which we care deeply. These include such issues as multiple intel-
ligence, multi-age classrooms, or multicultural curricula; co-operative
learning, character education, or the creation of caring communities in
schools; teaching for understanding, developmentally appropriate prac-
tice, or alternative assessment; the integration of writing or the arts into
the curriculum; project- or problem-based learning, discovery-oriented
science, or whole language; giving teachers or students more autonomy,
or working with administrators to help them make lasting change. But
every one of these priorities is gravely threatened by the top-down,
heavy-handed, corporate-style, standardised version of school reform
that is driven by testing. That is why all of us, despite our disparate
agendas, need to make common cause. We must make the fight against
standardised tests our top priority because, until we have chased this
monster from the schools, it will be difficult, perhaps even impossible,
to pursue the kinds of reforms that can truly improve teaching and
learning.
(Kohn 2002)
As previously stated, most countries have a standardised testing procedure

in place to assess student achievement at fixed grade levels according to
standards mandated in a national (or state) curriculum. Test results are
often published in the media. Controversy continues to be expressed as to
the content and methodology used in test administration. The question of
whether minority language and cultural backgrounds among students pro-
vide a fair assessment of ability is also an issue. The fact that this procedure
is seen to be derived mainly from the industrial age scientific management
movement, as opposed to comparative indicators of information age learn-
ing and employability skills, remains a concern. Finally, the impact that
such a procedure may have on classroom practice (e.g. teach to the test) and
the morale and self-esteem of teachers, parents and students continues to be
questioned.
5 Top-down reform
A concern has been raised that the restructure/reform movement is not

really about reform or restructuring at all. It rather represents a return to
and strengthening of the traditional assessment-driven, top-down, highly
centralised, bureaucratic system imposed on schools early in the twentieth
century. This resulted from the perceived success of Frederick Taylor’s effi-
ciency/productivity model of scientific industrial management as described
in Chapter 1.
When applied to public education it created a rigidly organised, inflexi-
ble factory system where everyone was treated ‘as an interchangeable cog in
an educational production machine’. Teachers and administrators
responded in the same fashion as their industrial counterparts. They formed
adversarial unions to provide some degree of job protection to the ‘workers’
through negotiated wages, hours and working conditions. This led the
unions to impose strictly enforced rules and regulations concerning the
behaviour of their members, which placed further limitations on school
autonomy and the freedom to innovate (Clinchy 1998).
The neo-conservative political movement and its corporate supporters
within the private sector found considerable mileage in portraying schools
to be in a ‘sorry state of disrepair’. Beginning in 1983 with the U.S.
Presidential National Commission on Excellence in Education report A
Nation at Risk (as well as similar studies and policy documents across many
of the other eight countries) schools and school districts were feeling enor-
mous pressures to ‘reform’ and ‘restructure’ themselves. To quote Evans
Clinchy in a 1998 article in the Phi Delta Kappan:
A Nation at Risk advocated a major effort on the part of local school

districts, state governments and the federal education establishment to
dramatically improve the academic achievement of all American stu-
dents and to raise the academic standards they must meet. This
enormous task, the report said, was to involve the establishment of a
new set of ‘world-class’ but purely ‘voluntary’ academic standards in
the ‘core’ academic disciplines. These ‘higher’ standards were to be
Top-down reform 33
accompanied by equally challenging national (and international) tests

to make sure the standards were met.’
(Clinchy 1988)
It made no matter that respected researchers questioned the interpretations

of the test data as a focus for assessment-driven reform. They suggested that
American students actually scored quite well when strictly compared with
similar students in other industrialised nations (Berliner and Biddle 1996).
Not all nations practise mass education but many focus their schooling and
testing efforts on the ‘the brightest and the best’. Nevertheless, the notion of
a ‘test-score Olympics’ was born whereby the academic test results of
nations around the world are contrasted to see who is the most ‘academi-
cally fit’ in such subjects as maths, science and reading. Considerable
prestige and even economic benefit may follow in an age when universal
access to information has become a global commodity.
United States
An example of the possible impact of such assessment-driven reform may be
found in some of the school redesign policies implemented in the Cincinnati
public schools in the United States. When a school’s test scores indicate
their academic performance targets have not been met, the superintendent
establishes a district level school redesign team consisting of lead teachers,
school building leaders and senior district leaders. The school is then placed
in the School Assistance and Redesign Plan (SARP), subject to assignment
to the following categories:
1 School improvement – the school staff, leadership facilitator and

deputy superintendent review the school’s performance plan and may
recommend changes.
2 School intervention – an external review team is convened, co-chaired
by a lead teacher (appointed by the Cincinnati Teachers’ Federation)
and a principal (appointed by the superintendent). Two or three other
external members are appointed by the school redesign team. The
external review team (ERT) will assess the school’s effectiveness
through a review of performance data; classroom visits; parental
involvement; extra-curricular activities and interviews with all stake-
holders (e.g. teachers, administrators, parents, students and community
members). The ERT then makes recommendations to the school
redesign team who may take action as follows:
– mandate professional development activities for all staff;
– require that the school select a comprehensive reform model from
an approved list (e.g. American’s choice, direct instruction, expedi-
tionary learning, etc.);
– modify the school’s plan;
34 Top-down reform
– make changes in the budget consistent with the revised plan;
– change the daily schedule.
3 School redesign – a school placed in the redesign category will be closed
at the end of the school year. All teachers, administrators and other staff
are declared surplus. The deputy superintendent convenes an interim
local school decision-making committee with representatives from parent
and community groups plus teachers and other staff (appointed by the
bargaining units) to interview and recommend a principal to the superin-
tendent. The school redesign team then recommends a specific reform
model to be used in a school under redesign. The new principal recom-
mends four lead teachers to the school redesign team for approval. The
lead teachers and principal form an interview panel to fill the other teach-
ing vacancies. Teachers displaced by the school redesign have the right to
apply for the vacancies, if they have the necessary qualifications. (It is of
interest that Cincinnati is now recruiting principals from redundant exec-
utives in business, industry and the military. The fact that these recruits
have no teaching qualifications or school experience is of no concern.)
In 1986 the Carnegie Corporation’s Task Force on Teaching as a Profession

resulted in the establishment of a professional standards movement – the
National Board for Professional Teaching Standards (NBPTS). This stan-
dards system has identified the knowledge, skills and abilities of expert
teachers with an assessment process to certify them. The NBPTS has
achieved high levels of acceptance from both the National Education
Association and the American Federation of Teachers and has influenced
state policies. In 1999 4,800 teachers were certified with another 6,800
applying to participate. Many states and school districts provide salary
bonuses and other incentives for NBPTS-certified teachers (Kelley 2000).
United Kingdom
The Office for Standards in Education (OFSTED) in the U.K. has intro-
duced a national system of school inspection. The system guarantees that
every school will be inspected within a four-year cycle. External inspections
are conducted by teams (often of non-educators), who have received special
training using procedures and criteria to be found in a manual of inspec-
tion. Quality of teaching and learning is reviewed in each subject of the
curriculum as well as management procedures. Classroom practice of all
teachers is observed and lessons graded according to published criteria.
Parents and students are also consulted in preparing a formal report, which
is posted on the OFSTED web site.
Copies of the manual of inspection with sample forms and lists of crite-
ria are publicly available so teachers and parents can be aware of how
school performance will be assessed. A summary of the formal report must
also be circulated to all parents. School governors have 40 days to respond
Top-down reform 35
to recommendations from the report with an ‘action plan’ available to all
interested parties in the inspection process.
The Labour Government’s 1997 white paper entitled ‘Excellence in
Schools’ has introduced target setting to the assessment process. National
academic attainment targets are established for 11- and 16- year olds. These
targets are set for LEAs who then devolve them to schools in their areas.
Target setting is promoted as a means to improve school effectiveness and stu-
dent achievement as part of a process of ‘school review, planning and action’.
The reaction of schools and teachers to this external top-down inspec-
tion has generally not been favourable, with concerns expressed about
confidentiality and an invasion of the ‘professional domain’. While they
find the procedures intrusive and disruptive, the major concern seems to
focus on OFSTED’s privatisation of the assessment process.
In April 2000 the Chief Inspector of Schools was accused of contributing
to the suicide of a primary teacher by allowing OFSTED inspectors to put
too much pressure on staff during classroom visits. The general secretary of
the Association of Teachers and Lecturers, while not blaming OFSTED for
the teacher’s death, said that the visit from the inspectors may have trig-
gered it. In a handwritten suicide note the teacher said: ‘I am now finding
the stress of the job too much. The pace of work and the long days are more
than I can do’ (Carvel 2000).
In a survey conducted in 2002 by the Times Educational Supplement, 82
per cent of teachers surveyed reported that work had been more pressured
in the past year. Only 60 per cent thought they would still be teaching in
five years’ time. The government has acknowledged that schools are headed
for a 40,000 teacher shortfall by 2006 (BBC News 2002a).
The Labour Government in the U.K. has also introduced a performance
management scheme for teachers, which represents a major challenge for
school managers. A ‘performance threshold’ has been proposed to establish
new salary levels for teachers who reach the threshold. Line managers
would be required to set performance objectives with progress reviewed
regularly. Governing bodies also would review the performance of head
teachers and deputy heads with the assistance of a trained ‘external
adviser’. The government would fund the scheme with training and support
for its implementation. The purpose of the proposal is to improve the qual-
ity of student learning, to ensure that quality standards are met and that
teachers and school managers are appropriately rewarded.
But merit pay has not been popular with teacher unions. The National
Union of Teachers (NUT) has questioned who defines and assesses excep-
tional performance in a learning environment. They challenged the
performance-related pay policy in the British High Court. In 2000 the
Court ruled that the Education Secretary has ‘no powers to introduce
thresholds to determine different rates of salaries’. The NUT had main-
tained that it was against the law for the government to introduce rules
allowing heads to enlist staff to decide who would get salary bonuses.
36 Top-down reform
Teacher unions claim that the system would be ‘unfair, divisive and bad for
morale’ (Hennessy and Leapman 2000).
This is at a time when the U.K. is facing a serious shortage of teachers.
NUT research conducted in 2001 indicates that of every 100 final year
teacher training students, at least 40 do not go into classrooms. Another 18
per cent leave within three years of becoming teachers. NUT has urged
urgent action on at least four fronts: workload; pupil behaviour; constant
and imposed change; and salaries (BBC News 2001a).
Flanders
In 1991 the Flemish community introduced a new system of school assess-
ment. Previously, individual teachers had been supervised by government
inspectors. The new emphasis has been on ‘schools as organisations’. Teams of
three or four inspectors visit schools for one week to conduct a comprehensive
survey. This process involves an analysis of the ‘context’, the ‘input’, the
‘process’, and the ‘output’. Curricular objectives are matched to the school
work plan through a series of informal meetings with teachers, parents, pupils
and local pedagogical advisers appointed by the umbrella organisations.
The inspectoral team promotes self-evaluation as a starting point for their
own external evaluation. Their report is discussed with the principal and
teachers as a basis for improvement by the school and the umbrella organisa-
tions. The results are made public and parents take them into consideration in
choosing a school for their children. A synthesis of inspectoral reports is pub-
lished each year providing an overview of the entire educational system.
Greece
In Greece, the central government retains direct responsibility for reform by
controlling all aspects of school staffing. Principals are appointed, by con-
tract for a period of four years, at the prefecture level. But these
appointments must be approved by the central Ministry based on qualifica-
tions, teaching performance and experience. Most candidates for the
prefectural list of potential principals have experience as vice principals but
there is no requirement for formal, professional training.
Duties of both principals and vice principals are specified by law to
ensure that the following requirements are met:
● co-ordinating various activities in the school;

● checking the legitimacy of these activities;
● representing the staff (at local or regional level);
● keeping the records of both students and staff;
● managing the site (campus, facilities and equipment);
● managing the budget of the school.
(OECD 2001c)
Top-down reform 37
The Netherlands
The government of the Netherlands imposes a series of normative stan-
dards or ‘quality instruments’, which include a school monitoring
programme undertaken by the Inspectorate in Primary Education and
‘quality cards’ for each school at the secondary level. Schools are required
to provide a ‘school handbook’, which supplies parents with information
on the school programme and its effectiveness. The Inspectorate in
Secondary Education is also introducing intensive evaluative visits to
record achievement at that level. School rankings are published by national
newspapers as league tables.
The Organisation for Religious Education in Maastricht is but one advo-
cate in a growing movement to provide salary differentiation on the basis of
merit. The Organisation, serving 4,000 students, has introduced a system of
premium and extra increment pay for its staff of 250. This new management
innovation has been implemented through existing central government pol-
icy and after consultation with professional unions. Teachers demonstrating
exceptional performance are rewarded through salary premiums, extra
increments on a half-year basis or other benefits such as professional visits or
conferences. Principals receive training in assessment procedures to select the
personnel to receive these awards (OECD 2001c).
Japan
The Ministry of Education, Science, Sports and Culture (Monbusho)
Programme for Educational Reform has three broad goals:
● to enhance emotional education from infancy;

● to realise a school system that helps children develop their individuality
and gives them diverse choices;
● to reorganise schools out of respect for an individual school’s autonomy.
The actual focus for Monbusho’s reform agenda, however, has tended to
involve the decentralisation of educational administration; increasing the
discretionary authority of individual schools and improving the leadership
of principals, and parental choice of schools. The Package of
Decentralisation Bills, enacted in 1999, called for reviews of school admin-
istration regulation; review of employment qualifications for school
principals; review of modalities for the systems of co-ordinating and advis-
ing teacher and staff meetings; introduction of the School Adviser System;
increased flexibility of class structures and improvement of the placement of
teaching personnel; careful selection of research statistics; and the aboli-
tion/reduction of guidance notifications.
A second reform initiative, calling for an expansion of the discretionary
authority of schools and improving the leadership of principals, was
38 Top-down reform
introduced in 2000. Persons without certification can be appointed as
principal or vice principal. School staff meetings are now seen as advisory,
rather than decision-making bodies, to support the execution of the prin-
cipal’s duties. To create more ‘open schools’, school advisers drawn from
the local community and nominated by the principal are appointed by the
local board of education.
In the third policy initiative, freedom of choice of schools, Monbusho
directed boards of education to adopt more flexible attendance regulations
so that students could enrol in schools outside their school catchment area.
This direction has been criticised for introducing the principles of market
competition into public school education. For principals, freedom of choice
introduces issues related to school-based self-evaluation and the promotion
of the individuality of schools (OECD 2001c).
Sweden
In Sweden the national government, with the agreement of teacher unions,
has adopted a policy of individualised teacher salaries. Raises are no longer
automatic but are awarded according to a set of criteria including a com-
mitment to improve the quality of student learning. School leaders may be
‘head-hunted’ to change schools in return for higher pay. The introduction
of market forces in the 1990s has meant the state no longer enters into
direct salary negotiations, which are now decided on an individual basis by
teacher unions and the local municipality.
The individualisation of teachers’ salaries however poses a problem, par-
ticularly for local leaders of small municipalities who must recommend the
next year’s salary structure. Raises must be justified on the basis of the
school plans for the improvement of the learning experience for students.
Therefore, school heads must join with their staff members to present real-
istic plans for improvement. This often requires a change in the culture of
the school with students taking more responsibility for their own learning.
A team approach is encouraged to break down old assumptions and tradi-
tions. While teamwork in school development is stressed in a new
agreement between unions and the government, the quality of leadership is
very important. School leaders need to strongly articulate their educational
philosophy, values and vision, while implementing an evaluation system to
ensure goals are being met (OECD 2001c).
Hungary
In 1999 the Hungarian Parliament amended the Act on Public Education to
focus on programme quality and the improvement of education standards.
The Comenius 2000 Quality Development Programme is based on the
assumption that quality concepts, widely used in industry, could be transferred
into the field of education. The Ministry of Education, assisted by experts
Top-down reform 39
from different backgrounds, developed a methodology contained in a ‘man-
ual of quality development’.
After examining a variety of approaches, Comenius 2000 adopted a
three-stage progressive process for education quality. The first stage focuses
on an assessment of local needs to form a school community partnership for
timetable development. The second stage involves the introduction of a
total quality management (TQM) system for continuous improvement
involving the following elements: focus on partners; process control; and
development of an organisational structure. The third stage disseminates
the programme throughout the whole system using outside consultants,
selected by tender, to assist in the implementation of the programme in 400
pilot schools.
The specially trained consultants are expected to be experienced in deal-
ing with ‘quality issues’ in industry but also to be knowledgeable about
schooling. Most of the consultants are part-time teachers employed by pri-
vate firms. The Ministry of Education enters into an agreement with each
participating school and its consultant, which provides a given number of
consultancy days at a fixed rate. Schools may choose an accredited consul-
tant from the Ministry’s ‘expert databank’ containing specially selected and
trained candidates. The industrial model of TQM is seen as a major inno-
vation to improve the quality of education in Hungary.
The National Centre for Evaluation and Assessment was established in
1999 to assess quality in public education. Its methodology includes three
elements: measuring the resources of the school; assessing the learning
process; and measuring the results according to the satisfaction of stake-
holders and labour market needs. It would seem that the Centre strongly
supports the industrial age principles of scientific management.
But transferring industrial concepts and outside experts to the field
of education raises concerns about cultural and terminology differences
between the two worlds. In general, Hungarian teachers are poorly paid
and the huge differences in income between school personnel and the out-
side consultants have not tended to build a sense of trust, rapport and
openness between institutional schooling and market forces (OECD
2001c).
Mexico
In 1995 the Federal Government introduced an external evaluation of edu-
cational achievement. A sample of 500,000 students was tested each year to
establish national standards for different subjects and grades (e.g. reading,
comprehension and mathematics) at both the primary and lower secondary
levels. In 1997 it enacted the ‘School Management in Elementary Education
Project’ to determine factors limiting the achievement of education goals,
including study plans, programmes and performance of teachers; and prin-
cipals and school area supervisors.
40 Top-down reform
Article 31 of the Constitution was amended in 1993 requiring compul-
sory education at both elementary and lower secondary levels. Powers of
the Federal Government were defined through the General Education Law.
The Ministry of Public Education (SEP) has the responsibility for raising the
national quality of basic education and ensuring equal access to educational
services. The law also requires SEP to regulate a national system of teacher
education, in-service training and professional standards for teaching staff.
SEP is responsible for the promotion of upper secondary education,
higher education; and adult education and training provided by both public
and private institutions. As more young people pursue studies beyond the
lower secondary level, it is anticipated that the educational attainment of
those aged 15 or older will increase from 6.5 grades in 1990 to an average
of 9 grades by 2010 (OECD 2001c).
Reflections
Among the surveyed nations the basic tenets of scientific management are
seen as the underpinnings of a neo-conservative drive for assessment-driven
reform. Student test scores became the basis for ranking schools and
encouraging free market competition for students. Top-down external eval-
uation teams, often staffed by business personnel as opposed to educators,
are inspecting schools and publishing results. More teachers are subject to
standardised testing or external review not only to qualify for merit pay but
in some instances to retain their certification. The result has been an
increase in on-the-job stress and declining self-esteem at a time when most
countries face a teacher shortage caused by early retirements and difficulties
in recruiting new, quality candidates to the profession.
6 Outsourcing the service
In order to create a risk-taking entrepreneurial society in the U.K.,

Margaret Thatcher and Keith Joseph envisioned a ‘Thatcherite agenda
entailing nothing less than the death of what she herself termed “socialism”
and what others termed “social democracy” as the price of a national eco-
nomic revival. The assault was to be directed at both the institutions and
the culture, which was held to sustain them’ (Kingdom 1992).
Thus began an attack on the government ownership of assets and service
delivery systems and the transferral of responsibility and accountability to
the private for-profit and not-for-profit sectors. State-owned industries such
as British Telecom, British Gas, the airports, the railways, water and elec-
tricity utilities were sold off and privatised. Trade unions were attacked and
brought to their knees (e.g. 1984–5 miners’ strike). While the education
industry was not at first targeted, it contained all the elements that Thatcher
defined. Soon, a variety of central government education agencies and ser-
vices were devolved to the private sector, with some schools soon to follow
(Abbott and Ryan 2000).
The Education Reform Act of 1988 redefined the role of the Local
Education Authorities (LEAs). With budgeting and staffing responsibilities
devolved to the local school, LEAs were left the provision of peripheral sup-
port services such as supply teachers, advisory assistance and in-service
training. Even these services, however, have become market-driven, as
schools now have the funds to purchase their own training programmes or
specialist advice on the open market.
The new financial climate has also encouraged schools to increase rev-
enue by attracting more students. Increased enrolment has meant more
books, equipment and additional teachers for the school. Competition
between schools for students has increased, especially with schools no
longer restrained by LEA admission policies. ‘Successful’ schools are able to
attract more students to boost revenue while ‘less successful’ schools lose
students and suffer a reduction in income.
Competition was further encouraged through the creation of a new cat-
egory of schools known as ‘grant-maintained’ (GM). GM schools
effectively choose to opt out of LEA control altogether and receive funding
directly from a government agency. As well as securing student-related
funding, GM schools could receive a percentage of the total education
budget retained to fund the work of the LEA. This allowed GM schools to
compete more successfully with regular schools for staff by offering addi-
tional salary and resource incentives to attract the best teachers. Therefore,
middle-class parents and those with children of higher ability gravitated
toward GM schools. Regular schools were often left with lower enrol-
ments, decreased revenues and a higher proportion of students with
educational and behavioural problems. The Labour Government has tried
to address this issue through their ‘Fair Funding’ initiative, putting all
schools back on the same financial basis. However, the old LEA–school
relationship seems to be gone forever.
Another outcome of placing spending power in the hands of the schools
has been the replacement of LEA-controlled services by a range of alterna-
tive providers. For example the preparation of school meals has been
contracted out to the private sector. Staff development and training has
often been awarded to outside ‘consultants’ or training agencies. The provi-
sion of supply teachers has also been privatised. Former LEA employees
and ex-teachers have established new entrepreneurial enterprises to com-
pete for service contracts tendered by local school governors and head
teachers.
In the U.K., OFSTED lists schools to be inspected and qualified groups
may tender for the contract. Local Education Authorities must bid to
inspect schools in their own areas. Smaller LEAs are often not able to com-
pete as their restricted funding means they cannot afford appropriate
personnel to form inspection teams. Private enterprise, employing inspec-
tors who are not professional educators, may win the contracts. This
process, introduced by the Conservatives and supported by subsequent
Labour governments, is seen as a significant force in school improvement.
Another policy of the Labour Government has been the introduction of
‘Beacon schools’ in 1998. The Department of Education and Employment
provides additional funding to 75 schools selected as having exemplary pro-
grammes according to the OFSTED inspection process. Beacon schools are
seen as having particular strengths (e.g. classroom practice) which other
schools could emulate. They tend to emphasise self-evaluation to identify
strengths as well as weaknesses to be corrected. Teachers are expected to
work in partnership with colleagues inside and outside the school while
sharing practices and experiences with other schools. The government
hopes to have 1,000 Beacon schools in place by 2002 (OECD 2001c).
The Netherlands
Privatisation of the educational service is really nothing new in the
Netherlands. The Dutch have long had a system of local schooling based on
‘the right of choice’. The great majority of schools (up to 70 per cent) are
Outsourcing the service 43
operated by the private sector – mostly religious and cultural groups.
Central government funding is allocated to all schools on the basis of enrol-
ment and special learning needs. In the Netherlands, parents and other
interest groups have the constitutional right to establish and manage local
schools. These ‘schools of choice’ have demonstrated that they can manage
themselves effectively. Their success has been dependent upon central gov-
ernment policy, which facilitates their establishment, and financial support,
provided they meet national standards.
For example, in Rotterdam Islamic parents from different Muslim reli-
gious and cultural traditions have come together to form their own
secondary school. Because their religious and cultural experience is quite
different from the Dutch norm, many Islamic parents feel unwelcome in
existing denominational or state schools. Such issues as head covering for
girls, accommodation for prayers, ritual bathing, dietary laws, flexible
schedules and gender separation may be in conflict with the practice in reg-
ular schools. The new school will address these concerns and involve more
parents and religious elders in the education process through participation
on the governing board and as school volunteers. A non-Muslim school
manager has been chosen as rector for the new school to mediate the poten-
tial of opposing factions within the Muslim community (OECD 2001c).
Belgium
The constitution of the Belgian State includes the principles of free choice of
schools and educational freedom. In 1959 the School Pact Law organised
all educational establishments to be grant-aided by the state. A federal sys-
tem consists of three communities – Dutch-, German- and French-speaking.
The Dutch-speaking Flemish community comprises 58 per cent of the
almost six million total inhabitants. Flanders has a complex social and insti-
tutional environment, particularly between large cities and rural areas.
The freedom of choice means that schools can be established without
approval of state authorities. To grant recognised diplomas and receive
financial subsidies they must comply with state and community legal and
statutory regulations. Schools are grouped in three networks: community
(former state) schools (14 per cent); provincial and local schools (17 per
cent) and grant-aided free schools comprising 69 per cent of pupils. The lat-
ter network plays a dominant role while balancing legal obligations related
to funding, duration of compulsory education, the granting of diplomas and
the provisions of teacher pensions. Such school autonomy, however, has
resulted in a multiplicity of levels of decision making, regulations and pro-
cedures, which further complicate the role of principals and administrators.
While decentralising and deregulating, the state is increasingly using its
financial authority to demand accountability from the overall school system
and individual schools. They are required to demonstrate their efficiency
and quality to obtain financial resources. This is seen by some researchers
as a way to reduce educational funding while encouraging competition
among schools for students. The free schools network (almost all Catholic)
has had, until recently, the right to refuse students. This has left the other
two public networks with the responsibility to educate socially and cultur-
ally different groups (OECD 2001c).
United States
A relatively new movement in the United States is the creation of charter
schools – non-sectarian tuition free public schools that are funded through
a performance contract with either a state agency or a local school board.
The school’s charter gives autonomy over its operation and frees the school
from regulations that other public schools must follow. The charter states
how student performance will be measured and what levels of achievement
the school will attain. If the school fails to attract students, achieve perfor-
mance objectives, or violates conditions of the contract (by breaking
remaining laws or regulations) it can be closed. By the year 2000, 39 states
had passed charter school legislation and 1,700 charter schools enrolled 10
per cent of the overall public school population (U.S. Department of
Education 2000).
In 1994, the United States Congress established the Public Charter
School Program (PCSP) as part of Title X of the Elementary and Secondary
Education Act. Since then the United States Department of Education has
played a role in the development of the charter school movement. As part of
the Charter School Expansion Act of 1998, Congress authorised ‘dissemi-
nation grants for charter schools with three years of experience and
demonstrated success’. This provides each state with between $50,000 and
$700,000 to support partnerships between high quality charter schools and
non-chartered public schools (U.S. Department of Education 2000).
But are charter schools the answer for failing neighbourhood schools?
Researchers at the Brookings Institution have reviewed test scores in reading
and mathematics from 376 charter schools in ten states. They found that
charter school students were ‘anywhere from a half year to a full year behind
their public school peers’. Fifty-nine per cent of students at traditional public
schools scored better than charter school students during the research period.
Charter schools are generally operated by non-profit groups, churches,
universities, community centres, parents, groups of teachers and school dis-
tricts themselves. An independent board oversees budgets, hiring and
purchasing. Many charter schools focus on the learning needs of inner-city
students with smaller enrolments and different teaching strategies than their
public school counterparts.
Critics, including teachers’ unions, charge that charter schools hire unli-
censed, inexperienced teachers. Because charter schools’ finances are not
always closely monitored, they may be subject to mismanagement, resulting
in closure after only a few years of operation.
Advocates, on the other hand, maintain that more research is needed
regarding how much students learn after a few years in a charter school. To
quote the Centre for Education Reform: ‘They’re the kids who were much
more likely to fall through the cracks before anyone else. That’s who tends
to leave their school and join up at a charter school first’ (CBS News 2002).
Another privatisation initiative has been the voucher system. The OECD
report titled Voucher Programmes and their Role in Distributing Public
Services defined vouchers as ‘systems of distribution in which individuals
receive entitlements to goods or services which they may “cash in” at some
specified set of suppliers, which then redeem them for cash or the equivalent
from a funding body’ (OECD 1999d).
The case for education vouchers was made in 1955 by Milton Friedman
who said that publicly funded education did not necessarily have to be pub-
licly provided. As primary and secondary schools are highly beneficial to
the public, Friedman proposed that vouchers be issued to defray the costs of
education to parents of limited means. This would increase competition,
promote efficiency and innovative practice among education service
providers (Friedman 1962).
The school voucher system has operated in Milwaukee, Wisconsin since
1990. Eligible students from low-income families are entitled to ‘choose’ to
opt out of the normal public school system and attend private schools in the
city which must satisfy certain criteria related to standards and the absence
of religious affiliation. In 1996–7 the private schools received $4,373 for
each ‘choice’ student – an amount equal to the state aid per student in the
public system (OECD 1999d). An evaluation, conducted by Witte in 1996,
found a not statistically significant difference between the achievement of
choice students and a matched sample of other similar students. But school
attendance was better, and parent contact and satisfaction levels were
higher than in the Milwaukee public schools.
In Florida, Governor Jeb Bush has made vouchers his highest priority,
providing alternatives for children who ‘are trapped in schools that are fail-
ing them’. In 2002 about $60 million may be poured into the state’s
voucher system. But what are these dollars buying?
On 27 June 2002 the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in a landmark decision
that the voucher programme can be extended across the United States as
long as parents can choose among a range of secular and religious schools.
President George W. Bush and his neo-conservative allies have hailed the
decision as a resounding victory (Stout 2002).
Another example of service outsourcing is the Privatisation Project – a
comprehensive, school-wide reform model launched by the United States
media entrepreneur Chris Wittle. Privatisation Project, a for-profit organi-
sation, contracts with local school districts to run all aspects of selected
schools including staffing, curricula and professional development. A
longer school day and year is mandated with extensive use of computers
and software (Fashola and Slavin 1998).
Hungary
In 1996 the Hungarian government amended the Public Education Act to
provide 3 per cent of the budget for in-service training of teachers (INSET).
Teachers are now obliged to take at least 120 hours of training over seven
years.
The purpose of INSET was to promote quality, oppose conservatism and
revitalise the traditional system by bringing in new sources of training.
Universities and teacher training colleges were traditional service providers,
but it was decided to give funds directly to the schools rather than these
institutions. It was also decreed that anyone could enter the training mar-
ket, including private firms and individuals.
The National Accreditation Commission was established to comment on
the methodology of each training course but schools decide the relevance of
contents. Competition is keen among universities, pedagogical institutes,
private firms and consultants to market their courseware to the schools. As
a result, teacher demand has changed from traditional subject courses to
new teaching methods, teamwork and other forms of innovation.
The advent of the INSET policy has also resulted in a new
Dutch–Hungarian programme for the pre-service training of principals
leading to a recognised degree and international accreditation. Emphasis is
given to communication, group work and problem solving with partici-
pants required to evaluate the programme regularly (OECD 2001c).
Reflections
Contracting out has become a pattern among neo-conservative regimes
bent on reducing public expenditures in such areas as education and
health services. While the purpose of these cutbacks could be deficit reduc-
tion or a balanced budget, they are often seeking to create a surplus in
order to reduce taxes and garner more political support from voters in the
next election.
The results of these outsourcing agendas have often impacted dramati-
cally on the quality of education in several ways:
● existing labour groups, including teaching and support staff, may with-
draw service (strike);
● unqualified and inexperienced workers may be hired as teachers and
school managers at significantly lower wages;
● special education, early childhood and remedial programmes, second-
language instruction and student services may be among the first to be
sacrificed;
● schools are no longer properly maintained as custodial staff is reduced
or its services contracted out;
● visual and performing arts may be curtailed as an expensive frill;
● outdoor education and environment studies may be removed from the
curriculum;
● support staff such as school secretaries, teacher aides, social workers,
psychologists and school/community personnel may be declared sur-
plus to budgetary needs.
The outcome may leave teachers and principals struggling just to serve their
pupils while their morale and self-esteem plummet. Schools cease to be pos-
itive, nurturing learning environments. Education becomes just a cost, not
an investment in our future.
7 Bottom-up renewal
A different approach to school improvement is known as ‘renewal’. This is

more of a ‘bottom-up’ process with the people in and around schools
improving their practice and developing the collaborative mechanisms nec-
essary to improve the quality of their schools relatively free of the linearity
of specified ends, means and outcomes. It advances such fundamental issues
as social justice, racism, sexism and economic inequality to equip citizens
for a productive life in a democratic society.
According to Wilma Smith (1999) the renewal of schools, and the
teacher education required to sustain it, requires a redefinition of roles. Five
critical skills are required for leaders of renewal: to establish a shared mis-
sion; to work as change agents; to collaborate with colleagues; to think
inclusively about all constituents and to perceive and make explicit the con-
nections between theory and practice.
John Goodlad (1994) speaks of simultaneous renewal in which a college of
education prepares prospective teachers with a ‘clear and compelling mission’
– schooling as a democratic society. The National Network for Educational
Renewal further defines the mission by asking such questions as:
● What does it mean for us to en-culture the young in a democracy?

● How do we ensure equal access to education for all students?
● Are we engaging in a nurturing pedagogy?
● Do we serve as stewards of the schools?
Michael Fullan (1993) sees ‘moral purpose’ as the driving force behind the
role of change agent. Change agency, therefore, is dependent on moral pur-
pose to avoid aimlessness and fragmentation.
Active change agents may work with a network of schools – sharing
information, obtaining resources, and encouraging feedback among depart-
ments, schools and constituents. They provide a support mechanism to
assist people to be accountable to their shared mission (Smith 1999). The
following are examples of educational renewal in action.
Bottom-up renewal 49
United States
One example of educational improvement through bottom-up renewal is to
be found in a rural area in the state of Wisconsin. Several school districts
have formed a partnership in a geographically isolated and economically
depressed area of north western Wisconsin about 200 miles north of
Madison, the state capital. Employment for area residents centres on farm-
ing, logging, tourism, small business enterprises and limited manufacturing.
The unemployment levels are the highest in the state with family income 32
per cent below the state average. Sixty-six per cent of students are receiving
free or subsidised lunches. The area includes the Ojibwe tribal school with
100 per cent American Indian students on an Ojibwe reserve (NPP 2000a).
In 1993, Chuck Ericksen, a dynamic community education director in
the Northern Wisconsin School District, utilised a school reform grant from
the Institute for Responsive Education to bring together a group of 15
school leaders committed to educational improvement. The result was a
non-profit consortium – New Paradigm Partners Inc. (NPP). The original
partnership of five public school districts, a tribal school and a private col-
lege (Mount Senario) continued to grow.
In addition to local and state resources, it has received funding from: the
Annenberg Rural Challenge; the W. K. Kellogg Foundation; McDonald
Charities Fund; and the Soros Foundation. NPP was created in the belief
that ‘a powerful synergistic network of learning partners would give new
life to our schools and communities and make a dramatic impact on student
learning’ (NPP 2000a).
NPP’s work is grounded in principles of community education, which
promote parent and community involvement in education, the formation of
community partnerships to address community needs and the expansion of
lifelong learning opportunities. Of particular concern is the future of small
rural schools and communities. A depressed rural economy may either not
motivate students to achieve or result in the best students having to leave
the community in search of employment. The goal of NPP is to establish an
inclusive, entrepreneurial culture, which is supportive of innovation, cre-
ative collaboration and leadership.
Early in June 2000, the NPP partners met to review the year’s accom-
plishments and plan for the future. This meeting of school district
superintendents and administrators provided the following progress reports
about a new kindergarten to grade 12 curriculum that has been integrated
into the schools with a focus on local history, culture, entrepreneurship and
‘hands-on’ interdisciplinary approaches to learning. Multi-age, project-
based learning activities include the following:
● Journalism – Youth Press is a community-based media project where

250 students work with media professionals within five regional ‘news
bureaux’. Students produce articles on a regular basis for local print
50 Bottom-up renewal
media and publish Pass It On, a state-wide journal with a readership of
15,000. They create videos, public TV programmes and produce ‘Rebel
Radio’, a monthly two-hour Saturday morning radio show broadcast
on local FM stations. An electronic variety magazine, M.ZINE, now
features short stories, editorials, poetry, illustrations, photography and
student reflections – on the Internet. Youth Press activities have gained
national renown and students travel throughout the U.S. speaking at
conferences and workshops (NPP 1998).
● Student-run businesses – Entrepreneurial enterprises operated by stu-
dents of all ages include: a wood drying and manufacturing business; a
community newspaper; two greenhouse operations; several video pro-
duction, graphic arts, web design and technology consulting
enterprises; two canoe trip outfitting ventures, and a card and balloon
business (Milwaukee Journal 1994).
● Intergenerational learning – Students through Circle of Light projects
have interviewed elders and transcribed historical tales, later dissemi-
nated through print media articles, videos, educational CDs and a web
site. With help from a professional songwriter, students write songs
based on the stories and perform them with the elders at community
events, including the American Folklife Festival in Washington, D.C.
● Cultural preservation – At the Ojibwe tribal school, tribal elders assist
in the classrooms, providing individualised attention, nurturing, self-
esteem-building and cultural enrichment while encouraging student
learning across the ages.
● Environmental restoration – Students are involved in detailed environ-
mental research and all phases of project planning and implementation.
Through a variety of student funding initiatives, projects have included:
trout stream and other water quality improvements; reforestation; park
developments; prairie restorations; and wildlife habitat improvements.
New Paradigm Partners Inc. has also provided school renewal, community
education and leadership training workshops. Curriculum development and
teaching methods classes have been offered for graduate or undergraduate
credit. An expectation of all training is that participants apply their learning to
some tangible school or community improvement initiative. Careful collabo-
rative planning is emphasised as each participant networks with others to plan
and implement projects. Mentorships are facilitated when appropriate and
mini grants have been made available using funds from a variety of sources.
Good Hope College established a new leadership programme as a minor
at the college in which students develop leadership skills in the process of
planning and implementing community and school projects. A regional
Leadership Development Committee (LEARN), with representation from
numerous agencies and schools, is giving shape to a series of new, highly
collaborative leadership opportunities for principals, teachers, students,
parents and other community members.
Greece
Traditionally, Greek schools have been resistant to any form of top-down
inspection. In 1998 the Greek government introduced a self-evaluation pro-
ject in six pilot schools as a much less threatening and intrusive approach to
school improvement and educational renewal. Co-ordinated by the
Pedagogical Institute, a governmental curriculum improvement organisa-
tion, the project involves teachers, parents and students in the process. A
handbook, to guide schools in developing self evaluation methodologies,
has been published by the Institute.
One of the pilot schools is Athens Suburban Lower Secondary School
located in a prosperous suburb of Athens. The school with about 300 stu-
dents (aged 12 to 15 years) has modern facilities and a staff of 33 teachers.
The enthusiasm of senior staff and teachers has led to many new innova-
tions including curriculum enhancement and extra-curricular activities. It
has been important for the school to be seen by teachers as a ‘whole organ-
isation’ in which they are a team. A sense of common purpose is shared by
all stakeholders with parents active through their association’s many activi-
ties in support of the programme, including fundraising to encourage
curricular innovations.
Another example of self-evaluation in action is the Greater Athens
College, a prestigious private elementary school on the outskirts of Athens.
Opened in 1995, the school now has an enrolment of 650 boys and girls
(aged 6 to 12) and a teaching staff of 53. It is supported by private funding
and substantial student fees. A Greek American Foundation and a board of
directors in the United States oversee a local board of trustees which oper-
ates the school including the annual budget, the appointment of principal
and teachers; and administrative and curricular co-ordination.
The principal has studied co-operative learning, group work and individ-
ualised learning in England. A team of educational consultants from
Harvard University visits the school two or three times each year to advise
on curriculum leadership. The board of directors has required the school to
engage in self-evaluation for which the principal prepares an annual devel-
opment plan. This involves the supervision of teachers, with the principal
formally observing lessons to improve teaching methodology and pro-
gramme planning (OECD 2001c).
Flanders
The Flemish community promotes self-evaluation as part of a political pol-
icy to reinforce the innovative capacity of schools and to promote self-
supportive organisations. The stakeholders are encouraged to participate
with a budget allocated by the government for in-service training of teach-
ers and school managers. In 1997 primary schools were requested to write
their own ‘work plans’ including mission statement; objectives; organisation;
curriculum and programme; assessment, and school rules. However, a new
approach of external school inspection has also been introduced.
Bree Middle School is a Catholic school serving 400 grade 7 and 8 students
in the small town of Bree near the Dutch border. The staff of 52 have devel-
oped a management style based on an ‘Educational Project’ in co-operation
with parents and students. The Project includes the following aims, objec-
tives and values, which are reviewed each year:
● a definition of educational priorities such as learning how to learn, co-

operative learning, progressive evaluation and participation of pupils;
● the school work plan;
● the in-service training plan.
A governing board includes representatives from the religious congregation

and local citizens. A ‘participation board’ includes committees of parents,
teachers and students. Seven teacher co-ordinators assist the principal in
such areas as curriculum, programme, time-tabling and planning of tests.
Working groups plan sports, festivities and field trips. Parents are collabo-
rators who assist as classroom volunteers. Evaluation is a co-operative
process of assessment according to objectives for the year (OECD 2001c).
Mexico
In Mexico the School Management Project has promoted a self-evaluation
strategy to meet the needs of each individual school. Teachers, principals
and area supervisors are encouraged to be active participants in selecting a
self-evaluation process based on local self-assessment as well as external
evaluations conducted by the state ministries of education. Anticipated
results from the Project include the following:
● the transformation of traditional schools into ‘new self-evaluating pub-

lic schools’;
● a focus on education of children in the classroom rather than adminis-
trative and bureaucratic procedures;
●
ensuring the right of parents to participate in the education of their chil-
dren;
●
more professional co-operation between teachers and principals;
●
teachers and principals to be more accountable for educational out-
comes;
● making the public more aware of the school’s self-evaluation process
and its outcomes;
● a change in the role of the principal from administrative bureaucrat to
‘educational leader’;
● the management of each school to be according to each set of unique
needs.
The project began in 1997 with 40 schools in each of five states but by 2000
had grown to 2,000 schools in 20 states. The original pilot schools have
served as mentors to new schools joining the project. The results to date
(2001) have demonstrated that a long-term commitment among teachers,
principals, children and parents is required along with the support of state
ministries of education. Other determining factors include: the involvement
and support of area supervisors in the process; more availability of instruc-
tional materials and equipment; better school facilities; the participation of
parents in project schools; and the leadership of principals in educational
improvement.
An example of self-evaluation in action is to be found in the state of
Colima. The school management project co-ordinator and his team of for-
mer teachers met with area supervisors, principals and teachers to discuss
local needs and the objectives of the project. The importance of each local
school technical council, where colleagues can discuss teaching methods,
student learning and ‘quality issues about education’, was soon identified.
In the 40 pilot schools, during the period from 1997 to 1999, it was felt that
initial resistance to the project had declined and teachers were feeling more
involved in the life of the school and working better together in solving edu-
cational problems and improving the quality of teaching. Evaluation of
academic assessment has led to the improvement of language and mathe-
matics outcomes through school projects.
Teachers have sought parental involvement by making them more
aware of improvements in the school programme and teaching tech-
niques. Parents, as a result, have often become advocates for better school
facilities, school maintenance, food preparation and the organisation of
special events. They have a better appreciation of the importance of liter-
acy, numeracy and technological skills in improving the quality of life,
social and economic well-being of students and the Mexican nation
(OECD 2001c).
Sweden
The Helsinborg School in Helsinborg, Sweden, provides a specific example
of educational renewal in action. With an enrolment of 900 students aged
between 6 and 16, the school decided in 1993 that the traditional model for
school management – led by a head teacher and a deputy head – was not the
best way to improve the quality of education. They became one of the first
schools in the country to introduce the concept of work teams where the
cause of innovation and school improvement became the responsibility of
teachers and students.
A discussion group was formed which focused on the question: ‘What
will be important to a 15-year-old in 30 years’ time that the school should
provide today?’ A summary of responses produced several keywords such
as: flexibility; environment/ecology; critical disposition; comprehensive
view; ability to work independently; security/belief in the future; and pre-
paredness for the multicultural society. Teachers were also asked to suggest
changes in the school’s physical environment and ways to improve the
organisation of their work to serve the needs of students better.
In the spring of 1994, 20 teachers, comprising about one third of the
school’s teaching staff, formed three ‘work teams’. As tutor/mentors for the
students, these teachers saw their new role as ‘creating learning situations
for students who would take responsibility for their own learning’. One of
the first tangible changes supported by educational administrators and
municipal politicians was the refurbishment of the school building, built in
1966, to provide a more ‘open’ feeling. The local library was also incorpo-
rated into the school premises.
But there was a recognition among all staff that collaboration does not
necessarily exist simply because people are brought together in teams. Some
preferred the old ways and challenged the right of management to impose a
new organisational model. A consultant was brought in to facilitate teach-
ers working together, but a handful of teachers chose to leave the school.
The organisation has since gelled into ten teams of teachers under the gen-
eral direction of a seven-member leadership group. Each team comprises
teachers from across subject areas who effectively run ‘schools within
schools’, taking responsibility for the educational and general welfare needs
of about 85 students of varying ages. Each team meets before school every
Monday morning to plan the week’s activities and timetable. Teachers may
work together with their students on group projects or collaborate on an
overall theme. However, the lessons of teachers of art, music and craft are
still timetabled across the school.
Each team member serves as a mentor for 14 to 16 students. Social or
family problems can be referred to the school nurse or guidance counsellor.
As a result, teachers tend to spend at least 35 hours per week at school giv-
ing more access to an adult if there is a problem. For the teachers, however,
it means that marking and the preparation of lessons often must be done at
home.
Pupils meet their teacher/mentors in groups three times a week for 20–30
minutes each time. The first two sessions are to plan the week’s activities
while the final session reviews progress achieved. Students have the oppor-
tunity to choose their own mentor. Teams cut across age groups and can
stay together for up to six years. Students have three hours per week to
devote to independent study but they have to write up and evaluate the
work. Less motivated students get more attention from teachers. Students
also have the opportunity to influence the general direction of the school
through their own students’ council.
In general, teamwork has tended to reduce the traditional isolation
teachers may feel working alone in their own classrooms. However, a new
type of isolation for teams who run ‘schools within schools’ has been iden-
tified. Some teachers miss the interaction with peers from other teams, as
well as those who share the same subject area. This is somewhat compen-
sated for by the up to 13 professional development days Swedish teachers
enjoy each year to bring subject area teachers together.
There is also a danger that teams may become isolated from each other.
The leadership team addresses these concerns by encouraging feedback
from other teams in setting goals for the school and assessing the quality of
the programme. While the Helsinborg model is challenging and demanding
on staff, few would wish to return to the traditional ways. More impor-
tantly, students feel a greater ‘sense of ownership’ of decisions which affect
them (OECD 2001c).
Reflections
Those nations with a tradition of bottom-up renewal have often benefited
from a sense of students, teachers and parents being integral participants in
school improvement. This feeling of local ownership has led to innovative
problem solving, a curriculum more responsive to local needs and improved
morale among all participants in the learning process.
The bottom-up renewers, however, continue to be under attack by the
ideologues of the neo-conservative right. Strong top-down management is
advocated to introduce scientific management testing and budget reduction
policies. Local grass roots involvement in the decision-making process by
parents and other citizens of the community is seen as a threat to the eco-
nomic agendas of the top-down reformers.
Self-renewal, therefore, may be characterised by these politicians as dri-
ven by the self-interest of parents, teachers and students leading to excessive
spending in such areas as special education, second-language instruction,
early childhood development, and school community involvement. These
are often portrayed politically as expensive frills which detract from time
spent on test preparation in an orderly, disciplined school environment. A
propaganda campaign based on ‘failing schools, lazy teachers and wasteful
spending’ becomes a plank in the neo-conservative election platform.
8 Community education partnerships
The concept of community education is very much a local bottom-up

approach to educational renewal. It mobilises a broad range of human and
educational partners including school leaders, teachers, parents, students,
employers and other citizens in the community, to improve the quality of
human and educational services.
The need for community involvement is recognised as an essential com-
ponent in school improvement. Whether as part of the shared decision-
making school-based governance model, or as a source of volunteer assis-
tance or funding support, the community is an essential partner in the
school management process. Community education advocates the local co-
ordination of human services (e.g. health, employment, child protection,
adult literacy, family support, leisure, etc.). A number of countries and
school districts have policies in place in this regard. The active participation
of the school and the leadership of its principal are essential in meeting
human service needs, particularly in disadvantaged socio-economic areas.
Examples from the OECD study (2001c) include the following.
Sweden
The community education movement has long championed the cause of a
variety of public services sharing a mixed-use facility. Sweden has introduced
a most innovative merging of services for children. The clear lines that once
distinguished child care, pre-school, recreation centres and primary school-
ing are blurring. Pre-school education from the age of one year is available
for parents working or studying. In 1999 a curriculum was developed to
provide a ‘seamless web’ of learning for a child between pre-school and com-
pulsory schooling. It is not unusual for a child to attend an integrated
pre-school/primary school/recreation centre from early morning to early
evening. Parents pay for pre-school/child care and recreation services while
schooling is free. In this integrated management model, one leader (or a
team) from any of the three disciplines may be in charge of the facility.
Karlstad School and Children’s Centre is an example of an integrated
facility in the Skare area of Karlstad. The 450 pupils are served by 25 teachers,
Community education partnerships 57
7 pre-school teachers and 15 recreation instructors, who have formed work
teams in a ‘learning organisation’. Beginning in 1994, the head teacher
introduced process-oriented learning among staff to improve pedagogical
theory and practice. Pre-school and recreational teachers had previously
occupied a separate building. The staff was now integrated into work teams
including all professional categories. The interdisciplinary teams function
relatively independently with great freedom to manage their own resources.
Classes are mixed and not divided along age group lines.
The school encourages a thirst for learning, as well as providing a secure
and stimulating environment, which emphasises the knowledge and experi-
ence pupils bring with them from within the school and the community
beyond. While the integrated pedagogy and teamwork brings the three pro-
fessional groups closer together, it has not resolved disparities in salary
scales and working conditions (e.g. holiday schedules). Nevertheless, teach-
ers in the integrated school enjoy the shared responsibility and the ending of
a sense of isolation previously felt (OECD 2001c).
Japan
In Japan a ‘creating open schools’ policy has been in place since the 1970s.
Principals are required to be more active in encouraging community partic-
ipation in the life of the school. While this does not constitute a sharing of
school management, efforts to promote co-operation among schools,
households and the local community are gaining momentum. Japanese
principals are challenged to be more active in external relations. Formal
administrative contacts with boards of education, teachers’ unions and
local communities are seen to be important. Traditionally, the Japan
Teachers’ and Staff Unions opposed central government control. But in
1990 the Japan Teachers’ Union proposed the slogan ‘participation, pro-
posal, reform’, advocating a consensus among government and business
sectors. School-based management can be discussed in a more positive light.
Most schools have a parent–teacher association (PTA) to support teach-
ers and provide human and material resources. However, this does not
include parental participation in school management. A reform in this
regard has been realised in the city of Kawasaki and other communities
where an ombudsman system and local educational meetings promote co-
operation among schools, households and the local community.
In 1985 Kawasaki established regional education councils to link schools
more closely to their local communities by:
● reaching a consensus on child rearing and lifelong learning in the region

through consultation with teachers, parents and other residents of the
community;
● having residents participate regularly in the education process, includ-
ing influence on school administration;
● co-operating and co-ordinating with the work of neighbourhood edu-
cation advocacy groups such as children’s associations and community
sports clubs;
● promoting community activities which encourage the healthy develop-
ment of children;
● assessing and supporting the lifelong learning needs of residents.
The approximately 40 members of each regional education council include:

representatives from PTAs; neighbourhood associations and other child-
focused organisations; residents’ committees; teachers and administrative
staff; and employees of youth, cultural and community centres. Members
are nominated by their organisations and volunteer their time to work on
subcommittees in such areas as playground space, a community newsletter
and work experience programmes for older students (OECD 2001c).
Greece
Political policies reducing educational spending have often led to poorly
maintained and deteriorating school buildings in many countries. Greece,
through its Reorganisation of School Premises Project administered by the
government’s Pedagogical Institute, has demonstrated that school facilities
can be upgraded and the physical learning environment of the school
improved significantly. The importance of school leaders in transforming a
deteriorating shared-use facility into a more secure and educationally viable
building was demonstrated in secondary schools in the Athens area.
For example, the Eighteenth Lower Secondary School is located in a
deprived area of Athens serving a migrant population. Originally opened in
1931 as a model school with high academic, cultural and athletic standards,
the site became a military base during World War II and the subsequent
Greek Civil War. In the 1950s the school site was re-established to serve
newcomers from Eastern Europe, Africa and the Middle East; however, ade-
quate public funding and community support was not available. As a result,
the school buildings accommodate eight elementary, lower and upper sec-
ondary schools operating in the morning, afternoon and evening, each with
their own principal and teachers.
By the 1990s secondary school classrooms and public areas were covered
with graffiti and plagued by vandalism, drug dealers and theft of equip-
ment. Students, many from non-Greek-speaking homes, posed behavioural
problems, including lockouts of school staff. The multiple use of the facili-
ties, deteriorating classrooms, loss of equipment and delinquency among
students resulted in a serious morale problem among teachers and a sense of
despair regarding the future of the school site.
In 1997 a new principal was appointed to the Eighteenth Lower
Secondary School with a mandate to try to rectify the situation. His first
step was an application to the government’s Pedagogical Institute for a
‘Reorganisation of School Premises Project’. Multiple use of the space posed
a problem as the Institute required assurance that all principals on the site
were committed to the project. A single school committee, comprising rep-
resentatives of parents, teachers, students and principals from all schools
was convened to support the project application. In 1999, after a year of
negotiation between the committee and the Institute, it was agreed that the
sum of three million drachmas would be provided and divided into three
equal parts among three of the schools.
Within a year graffiti had been significantly reduced. New locks and
alarm systems protected classrooms. Video equipment and teaching materi-
als were safely stored. A new library, and scientific and ICT (information
and communications technology) equipment enriched the learning environ-
ment. Co-ordination of project resources was seen as a key responsibility of
the principals to be shared by parents, teachers and students. Principals also
felt empowered to search for other sources of support and funding while
maintaining a clear sense of direction and vision (OECD 2001c).
Another school to benefit from the Reorganisation of School Premises
Project was the Athens Suburban Lower Secondary School. A vice principal
had visited secondary schools in the United States and was impressed by
their organisation of well equipped specialist classrooms. Project funding
was therefore used to provide classrooms with specialised furniture, learn-
ing materials and display space including a well-equipped music room and
other specific subject spaces for science, mathematics, ICT, history and lan-
guages.
The original three million drachmas made available by the project in
1995–6 was further supplemented by a grant from the local municipality.
These additional resources created such amenities as a fully equipped school
theatre; a basketball court for school and community use; consultation
space for a vocational guidance officer; and a new well-equipped school
library.
The improved accommodations led senior staff and teachers to embark
on many new innovations in the belief that ‘success breeds success’. Their
sense of vision has led to an enhancement of the curriculum and new extra-
curricular activities. Stakeholders, including parents, now see the school as
a ‘whole organisation’ striving for excellence (OECD 2001c).
United Kingdom
The Francis Drake School in Garston, Watford, England has 830 students,
aged 11 to 18, as well as 30 adult learners from the local community. It
serves a lower socio-economic area with a high proportion of one-parent
families. Many students require special education services and there is a
high turnover of enrolment during the school year.
Francis Drake School has responded by developing strong links with its
community. The school is represented on many community groups and is
currently developing a performing arts centre with strong community
involvement. There are plans to locate a family service centre, involving all
social service agencies, in the school. A students’ council meets periodically
to plan external activities, such as visits to the district council and magis-
trate’s court.
A social inclusion unit has been established as an alternative programme
for students at risk of permanent exclusion, those excluded from other
schools, students with health or physical disabilities, and school refusers.
Students have an opportunity for vocational studies such as food technology,
business and the arts, as well as the national curriculum. They have access to
the careers service and an educational psychologist, but re-integration back
into the mainstream remains a priority (OECD 2001c).
The Netherlands
Joint representative advisory boards are encouraged by the national educa-
tion authorities in the Netherlands to advise local school governing boards
on such issues as employment and staff allocations. Professional staff, par-
ents and students have taken an active role on advisory boards.
Community involvement, through the government’s ‘Local Educational
Policy’, is also actively encouraged. A variety of programmes for the socially
and educationally disadvantaged include: services for newcomers; early and
pre-school education; language instruction; and dropout-prevention initia-
tives. Co-operation between schools and community services has included:
integrated special needs and primary education; preventive/pro-active youth
care; and social welfare services for students co-ordinated by the community.
One example of school–community co-ordination of services is to be
found at Hans Brinker College in The Hague. Organised around the ‘broad
or community school’ concept, Hans Brinker College serves an inner-city
neighbourhood suffering from the effects of unemployment, poverty and
crime (e.g. overcrowding, theft, prostitution and drug sales).
Opened in the early 1990s utilising special incentive grants from Dutch
and European governments, the school provides vocational education to an
enrolment of 400 students, aged between 12 and 18, from immigrant and
refugee families representing 70 nationalities (e.g. Surinam, Morocco,
Turkey, Somalia, Iraq, Iran, etc.). Basic instructional and vocational train-
ing programmes include technical education (e.g. auto and electrical repair);
administrative studies (e.g. bookkeeping, retail sales); and health care (e.g.
nursing assistant), preparing students for service industry employment.
Area residents were initially opposed to the project (e.g. traffic flow,
crime, etc.), but were reassured by an elaborate security system with televi-
sion monitors and controlled-access gates. (This was a particular concern
for Islamic parents who feared for the safety and security of their daugh-
ters.) Partnerships were forged with local services including law
enforcement, social welfare, religious (area mosque), health, and truancy
prevention. A ‘care committee’ of community services meets regularly to
assess the learning needs of individual students. A museum in the neigh-
bourhood provides visual, performing arts and cultural enrichment. At least
ten local employers have made significant financial and in-kind contribu-
tions including: a computer for every three students; a model retail sales
centre; and a fully equipped automotive service facility.
The result is a modern, attractive, secure, extremely well equipped voca-
tional education facility which makes use of several community services to
enrich the learning environment. While parents are encouraged to join with
students and teachers as members of the ‘participation council’, their
involvement is often difficult to achieve due to language and cultural differ-
ences. Some critics, however, view the school as an artificial, paternalistic
environment, which shelters students from societal realities. To quote the
school’s director: ‘We take good care of them’ (OECD 2001c).
Made Primary School is a Catholic school in the town of Made. This school
of 450 students and 26 staff is led by a particularly dynamic director. The
process of innovation really began in 1977, when three schools were merged
into one new building. In 1991 it was recognised that the traditional theoreti-
cal curriculum (mathematics, spelling, etc.) was too difficult for some children.
It was decided to develop a new approach to education, based on ‘learning
experience’, better to serve the individual needs of pupils (Kolb 1984).
The community became the focus for education, with visits to the town
hall, factories, local merchants and historic sites resulting in student-centred
projects which combined both concrete and abstract learning. For example,
constructing models of the town’s streets and buildings integrated social
studies, mathematics, science and language into a multidisciplinary theme.
Students were encouraged to create their own learning projects.
In 1994 the central government offered additional funding to encourage
‘inclusionary education’. Made Primary School became the ‘school for expe-
rience’ and an assistant director for education was appointed who has
provided leadership in transforming the school into a ‘centre for experiential
learning’ to serve the individual needs of all students, including those with
learning disabilities (but not the physically handicapped). Consultations
were undertaken with existing and former students, parents and neighbours
to advise the school on its new policy. Assistance was also sought from pro-
fessional organisations and an authority on inclusionary education at the
University of Utrecht.
As a result of these consultations, three new goals were announced:
involvement; well being; and solidarity. Inclusionary education was defined
as ‘a holistic approach to focus on the individual learning needs of all chil-
dren including those with intellectual and behavioural disabilities’. Today, a
series of standardised tests (developed by the CITO Institute) is administered
to assess academic achievement and readiness for promotion. A system of
‘learning contracts’ between pupil and teacher has been developed. Parents
are kept informed through parental interviews (three per year) and written
reports. Children who are not progressing are referred to a special education
committee for remedial assistance. Parents also participate as members of
the school governing board and the ‘parent and teacher advisory committee’.
About 200 parents are reported to be active volunteers in the school. The
Primary Education Inspectorate conducts regular two to three day intensive
visitations (every two years) based on the ‘school plan’. Results of these
inspectoral visits are published by the Ministry of Education.
Made Primary School is a most impressive learning environment filled
with activity and excitement. A friendly rapport exists between pupils and
teachers who seem to very much enjoy this student-centred approach to
learning. The building is well equipped with colourful displays of children’s
work. The vibrant atmosphere and sense of respect and caring displayed by
children and teachers are a tribute to the principal’s ‘transformational’ style
of leadership and concern for accountability to local stakeholders and
national authorities (OECD 2001c).
Mexico
Another example of the use of community partnerships to enhance the edu-
cation process is to be found in the state of Nuevo León, Mexico.
Monterrey, the state capital, is in an industrial region which faces a shortage
of skilled workers. Part of a huge former factory has been utilised to create
the Escuela Industrial Monterrey, with several classrooms constructed
within the vacant building. Modern equipment, donated by local employ-
ers, assists teachers to impart practical skills geared to future employment
needs. Skill shortages in the region are addressed through a workplace set-
ting providing an almost on-the-job learning experience (OECD 2001c).
United States
In the United States the National Commission on Excellence in Education
in its 1983 report, A Nation at Risk, stressed the importance of commu-
nity involvement in schools:
At the heart of the learning society are education opportunities extend-

ing far beyond the traditional institutions of learning, our schools and
colleges. They extend into the homes and work-places, into libraries,
art galleries, museums and science centres; indeed, into every place
where the individual can develop and mature in work and life. But
without lifelong learning, one’s skills will become rapidly dated.
(NCEE 1983)
In a community school, youth, families and community residents work as

equal partners with schools and other community institutions to develop pro-
grammes and services in five areas: quality education; youth development;
family support; family and community engagement; and community develop-
ment. Community schools build strong learning partnerships and share
accountability for high academic standards. Each community school identi-
fies its own individual needs and assets while embracing diversity in a process
of community betterment.
The Coalition for Community Schools is a national, Washington, D.C.-
based organisation whose mission is ‘to mobilise the resources and capacity
of multiple sectors and institutions to create a united movement for com-
munity schools’. Its goals are to: share information about successful school
policies, programmes and practices; build broader public understanding
and support for community schools; inform public and private sector poli-
cies to strengthen community schools; and develop sustainable sources of
funding for them (Blank 2000).
In rural Wisconsin a consortium of several school districts, known as
New Paradigm Partners Inc. (NPP), was established in 1993 with the fol-
lowing goals:
● to empower people, especially students, to become more effective,

skilled and enterprising leaders and contributors to sustainable school
and community improvement efforts;
● to sustain and increase purposeful commitments to goal setting, team-
work and consensus;
● to increase the restorative capacities of our schools and learning com-
munities by increasing or improving learning opportunities for people
of all ages;
● to create new learning environments which are relevant and engaging;
● to build and strengthen relationships and respect between people of dif-
ferent ages and backgrounds;
● to increase opportunities for participatory decision making, leadership
development and service to the community.
Some examples of community education initiated by NPP include the Green

Forest and Alderwood schools.
Green Forest School

Green Forest School has an enrolment of 247 with 25 teachers from kinder-
garten to twelfth grade. Over the years, Green Forest School has become
famous for its student-led enterprises, including the following initiative.
The Beechwood Hills Manufacturing Partnership provides Weyerhaeuser
(an old logging community with virtually no industry) with a student-run
entrepreneurial venture in preparation for future education and employ-
ment. With help from the state’s Co-operative Educational Service Agency
(CESA) and the federal School to Work Opportunities Act, students formed
a limited liability company (LLC) which is registered with the state and
federal governments. Students own legal stock in the company, which they
can purchase from graduating seniors, or earn by working for the corpora-
tion or through academic achievement.
Because there was no facility to dry green lumber in the area, Beechwood
Hills Manufacturing Partnership built a solar-powered custom lumber-drying
operation. The enterprise also serves as an incubator for spin-off businesses
such as successful snowshoe and furniture-manufacturing and woodcraft
ventures now located at the school.
Alderwood School
Alderwood is a K–12 school with 355 students serving an area of 200
square miles with vast socio-economic disparities among property owners
and residents. Seventy per cent of property owners are comparatively
wealthy summer dwellers. The majority of the remaining 30 per cent are
retirees. Only 10 per cent of the residents have children in school. The
Alderwood enrolment comprises the second-lowest level of family income
in the region. Parents have traditionally survived at an impoverished subsis-
tence level with limited interest in education and support for student
achievement. Consequently, Alderwood students remained near the bottom
on state academic test scores.
In 1994 Alderwood began a community education programme, which
brought together a leadership team of staff and community members to
conduct a school–community needs assessment, assist in communica-
tions, morale building, visioning and goal setting. The result was a school–
community partnership to promote lifelong learning and educational
opportunities for Alderwood students and staff.
A major source of pride has been the Alderwood News. As no newspa-
per had previously existed in the community, students, teachers and
community members worked together to publish a community newspaper.
Students write stories, do page layout on computers, sell and develop
advertising and print the paper on an offset printing press. They gain skills,
course credits and valuable work experience while fulfilling a community
need. In 1995, the project was featured in USA Today as one of seven
schools selected nationally for their Community Solutions through
Education award.
Another innovation, to bridge socio-economic differences and improve
support for education, has been the Senior Tax Exchange Program (STEP)
intergenerational volunteer programme. Elder residents, who volunteer
their time to assist the school as classroom tutors, mentors and role models,
earn a decrease in their property taxes.
Alderwood has become a ‘lighthouse’ school in which the community
has developed a sense of ownership. Learning activities for family members
of all ages take place during the day, in the evening and during the summer
through the Families and Schools Together (FAST) programme.
The community education process has had other positive outcomes for
Alderwood. The inclusionary nature of the programme has meant all tax-
payers, including summer residents, now have a sense of ownership in the
school and support for public education. Persons of all socio-economic lev-
els are meeting and sharing. Academic test scores continue to rise. The
school completion rate, once among the lowest in the state, is now above
the state average. Where once there was a call to close the school and bus
the children to neighbouring Rice Lake, there is recognition of the impor-
tance of the school in retaining the town’s identity, social, cultural and
economic well being.
The community education process, as envisioned by the NPP consor-
tium, has also retained the confidence and support of school leaders. To
quote the Alderwood School district superintendent: ‘Our community views
New Paradigm Partners as an agent of change within the school district.
Involvement in the consortium has broadened our scope and helped to cre-
ate community spirit, integrating all ages and people of all experiences’
(NPP 1998).
Public education has for many years benefited from a variety of sources
of additional financial and goods and services support, other than from
public taxation. Volunteers have been active in supporting curriculum and
programme and educational service provisions for almost as long as schools
have existed. They have assisted teachers in the classroom, served as reme-
dial and special enrichment tutors, accompanied classes on field trips, and
provided a variety of clerical and technical services to the school, without
remuneration. They have also participated in fundraising activities to sup-
plement the school budget and served on parent–teacher (PTA) and school
advisory bodies. In a new era of shared decision making, the presence of
parents in school has never been more important.
As schools have become more decentralised, and budgets more restricted,
the need for supplemental financial support has risen. One approach taken
by local authorities and individual schools has been the ‘educational founda-
tion’ movement. Since at least the 1970s non-governmental charitable
organisations have been created at legal ‘arm’s length’ from school boards
(or schools) with the expressed purpose of providing additional sources of
financial support, goods and service to the public body. They have also
served as vehicles of research and development (R&D), problem solving,
community development and innovation, which might not have existed pre-
viously due to funding instability or bureaucratic intransigence
(Shuttleworth 1993).
In some instances, the educational foundation, as a special purpose body,
may qualify for financial grants, R&D funding, or commercial sponsorship
otherwise not available to public education. Citizens and the media often
see schools as financially well endowed where, in actual fact, they may be
struggling with budget cutbacks so common to restructured public service
in the new economic age. For example, school boards or other governing
bodies may not have adult education as part of their mandate. The levels of
basic literacy, numeracy and language skills among parents may have a pro-
found impact on their children’s success in school. The educational
foundation may be able to provide the ancillary services (e.g. adult literacy,
second-language skills, vocational training) so important to the economic
well-being of the family and the self-esteem of parents (Shuttleworth 1993).
The New Paradigm Partners Inc., from a disadvantaged region in rural
Wisconsin, is an example of such a special-purpose organisation devoted to
educational improvement and community economic development. This
model transcends traditional schooling by serving people of all ages in a
lifelong learning process that enriches the social, economic and physical
environment (a twenty-first century learning organisation?).
Some countries also have a long tradition of philanthropic charitable giv-
ing through private foundations and trusts whose objects might include
educational improvement or services to disadvantaged minorities. The New
Paradigm Partners were fortunate to receive developmental funding from
such philanthropies as the Annenberg, Kellogg and McDonald charities. It
is interesting that the Soros Foundation has been active in both Hungary
and rural Wisconsin. In Seattle, a group of key industrialists formed the
‘Alliance for Education’ to support improvement. In 1998 the Alliance con-
tributed $8 million to support a variety of school district programmes and
initiatives. In March 2000, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation awarded
$25.9 million for the improvement of Seattle schools. It should be noted,
however, that not all educators and policy makers support the work of these
non-profit organisations. Some see it as simply ‘soft money’, which creates
public expectations – not likely to be fulfilled in the long run. ‘Better to keep
the lid on before the pot boils over.’
Another area of growing concern is the incursion of private for-profit
corporations into the world of public education. Some school boards (and
schools) have been eager to sign exclusivity contracts with private enterprise
in return for substantial financial and material rewards. For example, the
contract to provide vending equipment, software or computer hardware
might seem to be insignificant, but giving exclusive access to the minds and
consumer tastes of students may have long-term moral and consumer impli-
cations. In a global economy of transnational corporations, whose wealth
and economic muscle dwarf most nations, such ethical implications cannot
be overlooked.
Reflections
The community education movement has a long history in public schooling.
Originally espoused by such visionaries as John Dewey in the early twenti-
eth century, and further actualised by Edward Olsen in the United States
and Henry Morris in the United Kingdom, community education has had a
strong philosophical and programmatic influence on the nature of schooling
in the western world. It ranges from the community-focused curriculum, to
the school as multiservice centre for human development, to the school as a
focal point for social and economic renewal to improve the quality of com-
munity life.
The impact of the industrial age on parenting and the decline of the influ-
ence of religious institutions has extended the role of the school beyond
academics to encourage social, cultural and values integration. Schools rep-
resent a primary service of childcare, safety and security in the community.
The rise of neo-conservative economic policies, however, has often
resulted in a dismantling of the community education infrastructure. Severe
budget cuts and a ‘back to the basics’ mentality have often resulted in the
sacrifice of these school and community partnerships. The school is reduced
to a custodial testing clinic rather than a centre for community education
and development.
9 Micropolitics of governance
The age of decentralisation/deregulation has driven decision making and man-

agement to the local school level. As a result, school managers are very much
part of a micropolitical milieu which involves networks of individuals and
groups, both within and in areas surrounding schools, competing for scarce
resources, even political power. The actors in this drama include principals,
teachers and other staff (including unions), central office officials, school board
members, parents, students, other community service personnel and employers.
At the same time, central governments may be imposing a macropolitical
control of curriculum, student testing and programme assessment affecting
individual schools. This creates a loose/tight central/decentral system of
accountability in satisfying conflicting demands of stakeholders. Among the
skills which the modern principal should possess is an astute sense of ‘polit-
ical awareness’. Factors shaping the political school environment may
include: shared decision-making bodies; interagency collaboration; aspira-
tions and needs of local and national (or state) politicians; socio-economic
realities; and community development. The study of the micropolitics of
governance is becoming an essential means of survival for school leaders
and other educators (Lindle 1999).
Professor Ron Glatter at the Centre for Educational Policy and
Management at the Open University in the United Kingdom has developed
four models for governance in school education (Glatter 2002).
Competitive market
This model sees the school operating as a business in a commercial market-
place. Its continued existence depends upon its ability to attract and retain
students in competition with other educational service providers in the area.
In this regard, it has a high degree of autonomy with relatively few formal
links with government authority. Such links might include financial operat-
ing and capital improvement grants from the government. However, the
school would often be required to meet educational performance standards
set by the national (or state) government imposed through standardised
testing or external inspections.
Micropolitics of governance 69
Examples of such market-driven schools may be found in the ‘schools of
choice’ of the Netherlands and Flanders. Charter schools in the United
States and grant-maintained schools in the United Kingdom might be seen
as adhering to this model. The American system of school vouchers pro-
vides eligible students from low-income families the opportunity to opt out
of the public system to attend private schools which meet certain govern-
ment criteria. The mobility of students in the marketplace, however, may be
affected by: socio-economic factors; the availability of transportation; and
the density of population in the area.
School managers in such an environment often function as entrepreneurs
accountable to their local governing board, with limited influence from cen-
tral government authority. Their ability to satisfy the varied political
agendas of their governing bodies, parental and labour interests represents
a dynamic challenge to maintain their employment security. Energy devoted
to marketing and profitability of the enterprise may supplant the impor-
tance of the traditional educationalist’s role.
School empowerment
This model involves top-down policy makers seeking to ‘empower school
level stakeholders’. This includes the role of the principal, other staff and par-
ents as well. There may be a political decision to decentralise decision making
by dispersing power to the grassroots or it may be an attempt to ensure more
managerial accountability at the local level. The latter has been most often
true of national initiatives designed to bring decisions as close as possible to
the point of action. In this regard, it may be combined with competitive activ-
ities through an encouragement of participation, identification and
partnerships to enhance the profile of the school and attract more students.
The school-based management movement (SBM) in the United States
decentralises control from central offices to individual school sites. The objec-
tive of SBM is to give school administrators, teachers, parents and other
community members more authority over budget, personnel and curriculum.
The premise is that SBM can ‘improve school performance and ensure higher
quality decisions’ by engaging the talents and enthusiasm of all stakeholders.
There is a major concern, however, that principals may not naturally possess
the political know-how, human resource development abilities and business
acumen to excel as school-based managers. Pre-service and in-service training
is essential to prepare school leaders for this decentralised managerial model.
Local empowerment
As opposed to the individual school as the focus for empowerment, this
model involves a locality as a collection of social and educational units. The
school is one unit with a family of schools (or board of education) forming an
educational system as a member of a broader community with reciprocal
rights and obligations. In this instance such responsibilities as finance, staffing,
curriculum and student admissions are devolved to the local authority.
The individual school is then a unit within the collective community gov-
ernance. A local community council, board of trustees or governors may be
elected to provide political and/or managerial control. Standards and
benchmarks for performance are set by the governing body, which allocates
the funds to operate the units. Accountability is maintained through bud-
getary controls and a consultative process among the units.
This is the form of governance to be found across the United States as
previously described in Cincinnati, Seattle and rural Wisconsin. It is also the
Local Education Authority (LEA) to be found in the United Kingdom prior
to the Education Reform Act of 1988. While the central government con-
trolled overall spending levels, LEAs were responsible for school budgets,
staffing, student catchment areas and most curriculum policies. The chal-
lenge for principals and head teachers is to function in a politicised
environment where school governors or trustees may be elected to represent
their communities. Internal politics within the collective may also impact
directly on the role of the school manager.
Quality control
Due to perceived pressures of global competition and a cost-cutting agenda
among market-driven political interests, some governments are introducing
industrial quality control (QC) systems to guide school operating proce-
dures and performance outcomes. The QC model is most likely to be
bureaucratic in nature with strict top-down rules, controls and monitoring.
The school is seen as a ‘point of delivery with many goods on offer and tar-
gets established – the product mix and product quality having been
determined at either the central or state level, depending on constitutional
arrangements’ (Glatter 2002).
One of the foremost proponents of QC has been the Hungarian Ministry
of Education and its COMENIUS 2000 Programme for Quality
Improvement in Public Education. Quality improvement is based on three
pillars: strengthening the role of the state in the field of financing (increas-
ing the ratio of state funding to local funding); supplementing the
regulation of content by framework curricula; and developing the national
system of assessment and quality control. COMENIUS 2000 is based on the
assumption that quality concepts, widely used in industry, could be adopted
to the field of education. The Ministry of Education, assisted by outside
consultants, issued a ‘manual of quality development’. A three-stage pro-
gressive process for quality improvement was launched in 2000. The first
stage assesses local needs to form a school community partnership for pro-
gramme planning. The second stage sets up a total quality control
management system (TQM) including the following elements: focus on
partners; process control; and development of an organisation culture. The
third stage disseminates the programme throughout the 400 pilot schools,
assisted by external consultants selected by tender.
These specially trained consultants have experience in dealing with qual-
ity issues in industrial settings, but also some knowledge of education. The
Ministry of Education enters into an agreement with each pilot school and
its consultant to provide a given number of consultancy days.
The implementation of COMENIUS 2000 and the principles of quality
control have meant a new role for principals which is both difficult and
demanding. On the one hand they have been given responsibility for deter-
mining curriculum and programme as a result of decentralisation. On the
other hand, COMENIUS 2000 has represented a limited re-centralisation as
well as a return to a more traditional approach to curriculum. The introduc-
tion of external consultants and the expectation of more accountability from
parents, students and school maintainers further complicates the role of the
principal. Finally, the scientific management and free market principles under-
pinning QC would often be foreign to professional educators whose primary
concerns are to satisfy the needs of their clients, ensuring the survival of their
institutions. Extensive pre-service and in-service training for teachers and
principals would seem essential to the success of this top-down innovation.
Shared decision making

Another approach to school governance which is gaining popularity in
Sweden, and to a lesser extent in the United States and the United Kingdom,
is shared decision making. Traditionally principals have been held account-
able for the management of their schools. But there now is a movement to
increase teacher involvement in the decision-making process. This creates a
new and different role for teachers, often referred to as ‘empowerment’.
Advocates of shared decision making believe that the participation of teach-
ers in school governance will ultimately improve student achievement.
School reform still places responsibility on the backs of principals to
improve the teaching available to students and to increase the quality of the
learning environment. The premise is that a shift in the role of principal
from ‘boss’ to ‘facilitator’ and that of teachers from ‘subordinate’ to ‘col-
laborator’ will have a positive effect on student achievement.
Empowerment might be defined as ‘a process whereby school partici-
pants develop the competence to take charge of their own growth and
resolve their own problems’. Research conducted on the nature of teacher
empowerment has identified five areas of perception:
● Professional development – feeling that their school provides opportu-

nities to grow and develop, learn continuously, and develop their skills.
● Status – professional respect, admiration and support from colleagues
with whom they work.
● Self-efficiency – the skills and abilities to help students learn, build
effective programmes and effect changes in student learning.
● Autonomy – ability to control certain aspects of their work life.
● Impact – sense that they have an effect and influence on school life.
(Rinehart et al. 1998)
Teacher empowerment has been found to promote job satisfaction. But some
types of participation were seen to be more empowering than others. Teachers
on interdisciplinary teams in middle schools and junior high schools felt more
empowered than those in traditional, departmentally organised schools.
How do principals feel about shared governance? Studies have indicated
that principals in shared-decision-making schools may experience difficul-
ties associated with new roles and responsibilities, losing power, lacking
necessary skills, lacking trust, and fear of risk taking. However, a study by
Blasé and Blasé among a group of secondary school principals made the fol-
lowing conclusions concerning their participation in shared-governance
experiences:
● they felt less lonely and more motivated;

● their actions become more consistent with their beliefs and values;
● they experienced a sense of renewal as educators;
● they found that, while many of their skills and values were consistent
with shared governance, they still had to make fundamental changes in
their leadership style;
● they had to learn how to step back, when to step in and how to facili-
tate rather than direct;
● they learned to accept criticism and that shared governance is difficult
and time-consuming;
● they were constantly learning about themselves, others and the process
of shared governance.
(Blasé and Blasé 1999)
Reflections
During the 1990s neo-conservative, national and state governments often
saw educational spending as an area where expenditures could be reduced
to help balance budgets or introduce tax cuts. As a result, schools were
faced with dwindling resources at the same time as they were being publicly
scrutinised for perceived deficits in student achievement. The drive to make
local schools more accountable to the people they serve in their political
environment became a new challenge for school leaders.
For many families, schools are the most accessible part of their govern-
ment. Taxpayers and former students, parents and other citizens often see
schools as a major investment in community well-being. Depending on
socio-economic status and political know-how, local citizens may often be
eager to enter into local decision making to guide and protect their invest-
ment. Demands from various political factions seeking election to
governing boards, conflicting parental interests, labour-management strug-
gles and student dissent, all contribute to the political milieu surrounding
the modern principal.
The shifting nature of school reform policies creating a constant barrage
of top-down curricular and assessment decisions often complicates the role
of the school administrator. The linking of schools and social service agen-
cies and local aspirations for community and economic development may
further politicise the school environment. It is not surprising that there is a
growing demand for the micropolitics of governance to become an essential
component in the pre-service and in-service training of school leaders in the
twenty-first century.
10 Zero tolerance
The increasing incidence of violence and truancy among students in many

countries has led to new safety and security policies, which decree ‘zero tol-
erance’ for student misbehaviour. But the commitments of neo-conservative
governments to spending on education have often been curtailed due to
budget reductions or failure to keep pace with increases in enrolment and
the cost of living. Among the outcomes have been cutbacks or termination
of support services for students with a range of social adjustment and
behavioural problems. As described in a previous chapter, schools have
often become a ‘safe haven’ for students at risk, whose mental health and
social well-being are threatened by a dysfunctional family or a deterioration
of the quality of life in the community.
The OECD study (2001c) identified a common set of concerns about stu-
dent behaviour that principals face both in the school and in the
community. Reports of increases in vandalism, bullying, theft, drug and
weapons offences, and assaults against students and school personnel were
to be found among many of the nine countries. The following are some
innovative programmes introduced to address these concerns.
Flanders
The Flemish population is changing, with young people exposed to a new
mix of cultures due to an influx of immigrants and migrants. Some may also
be overcome with emotional problems related to broken homes. The school
is expected to solve social problems such as violence among young people,
particularly in urban areas. The school often provides the only stable envi-
ronment offering safety and security. This is particularly true in the
integration of youth from migrant families.
The Ghent Health Services Institute in Ghent represents one response to
these concerns. It serves 600 middle school students (grades 7 and 8), offering
pre-vocational and vocational classes in the health sciences, and special
classes for migrant children in second-language instruction. Many students
are socially disadvantaged, requiring remedial support. Social education helps
migrant children to integrate, improve study habits, complete homework
Zero tolerance 75
assignments and participate in activities such as the students’ council.
Students are encouraged to be active in fund-raising, concerts, flea markets
and barbecues. For many it is their second home.
At the general education and first grade of vocational education levels,
students follow the Freinet method where learning is based on experience,
creativity, emphasis on aesthetics, and equality, with older pupils helping
the younger ones. Project work is emphasised with ongoing evaluation and
communication. This programme is unique in Flanders, involving progres-
sive teachers who choose to work in this environment, rather than the
traditional teachers’ role of preparation just for examinations.
Programmes at the Institute are specially developed for children with
social and behavioural problems who dislike school. Group projects, with
10 to 13 pupils, include maintaining their own bank account with funds
raised from group activities. The importance of group problem solving and
listening to individual concerns is stressed to meet social needs and encour-
age the learning process. Through group work and the students’ council, a
sense of school ownership has been developed. Behavioural and discipline
problems, so evident with beginners, seem to dissipate in this supportive
environment (OECD 2001c).
Greece
In Greece, principals are expected to teach classes on a regular basis in addi-
tion to their administrative duties. Each school has a teachers’ council with
responsibilities related to student discipline and day-to-day problems.
Parents have the right to form a union in every school to participate in lim-
ited aspects of school administration. A parents’ union representative
participates in a school council, along with the principal, vice principal and
a representative of the students’ union, to advise on school operations.
Traditionally, each class has had its own classroom to which specialist
teachers come to teach. As a result, there was a lack of adequate classroom
supervision with students damaging school premises and equipment. The
Reorganisation of Premises Project was introduced by the central govern-
ment to address this problem.
As described in a previous chapter, the Eighteenth Lower Secondary
School in Athens was one of the original schools to benefit from the
Reorganisation of Premises Project. This inner-city school, serving a
migrant population (Eastern Europe, the Middle East and Africa), was
plagued with deteriorating vandalised classrooms, the theft of equipment
and the presence of drug dealers and other intruders. Students were known
to lock teachers out of the classrooms.
The infusion of financial assistance from the Reorganisation of Premises
Project allowed the school to install new locks and alarm systems in the
classrooms. Video equipment and teaching materials were securely stored.
A new library was created and scientific and ICT equipment installed in
76 Zero tolerance
subject-based classrooms. The improvements in safety and security resulted
in a decline in misbehaviour among students (OECD 2001c).
Japan
Concern has been expressed by the Ministry of Education, Science, Sports
and Culture (Monbusho) for the increase in juvenile delinquency, truancy,
dropouts and bullying. This has resulted in more violence against students
and teachers and suicides resulting from bullying. It was felt that excessive
competition in entrance examinations and traditional uniformity of school-
ing might be contributing to the problem.
Monbusho has responded by trying to reduce the pressure of school
exams and a reform of the curriculum to reflect a lifelong learning perspec-
tive. The school week was reduced from five and one-half to five days with
more emphasis on school community relations. Schools were encouraged to
express their own individuality through the adoption of cross-curricular
themes such as international understanding and environmental studies. At
the upper secondary level, more emphasis was given to integrated pro-
grammes, credit-based courses and flexibility in students’ choice of subjects
and timetables.
Kawasaki Junior High School in Kawasaki City serves 300 students in an
inner-city industrial area. As part of a programme of linking schools more
closely to their local communities, a regional education council was estab-
lished with representatives from: the parent–teacher association;
organisations concerned with local children; residents’ committees; employ-
ees from youth, cultural and community centres; and teachers and
administrative staff. The principal and the council recognised the importance
of improving the school’s partnership with parents and the community. The
council was seen as ‘a way of building bridges between the school and the
homes of pupils, between school and community and between school and
the local administration’. Councils are seen as a way of addressing concerns
related to student behaviour on the one hand, and ever-increasing parental
expectations for student achievement on the other (OECD 2001c).
The Netherlands
A prime example of safety and security in action was to be found at Hans
Brinker College in The Hague. As previously described, an inner-city cam-
pus providing vocational education served 400 recent immigrants from 70
nationalities. Opened in the early 1990s, the school took advantage of
grants from the Dutch and European governments to create a ‘purpose-
built’ learning environment in a neighbourhood suffering from the effects of
unemployment, poverty and crime (e.g. theft, prostitution and drug sales).
An elaborate security system was installed with television monitors and
controlled-access gates.
Zero tolerance 77
Partnerships were established with local services including law enforce-
ment, social welfare, religious, health, and truancy prevention. A ‘care
committee’ met regularly to assess the learning needs of individual students.
Other partnerships included the local museum and area employers who
donated equipment and financial support. Parents were also encouraged to
be partners in joining with students and teachers in a ‘participation coun-
cil’; however this was often difficult to achieve due to language and cultural
differences.
Hans Brinker College has been a pilot project in the ‘broad school’ con-
cept advocated by the Dutch government to encourage co-operation
between schools and community services. The students were encouraged to
be polite and show respect and appreciation. Critics, however, have seen the
school as creating an artificial, protected, custodial society which pampers
the students and shelters them from societal realities (OECD 2001c).
Sweden
The Stockholm Upper Secondary School has 650 students in an area of
Stockholm serving many immigrants. In the 1990s, the school gained the
reputation as ‘one of the most ill-disciplined in Sweden’. A small group of
students had been lighting fires in waste-paper baskets, resulting in the
evacuation of the 3,000 people from the multi-storey building housing the
school. Security guards were then hired to check student identity cards
before they were allowed to enter the building. Media coverage resulted in
the school gaining national prominence as a centre of student misbehav-
iour.
In 1999 the municipal authority used the individualisation of salaries
national policy as an incentive to recruit a new principal with a reputation
for strong leadership and problem-solving skills in serving immigrant stu-
dents. One of the first changes he made was to provide open access for
students to school offices, which were previously hidden in a secure area
‘off-limits’ to students. A new code of student behaviour was enacted which
emphasised positive rather than negative outcomes. Instead of installing
surveillance cameras to record student misbehaviour, he decided to treat
them as young adults deserving an atmosphere of mutual respect.
But improvement would not be possible without the full co-operation of
teachers who had to be comfortable with the principal’s new vision for the
school, which included:
● changing of attitudes concerning the education of immigrants;

● making the school well known for the quality of its programme;
● seeking to make ongoing improvements in the organisation.
Teachers were clearly eager to find a better way to relate to their students,
curb misbehaviour and improve the school’s reputation in the media.
78 Zero tolerance
The principal’s flamboyant leadership style, relaxed student-friendly
approach, media know-how and commitment to improvement helped to
transform the school. Negative incidents decreased and students even
became advocates in a media campaign to put a positive spin on the school’s
image. Relationships within the multicultural, multiracial student body
steadily improved with a feeling of mutual respect among students, teachers
and the administration. The result was a series of positive articles in the
media which highlighted, in particular, plans for a new, more suitable
school building (OECD 2001c).
United Kingdom
British authorities have been alarmed at the increase of youth crime and
unruly behaviour among students in school. The teachers’ union reported
that at least one teacher per day suffers from a violent attack in the nation’s
schools. The Education Secretary argued that bad parenting has created a
‘cycle of disrespect’ among children. She has demanded that councils make
greater use of their powers to force violent parents to attend counselling or
face court and a fine of up to £1,000 (BBC News 2002e).
The General Secretary of the National Association of Schoolmasters
agreed that an increasing number of dysfunctional families and dysfunc-
tional parents was at the root of the problem. Teachers were reluctant to
enforce discipline, such as breaking up fights, in case they became the sub-
ject of malicious allegations from pupils and parents. They saw parents as
reluctant to enforce discipline on their own children and expected teachers
to act as ‘surrogate parents’ (BBC News 2002e).
Another cause for concern has been the incidence of truancy among
students. An education welfare officer in Liverpool saw truancy as
caused by a wide range of social issues including drugs, alcohol and
abuse. But he also blamed parents who take schools for granted. Keeping
a child out of school for a day of shopping may create an attitude among
children as to the ultimate importance of schooling in their life and the
impact on future life chances. He believed that poor or non-attendance
contributed to crime, social exclusion and anti-social behaviour (BBC
News 2002g).
The government has found a clear link between drug use, truancy and
exclusion from school and criminal behaviour. A six-month study by
Metropolitan Police found that 5 per cent of all offences were committed by
children during school hours, and 40 per cent of robberies and 20 per cent
of criminal damage were committed by 10- to 16-year-olds. Nearly half of
all school-age offenders have been excluded from schools and a quarter
were persistent truants. Government research suggests truants are three
times more likely to commit an offence than those who attend school regu-
larly (BBC News 2002g).
Zero tolerance 79
But how does the government propose to deal with this problem? One
approach has been formal exclusion from school of students who commit
serious offences such as sexual misconduct, drug dealing, actual or threat-
ened violence, bullying or possession of an offensive weapon. Head teachers
have been told that they can eject pupils from school for a single offence of
bullying, if they consider it serious enough. It was felt that the shock tactic
of ‘one strike and you’re out’ would be a deterrent to student misbehaviour
and youth crime. As a result, there has been a big rise in the number of
pupils being permanently excluded for serious misbehaviour. It remains to
be seen how putting more young offenders out on the street will affect the
youth crime statistics (BBC News 2002h).
What has the OECD study to say about this problem? The Francis
Drake School in Garston, Watford, as previously described, has an enrol-
ment of 830 students, the majority of whom come from lower socio-
economic backgrounds and one-parent families. A high proportion are on
the Special Needs Register and there is a high student turnover during
the year.
Francis Drake School has addressed these special needs by developing
strong links with the community. The community is represented on the
school council and the school sends representatives to community group
meetings outside the building. A performing arts centre has been created
and plans are in place to locate a family service centre, involving area social
service agencies, in the school.
A student council meets every seven weeks. Their activities include field
visits to the district council and the magistrate’s court. The student council
has an active role in interviewing candidates for new teaching vacancies
but, to date, the students’ views tend to coincide with that of management.
New students entering Francis Drake School are subject to a casual
entrance assessment which includes records from previous schools, literacy,
numeracy, and general academic achievement. An individual education plan
is drafted and parents are interviewed. Good assessments result in immedi-
ate admission. Poor assessments, such as previously excluded students,
involve the head teacher meeting with all parties to develop an integration
programme.
The school maintains a ‘social inclusion policy’ for: students at risk of
permanent exclusion; those permanently excluded from another school;
students with physical disability or health concerns; and school refusers. A
‘social inclusion unit’ has been established with its own manager and a ded-
icated classroom with a separate entrance. Subject teachers visit the unit to
deliver the national curriculum. A calm, stimulating environment includes
vocational education in such areas as food technology, business studies and
art. The unit’s work is displayed around the school, but the interaction of
unit students with Francis Drake School’s general population is a privilege
which must be earned (OECD 2001c).
80 Zero tolerance
United States
Concern about academic performance and student misbehaviour is endemic
among American public schools, particularly in the inner-city and other
poor areas. Many junior and senior high schools have installed entrance
metal detectors with police and security guards patrolling school corridors.
This deterioration of safety and security in the learning environment may be
attributed to many factors including:
● theft, assault and bullying behaviour both in the community and in the
school;
● easy access to weapons, including firearms on the street and in the
home;
● an increase in the use of illegal, controlled substances such as alcohol,
marijuana, cocaine, heroin, party drugs (e.g. ecstasy) and solvent sniff-
ing among elementary and secondary students;
● the rise in youth gang violence and criminal activity (e.g. Crips versus
Bloods), particularly among minority students in impoverished neigh-
bourhoods;
● a greater incidence of dysfunctional family life involving violence, child
abuse and emotional trauma;
● rampant truancy, low academic achievement and early school leaving
prior to graduation, particularly in impoverished areas.
The impact of these concerns on the nature of public schooling has been
profound. For example:
● many parents with above-average incomes have fled the public system
to enrol their children in private schools;
● charter schools have been established in some states by both advan-
taged and disadvantaged parental groups, with restricted enrolment to
exclude behavioural problems;
● other parents have utilised vouchers, where available, to send their chil-
dren to private schools;
● public schools have difficulty attracting and retaining teachers to work
in problem areas;
● many school districts have enacted ‘zero tolerance’ policies perma-
nently to expel students who misbehave;
● some jurisdictions have contracted out responsibility for expelled and
problem students to the private sector who operate strict discipline pro-
grammes and military-style ‘boot camp’ custodial institutions;
● both the federal and most state governments have enacted educational
reform legislation which calls for more standardised testing to shame
teachers and schools into improving their academic performance.
Zero tolerance 81
Critics of these policies have decried a neo-conservative agenda for two-tier
education. The ‘advantaged’ may choose private schools (through tuition
and vouchers) or charter schools – all of whom have the right to exclude
‘undesirable elements’. What is left for the ‘disadvantaged’ is a deteriorating
public infrastructure with decreasing financial resources to meet the needs
of the poor, visible minorities, immigrants and migrants and students with
behavioural problems.
Even the wealthy suburbs have not escaped the violence cycle – witness
the mass murders committed by students with easy access to assault
weapons and explosives (e.g. Colombine High School in Colorado). It is not
surprising that safety and security have joined academic achievement as
‘hot-button’ items on political agendas in the United States.
An example of a school district trying to deal with these concerns is to be
found in Cincinnati, the third largest city in Ohio. It has a school popula-
tion of 47,000 consisting of about 70 per cent African Americans, 27 per
cent Caucasian, and 3 per cent other. The district has experienced a contin-
uing decline in enrolment, especially among Caucasians. Twenty per cent of
school-age children attend private schools, with a growing number of char-
ter schools being established by African American parents. The Cincinnati
Public Schools (CPS) and Cincinnati Teachers Federation (CTF) formed a
partnership to improve student achievement and reduce dropout rates.
One outcome of the partnership has been the School Assistance and
Redesign Plan (SARP) as described in Chapter 5. Parkland Elementary,
serving a predominantly African American inner-city area, was placed
under Redesign and forced to close due to behavioural problems and low
academic achievement. A strong instructional leader was appointed princi-
pal before the school was allowed to reopen. She motivated the
hand-picked staff and students to ‘raise the bar’ and introduced a rigid
teacher-directed reform structure with an emphasis on discipline and test
preparation. Her goal has been to boost academic performance, decrease
the dropout rate and make Parkland the ‘number one neighbourhood
school in Cincinnati’ (OECD 2001c).
Ontario case study

A case study in neo-conservative opportunism can be found in the Canadian
province of Ontario with a population of more than 11 million. In 1995 a
Conservative government was elected on the basis of a platform of tax
reduction known as the ‘common sense revolution’. In 1996 the government
radically reduced the number of municipalities through regionalisation,
resulting in many fewer locally elected officials (mayors, councillors, etc.).
Financial transfer payments were restructured, e.g. the province assumes
responsibility for schooling, while such costs as social services, housing, and
transit must be borne by local ratepayers. As a result, the new municipalities
were faced with increasing local taxes as deficit financing is forbidden.
82 Zero tolerance
The number of civil servants and administrative officials both provincially
and locally was dramatically reduced to balance the provincial budget and
allow for provincial income tax reductions. Services were contracted out to
reduce spending at both provincial and municipal levels, causing shortfalls in
essential areas, e.g. health care, water quality, etc. A radical reduction in the
number of school boards (more than 50 per cent), and the assumption of
overall financial responsibility and accountability for schooling by the
provincial government, has been a central plank in the reform agenda.
As the number of school boards (kindergarten to grade 13) was drasti-
cally reduced, the province assumed overall financial responsibility and
budgetary control through a funding formula applied to each schooling
authority. The number of locally elected trustees was correspondingly
reduced and their roles emasculated. Rigid budgetary controls and down-
sizing in per pupil spending, and many fewer supervisory officers at the local
level, have placed more responsibility on school principals. Other reforms
included curriculum revisions; standardised testing at grade 3, 6 and 10 levels;
mandatory competency assessment of all teachers to retain certification; and
the removal of principals from membership of teachers’ unions. The govern-
ment also proposed that non-teachers fill these positions.
The provincial government ended the entitlement of adults (age 21 plus)
to attend secondary schools or adult day schools as regular students, caus-
ing school boards drastically to reduce services to these students. This was a
particular concern for learners of English as a second language in Ontario,
the destination for more than 40 per cent of all immigrants and refugees
coming to Canada. There was also a major concern regarding the training
needs of the unemployed, as the federal government no longer provided
funding for their skill training.
Budgetary cutbacks caused school boards to close schools and reduce the
number of administrators (e.g. vice principals) and support staff (e.g. secre-
taries, caretakers and maintenance workers). Teachers were reluctant to
apply for principal positions, resulting in an impending serious shortage of
school managers. Schools were not being adequately cleaned and main-
tained. There was a shortage of instructional materials and supplies.
Mandated curriculum reform, standardised testing and teacher assessment
have resulted in serious morale problems among teachers, support staff and
school managers. Many parents have the perception that schools are failing
and teachers are lazy.
Candidates for principal and vice principals were required to take two
years of part-time pre-service training leading to certification before being
considered for a position. All supervisory officers (senior administrative
officials) must similarly be trained and certificated. The content of training
in both instances was mandated by the provincial Ministry of Education
but offered by faculties of education and other service providers. All certifi-
cated teachers were required to complete successfully 14 professional
learning courses over five years to retain their licences.
Zero tolerance 83
There was a steady shift from a strong ‘learner centred’ teacher as facili-
tator approach towards a more teacher-directed ‘time on task’ approach.
This became particularly apparent following the advent of standardised
testing whereby teachers felt compelled to ‘teach to the test’. Test scores
were published in local media and parents often compared performance
among schools. In the areas of literacy and numeracy, a strong ‘back to the
basics’ (e.g. phonics versus whole language) was becoming more pro-
nounced.
Information and communications technology (ICT) has had a profound
impact on the learning environment, particularly the emergence of the
Internet as an instructional aid. The impact, however, was affected by the
availability of hardware, software and Internet access. Many teachers were
still not comfortable with ICT as a focus for learning, but saw it as just
another audio visual aid. ICT tended to be confined to special ‘learning labs’
as opposed to being an integral part of the classroom environment. Funding
cutbacks were limiting the availability and updating of hardware and soft-
ware. Many students from poor families had no access to ICT in the home.
Safety and security had also become major concerns in school manage-
ment. In many urban schools the majority of students came from homes
where English is not spoken, making communication with parents and mul-
ticultural understanding more difficult. Race relations remained an issue of
increasing importance in urban centres.
The shifts mentioned above have been affected by provincial government
political agendas; fiscal restraint; media influence on public perceptions;
socio-economic disparities; government versus union conflicts; and federal
immigration and settlement policies and procedures. Overall, government
policy has focused on reduction in educational spending; the raising of stan-
dardised test scores; more control by the central authority of local school
operations; more accountability regarding curriculum content and student,
teacher and administrative performance; encouragement of a public percep-
tion that schools are failing and ‘need to be fixed’; and addressing the issue
of safety and security in public education (Hirsch 2002).
In September 2001, the Ontario Minister of Education made the follow-
ing comments in a news release: ‘We are keeping our commitment to help
restore respect and responsibility in Ontario’s publicly funded school sys-
tem. Parents, teachers and students have told us that students learn better
and teachers teach better when they are in a safer environment. The new
legislation and regulations will help principals to better protect their stu-
dents and schools.’
The Safe Schools Act 2000 required that a student be expelled for com-
mitting any of the following infractions while at school or engaged in a
school-related activity:
● possessing a weapon, including possessing a firearm;

● using a weapon to cause or to threaten bodily harm to another person;
84 Zero tolerance
● committing physical assault on another person that causes bodily harm
requiring treatment by a medical practitioner;
● committing sexual assault;
● trafficking in weapons or in illegal drugs;
● committing robbery;
● giving alcohol to a minor; and
● engaging in another activity that, under a policy of the board, is one for
which expulsion is mandatory.
Any student who commits an infraction for which expulsion is mandatory

will be immediately suspended and proceed to an expulsion inquiry or hear-
ing. A decision by the school board to expel a student may be appealed to
the Child and Family Services Review Board.
Fully expelled students will not be able to attend any publicly funded
school in Ontario until they have completed a strict discipline or equivalent
programme. Seven strict discipline demonstration projects are up and run-
ning to help those students continue their studies and turn their lives
around. All boards are required to have similar programmes in place
(Ontario Ministry of Education 2001).
Before being allowed to return to a school in a publicly funded school
system, students who have received a full expulsion are expected to:
● demonstrate respect for themselves, for others, and for those in author-
ity;
● demonstrate that they understand and can accept the consequences of
their actions;
● demonstrate the ability to participate in school without compromising
the safety and well-being of themselves or others at the school;
● comply with the standards set out in the provincial Code of Conduct.
Critics of the province’s strict discipline political agenda have seen the
Conservative Government playing on the fears of parents fuelled by North
American media coverage of school violence and youthful misbehaviour.
For example, the massacre at Colombine High School, other school-based
assaults and concern about drug use among students have helped to con-
vince many parents that schools are no longer safe. The fact that teachers
have often been portrayed by the government and the media as lazy, incom-
petent, and overpaid may serve to raise the anxiety level among parents. A
get tough ‘zero tolerance’ policy to rid the schools of the ‘bad apples’ can be
a vote generator in a neo-conservative political agenda.
Students literally ‘expelled for life’, however, find themselves in a state of
despair and alienation from society due to parallel government cut-backs in
social and mental health services. Consequently, they often end up in the
criminal justice system and inmates of correctional centres – the outcasts of
society.
Zero tolerance 85
Nor is prevention any longer an option before students reach the point of
being fully expelled. Reductions in spending for education have resulted in
larger class sizes and the inability of most schools to afford remedial assis-
tance; guidance and counselling; social and psychological services; or
alternative programmes for special needs students. The introduction of a
compulsory grade 10 literacy exam, which must be passed before gradua-
tion, is a further source of stress for the marginal student who becomes a
candidate for early school leaving or expulsion.
Reflections
In surveying the policies and programmes as described above, certain neo-
conservative ideological precepts seem to emerge:
● concerns about student misbehaviour seem to be most often directed
towards immigrants, migrants, visible minorities and socially and eco-
nomically disadvantaged children and youth;
● financial support for the improvement of educational facilities, instruc-
tional materials and equipment seems to be declining;
● funding to reduce class sizes, by employing more qualified teachers and
support staff continues to be sacrificed;
● encouragement for community service partnerships with social work,
mental health, substance abuse and law enforcement agencies has often
been drastically curtailed;
● parental and student involvement in school planning and problem solv-
ing may be just patronising or superficial window dressing;
● the rise in school exclusions and permanent expulsions, without alter-
native programmes of remediation in place, would seem to be breeding
grounds for even more serious anti-social behaviour leading to incar-
ceration and ongoing criminal behaviour;
● investment in paramilitary personnel and their security weapons seems
to be turning schools from community-focused learning environments
to custodial, correctional institutions.
11 Digital divide
The importance of information and communications technology (ICT) in

our daily lives continues to challenge principals and teachers preparing
learners to be productive citizens in the twenty-first century. In its 1999
Education Policy Analysis, the OECD estimated an annual expenditure on
ICT of U.S. $16 billion for primary, secondary and tertiary education across
their 29 member countries. The bulk of this was invested in hardware and
networking, with little spent on software and only about 5 per cent on
teacher training. This investment has continued to grow, representing an
enormous commitment to the use of computers, the Internet and e-mail for
teaching and learning purposes.
The influence of ICT on the economy has been profound, particularly in
manufacturing industries such as automobiles and textiles, but it has
become even more pervasive in such service sectors as retailing and bank-
ing. Schooling, however, has always been labour-intensive with its
emphasis on face-to-face teaching in transmitting a knowledge culture. The
adoption of ICT to the education process has been a challenge of dramatic
proportions.
The school workforce in most OECD countries is rapidly ageing. Their
traditional views of the learning process make the in-service training of
teachers as ICT-learning facilitators a very complicated task. Most new
teachers, on the other hand, have often grown up with ICT in their forma-
tive years. Another potential source of innovation can be found among
ICT-knowledgeable students who may have surpassed even their teachers in
computer skills and the use of the Internet as a primary source of learning.
Such students may be pressed into service as peer tutors in assisting other
students less familiar with ICT (OECD 2001a).
While digital technologies may enable most people to lead more produc-
tive and rewarding lives, and help society to address social and economic
problems, there is also a strong potential for the creation of an ever-
widening ‘digital divide’. Those who are denied access to ICT skills and
knowledge are increasingly incapable of participating in a society and an
economy that is more and more dependent on technology. How can gov-
ernment policy makers and educational leaders ensure that the new
Digital divide 87
technologies do not confine the ‘digitally poor’ to the margins of society,
unable to contribute and benefit from opportunities enjoyed by the ‘digi-
tally rich’ (OECD 2000b).
In a 2001 publication entitled ICT: School Innovation and the Quality of
Learning the OECD called for a re-appraisal of the learning environment
whereby ‘the underlying aims of education can be strengthened and adapted
to the changed circumstances of a massive penetration of ICT-based educa-
tion and learning’. Such a re-appraisal would include the following:
● ICT infrastructure – countries should build up their hardware resources

and connectivity to ensure all learners and teachers are equipped and
the equipment maintained.
● People – all school leaders, teachers and students should be encouraged
to use ICT in their daily work. This will require ongoing training and
retraining so that schools become learning organisations.
● Partnerships – this requires strengthening in two directions: ‘horizon-
tally’ to build and maintain an ICT infrastructure through combining
the resources of education, the private sector and the community at
large; and ‘vertically’ within the primary, secondary and tertiary educa-
tion sectors to improve the dissemination of information and teaching
methodologies.
● Evaluation – as an ICT strategy is implemented, there is need of ongo-
ing research and evaluation, particularly to monitor and report
successes and failures in the in-service training of teachers and school
leaders.
(OECD 2001a)
Several of the nine nations comprising the OECD study on New School
Management Approaches recognised ICT as one of their priorities.
Greece
The Athens Laboratory School, located in the central business district of
Athens, served almost 500 students at the elementary, lower secondary and
upper secondary levels. The school had benefited from the Reorganisation
of Premises Project using the funding to refurbish the 70-year-old building
with fresh paint and new furniture and equipment.
The school was also engaged in other funded projects including the
‘Connect Project’, a transnational programme in which ten other Greek
schools participated. These schools were linked electronically with schools
in Italy to explore new teaching methodologies concerning culture and tra-
dition. The Athens Laboratory School has been a pilot in a national ICT
project (OECD 2001a).
88 Digital divide
Hungary
The Soros Foundation has supported several school-level ICT programmes
in Hungary co-ordinated with government policy. These activities have con-
sisted of: developing ICT curricula and teaching materials; building the
capacity of school libraries and supporting the further training of school
librarians; and generally providing support and advice to schools.
In 1997 the Ministry of Education launched Sulinet – the School
Network Programme – to connect all high schools and larger elementary
schools to the Internet. But elementary schools in small villages were left
out of the programme. The Soros Foundation responded by launching an
ICT experiment for small regions. Four villages were selected, with each
receiving a local area network consisting of 15 multimedia computers for
two months at a time. A teacher travelled with the hardware to deliver an
intensive information technology programme. After the computers and the
teacher left, a well-equipped computer with Internet access was installed in
the school library for the permanent use of pupils and teachers. The results
of this pilot project, including method, know-how and experience, were
shared with the Ministry of Education and local authorities (OECD 2001a).
Japan
In 1995 the Ministry of Education, Science, Sports and Culture (Monbusho)
established guidelines for advanced information and communication net-
works, satellite communications, the development of educational methods
using these infrastructures, and training programmes for teachers. In 1996 a
report from the Central Council for Education focused on the need for
improvements in technology education with elementary children becoming
familiar with computers to enrich their learning activities. Junior high
school students were to advance their computer literacy and learn more
about computer techniques. In senior high schools, a more active use of
computers was encouraged in each subject with information-related sub-
jects promoted.
In 1998 Monbusho called for the systematic provision of information
and communication networks, and the installation of education centres
linking schools. There was also a new emphasis on technological literacy in
teacher education and staff development.
In 1999 the Japanese government created the Virtual Agency, bringing
together Monbusho, the Ministry of International Trade and Industry, the
Ministry of Post and Telecommunication and the Ministry of Local Affairs.
The Virtual Agency proposed the following agenda to be complete by 2005:
● provide computers and Internet access in every classroom in all schools;

● ensure high speed Internet access in all schools;
● equip every teacher to be able to teach using ICT;
Digital divide 89
● support information technology use in schools via personnel from local
districts and industries;
● promote the development and delivery of high-quality education via
collaboration between governmental agencies and industry;
● establish a National Centre for Educational Information.
The promotion of ICT has become a national priority for Japan’s survival in
the twenty-first century. Curriculum standards are to be revised and hard-
ware and software provided, with all schools and students given access to
the Internet (OECD 2000b).
Mexico
With a very traditional education system, an impoverished population and
a resistance to change, the Mexican government has struggled to serve the
needs of disadvantaged learners. They sought to provide more skilled work-
ers to the burgeoning industrial sectors and prepare young people to be
productive citizens in a new technologically focused, knowledge-based
economy.
In 1992 the governments of the 31 states joined with the federal Ministry
of Public Education (SEP) and the National Union of Education Workers
(SNTE) to create the ‘National Agreement for the Modernisation of Basic
Education’. In 1997 the federal government introduced the ‘School
Management in Elementary Education Project’. Another outcome has been
distance learning, supported through the EDUSAT (satellite education) net,
which extended information services to 35,000 lower secondary and pri-
mary schools and expanded teacher education opportunities.
In 1994 the Mexican government approached the OECD to conduct a
review of its higher education policy. The 1996 ‘Review of Higher
Education Policy’ report (OECD 2001c) identified a concern for the lack of
diversification in upper secondary and higher education, especially techni-
cal education, which placed the country ‘at a strategic disadvantage’.
As a result of the OECD review, the Pilot Project for Relevant Education
was established in 1998 by the Vice-Ministry of Higher Education and
Scientific Research. In 1999 the pilot project began with ten upper sec-
ondary schools in urban areas in different states. One of the schools was
Colima Project School in the city of Colima. Through a contract with the
University of Colima and federal government funding, new facilities were
created including 12 classrooms with screens; four television sets; overhead
projectors; a computer-assisted design workshop; self-service computer lab;
and a teachers’ workroom with Internet and project networking connec-
tions. Teachers work together to enhance self-directed learning skills in such
fields as applied chemistry; metallurgy; informatics; topography; design; lit-
erature; history; and English (OECD 2001c).
90 Digital divide
The Netherlands
The government reports a strong commitment to the implementation of
ICT in Dutch schools. It is seen as essential that students gain modern
information and communication skills if they are to compete for jobs and
participate in society as a whole. While The Hague’s Hans Brinker
College, previously described as a special project on p60, was particularly
well equipped with one computer for every three students, the nation’s
average is one for every 16 students. School managers, however, identify
three factors which impact on the successful integration of ICT into the
curriculum:
● the availability of appropriate software to support educational practice;

● the ongoing upgrading of computer hardware;
● the professional know-how of teachers to use ICT effectively in the
classrooms.
However, limited financial support from central authorities in supplying

ICT hardware, software and staff training on a continuing basis remains a
problem. The introduction of ‘Beacon schools’ and a policy commitment by
the Secretary of Education better to integrate information and communica-
tion technology in the schools would appear to be important directions for
the future (OECD 2001c).
Sweden
Sweden prides itself as being on the forefront of the information and com-
munication revolution, not just in the workplace but also in the home. It is
felt that such technological innovations as the Internet will profoundly
affect the way the family, the school, recreation and work activities are
organised in the future.
In 1998 the Swedish government proclaimed an action plan for ICT cov-
ering pre-school, compulsory school, special school, Sami (ethnic minority)
school and upper secondary school. During the period 1999 to 2001, the
government’s action plan introduced the ‘Delegation for ICT in Schools’
which included:
● distributing state grants to municipalities to improve the Internet access

of their schools;
● creating opportunities for all students and teachers to have e-mail
addresses;
● offering in-service training activities for about 60,000 teachers in teams
(40 per cent of all teachers);
● making computers available for home use by teachers who have
obtained an ICT certificate;
Digital divide 91
● supporting the development of the Swedish Schoolnet and the
European Schoolnet;
● making special arrangements for special needs students.
The Swedish Schoolnet is a computer network which includes quality-assured

links (portals) organised according to teaching subjects; meeting places and a
notice board for sharing ideas and information; and a register of school e-mail
addresses. The Multimedia Bureau, part of the Schoolnet, stimulates the school
use of new media and serves as a source of materials, ideas, courses and infor-
mation, as well as being a tool for distance publishing (OECD 2000b).
United Kingdom
Britain has been a world leader in educational computing. The new tech-
nology is embedded in all subjects of the national curriculum. Learning
materials are being networked in schools and in vocational training.
National technology-backed learning programmes and other innovative
strategies are available at the local and community levels.
The National Grid for Learning is a web site of quality controlled and
indexed learning materials. It provides an inquiry source for learning, with
access to materials, courses, professional contacts and links with learning
networks in the United Kingdom and beyond. All school teachers, post-
secondary lecturers and trainers are equipped to use the new technologies to
supplement ICT learning skills and stimulate the use of the national grid.
All schools, colleges, libraries and museums are to be networked to encour-
age innovations by individuals and institutions.
At the end of 1999, a multidisciplinary task force reported to the govern-
ment on the following means to bridge the division between the ‘digitally
rich’ and the ‘digitally poor’:
● Strengthening coherence between the present multiplicity of objectives

at national and local levels.
● Collaboration between central and local organisations, community and
voluntary sectors, and business, to improve access to ICT in deprived
neighbourhoods, by providing the technical infrastructure, applications
relevant to the interests of the groups in question, and a strategy for
longer-term sustainability.
●
Recognition of the synergy between ICT literacy goals and general liter-
acy goals, the two being mutually supportive.
● Support for ‘local champions’ to engage local people enthusiastically
and drive activities forward.
● Setting realistic targets for future technology penetration and usage, fol-
lowing research and analysis.
● Improved networking to spread good practice, especially in relation to
specific social groups.
92 Digital divide
● Recognition that costs are and will remain significant – hence, for
example, continuing dialogue with telecommunications providers to
ensure access to ICT for those in difficult economic circumstances.
(OECD 2000b)
United States
In August 2002, USA Today reported on the results of the Pew Internet and
American Life Project. They found that the gap between knowledgeable
Internet students and their teachers continues to widen. Seventy-eight per
cent of teens say that ‘teachers are totally clueless about using the Net for
teaching and learning’. Unless teachers start taking advantage of the online
resources teens have found on their own, the billions of dollars spent on
wiring schools will have been wasted.
This is ironic, because during the Clinton era the Technology Literacy
Challenge was enacted to address the digital divide as it impacted on
schooling. There were four key objectives:
● modern computers and learning devices to be accessible to every stu-

dent;
● classrooms to be connected to one another and to the outside world;
● educational software to be an integral part of the curriculum, and as
engaging as the best video game;
● teachers to be ready to use and teach with technology.
The challenge led to the investment of two billion dollars over five years to
put technology into schools. Telecommunication services were discounted
so that many educational institutions could become ‘wired’.
Vice-President Gore brought together key leaders from business, organ-
ised labour, education and all levels of government to explore promising
practice in workforce learning. Recommendations and commitments from
this group included the following:
● New partnerships and collaborations should be initiated among tradi-

tional and non-traditional partners, from which a host of workforce
development efforts can be launched. This was the group’s overarching
recommendation, in spite of knowing it is hard to achieve.
●
There should be delivery of education, training, and learning tied to
high standards, that leads to useful credentials and meets labour market
needs. High expectations and standards for all learners was the second
major focus of the group’s recommendations.
● Improved access to financial resources for lifetime learning is needed
for all citizens, including those in low-wage jobs. Too often, students,
employees and employers are not aware of the full range of tools and
services available to them.
Digital divide 93
● Learning should be promoted at a time and place and in a manner –
anytime, anywhere – that meets workers’ needs.
● Awareness and motivation to participate in education, training, and
learning should be stimulated. The group focused on the need to
develop a culture of lifelong learning, where people better understand
the benefits of investing in education and training.
(OECD 2000b)
Recently, CNN presented a case study of the changing face of the American
classroom. They described the transformation of Southern Middle School in
Tupelo, Mississippi, a small city in the American south. The school, with
1,150 seventh- and eighth-grade students, has a computer network that
links every classroom, six computer labs and eight rolling carts loaded with
15 laptops that can be moved from class to class.
More than 50 students in the Excel Technology class are an in-house
technical support staff for the school’s computer systems. Each classroom is
set up for wireless laptops which teachers book as required. The eighth-
grade ‘techies’ do all the maintenance.
‘When they aren’t troubleshooting, they’re updating the school web site
– which they created. They type documents, scan photos, take and
download digital photos, burn CDs, and use programs such as Publisher,
Word and Power Point to create teachers’ classroom materials.’
(Duffy 2002)
Students also fill the positions of ‘tech helpers’ for teachers and students
who need assistance using computers in class.
The Excel Tech programme is but a part of a technological revolution
where keyboards and digital displays have become as common as the chalk-
board used to be. In English classes, laptops are used to transform the
traditional book report into a computer presentation complete with clip art,
animation and video. Students have been challenged to use their ‘higher
level learning skills’ to organise their thoughts into bullet points, choose
appropriate elements and produce a coherent presentation.
Southern Middle School is one of the first schools in the United States to
teach remote sensing – the use of technology to and from a distant location.
Science students record weather data from a buoy in the Gulf of Mexico,
passing it on to regional scientists via the net. Aerial pictures of the school can
be taken from a kite with a digital camera. This was designed and built by stu-
dents with help from NASA with whom they can talk directly via a web link
in their ‘distance learning lab’. The lab also allows the school’s teachers to
instruct students statewide, via links with Mississippi State University.
Many students are now assuming the role of teachers through an inter-
generational community service programme. When senior citizens and
nursing home residents were provided with laptops, it was Southern Middle
94 Digital divide
School students who taught them how to set up e-mail accounts and use the
Internet. Some students have even been hired part-time by local computer
companies hungry for technologically literate workers. To quote the princi-
pal: ‘Our instruction is still traditional instruction. We are still teaching
those core objectives, we’re just doing a better job of it. I think they are
more prepared for the workplace.’
Inequalities
Richard L. Venezky (2000), in an article entitled ‘The digital divide within
formal education: causes and consequences’ details three causes for inequal-
ities which may contribute to the digital divide.
The missing link

Students with specific disabilities and those in remote rural or inner-city
areas often have limited access to the Internet. For example about 38 per
cent of the total United States population use the Internet as opposed to
10 per cent who are disabled. While computer-based devices exist to
assist those with motor and communicative disabilities, these devices are
often very expensive and require special software. They tend to be avail-
able in schools serving affluent populations rather than those in
impoverished areas. To the advantaged the Internet offers relief from
social isolation (through e-mail, chat rooms, etc.); access to libraries and
other learning resources; online instruction; and net-based tutors and
mentors. The impoverished, however, tend not to enjoy this freedom of
access.
Another group of students affected by the missing link are those in rural
areas who lack satellite and microwave connections to access the Internet.
Small high schools in remote locations may lack the enrolment to generate
the number and variety of teachers to offer such options as foreign lan-
guages, career education and technical subjects. Distance learning
technology offers web-based virtual courses providing the opportunity for
student collaboration, a wealth of instructional resources and even remote
manipulation of laboratory instruments.
A third group affected by the missing link are from impoverished neigh-
bourhoods serving immigrants and underprivileged minorities. In a 1999
study by the United States Department of Education, it was determined that
52 per cent of teachers in low-poverty schools (those where fewer than 11
per cent of students received subsidised lunches) regularly used computers
and the Internet to create instructional materials. This was compared to
high-poverty schools (71 per cent subsidised lunches) where only 32 per
cent of teachers made use of computer technology. These differences are
attributed to less access to technical equipment and support, training in the
use of ICT and a school culture related to ICT.
Digital divide 95
It should be noted, however, that in most countries the disparities of access
within schools is nothing compared to that experienced between homes and
communities. The trend in industrialised countries is to supply more ICT to
the classroom. In affluent areas, computers and Internet connections are most
often available outside school to support homework, while in poorer areas
the community and home support systems are seldom available. To overcome
this gap, it has been proposed in the United Kingdom by the Ministers of E-
Commerce and Technology that Internet connections be provided in schools,
churches and pubs located in poor urban areas. Likewise, in the United States,
1,000 community technology centres have been proposed by the federal gov-
ernment to serve low-income urban and rural neighbourhoods. The object is
to allow lower-income families access to the same computing resources to be
found in more affluent homes and communities.
The wasteland
In 2000 a report by a Commission established by the American Association
of University Women found that girls do not fear the use of computers but
feel alienated from the computer culture. While women make up more than
50 per cent of the United States college enrolment, they receive only 9 per
cent of engineering-related bachelor degrees and less than 28 per cent of
computer science bachelor degrees. Among information technology profes-
sionals, women make up about 20 per cent of the total.
The Commission found that girls perceive programming classes as
‘tedious and dull, and computer games boring, redundant and violent, and
computer career options uninspiring’. To remedy this situation, the
Commission recommended a number of changes for schools and communi-
ties, including changing the image of computing so women will not view it as
solitary and anti-social; redesigning software to appeal to a wider range of
people than the ‘computer nerd’ stereotype; preparing ‘tech-savvy’ teachers
to portray computers as productive tools more effectively, and encouraging
girls to explore their technological imaginations.
The majority of students who pursue computer science programmes at
university level tend to be advanced in mathematics. Again, the potential of
such talent to be fostered in high-poverty areas, particularly among African
Americans and Hispanics, is not nearly as high as from affluent areas. If this
problem is not addressed, changes to hardware and software will have little
impact.
The foreign language

The encouragement of more effective use of ICT, however, involves more than
just wiring schools and community organisations to the Internet. For many,
computers and the Internet represent a foreign language which they do not
speak or understand. Many students lack an understanding of how the
96 Digital divide
Internet can be used to enhance learning and gain experience in information-
handling and effective independent learning. They require a range of skills,
including self-monitoring and time management, before the use of computers
and the Internet becomes meaningful.
The Internet requires an active, autonomous relationship to the technol-
ogy. Stored information is available, but to use the medium effectively
active search, communication and information-management skills are
required. Those students who possess these skills as part of their ‘learning
style’ usually do better as independent learners. The ideal instructional mix
for elementary and secondary schooling varies according to age and matu-
rity. It involves a combination of direct instruction, guided and independent
practice, group interaction, and individual reflection, search and creation.
Teachers who already teach this way can easily incorporate ICT into their
teaching. Those who do not must acquire new teaching styles, as well as
essential technology skills.
Some students, however, have low literacy and limited language skills,
particularly in impoverished areas. The Internet – and the World Wide Web
(www) – tends to use language and technical diagrams which are at or above
high school reading level. Students who enter secondary school reading far
below their grade level are at a real disadvantage in attempting to use the
content to be found on the www. The low-literacy group may also suffer
from problems in listening comprehension due to a limited vocabulary.
Immigrants and migrants, similarly, may not have a facility in the predom-
inant language of their new country. While translation services may be a
possible remedy, there is a need for an expansion of second-language instruc-
tion, particularly English, so that students can make effective use of the www.
Closing the digital divide, for those affected by the foreign-language prob-
lem, requires the development of ICT skills through the school, the home
and the student’s capacity for self-learning. School ICT use can be improved
through national policies which promote the acquisition of more hardware,
software and networking capabilities. But, aside from equipment and tech-
nological support, the training of teachers and school leaders remains a
priority. Teacher training projects for ICT skills can be found in a number of
countries including the United Kingdom and the Netherlands. The Mexican
government has proposed the use of ICT to promote school reform through
increased participation of teachers in planning course-ware development and
instructional support. The U.K. project uses laptops and subsidised Internet
service as an incentive for teachers to receive ICT training.
Policies to improve home computing for school-age students (and their
parents) can be found in several successful projects. For example, the Buddy
project in the United States supplies equipment, training and support ser-
vices for parents of school-age children. But disparities still exist in many
countries where high-speed Internet lines are installed in wealthy neigh-
bourhoods while low-income areas are left with inferior communication
equipment.
Digital divide 97
Policies encouraging the student capacity for self-learning are also essential.
Computing remains largely a solitary activity, which requires problem-solving
skills just to keep up with the current state of technologies such as system
crashes, incompatible file formats and inaccurate or vague instruction manu-
als. Differences in self-study ability have been found to be major contributors
to performance gaps when computer-assisted instruction is used for mathe-
matics. Students who can monitor their own learning know when to seek help
to understand a concept or communicate their learning needs. They tend to
learn more from a self-paced system than those who lack these abilities.
Venezky (2000) summarises the challenge of the digital divide:
The digital divide in formal schooling is not simply an equipment dif-

ferential that can be overcome with further selective investments in
hardware, software, and networking. Instead it derives from both
within school and within home – differences that extend to learning
standards as well as support. Student self-learning ability, and in partic-
ular, student ability for independent learning, is an additional factor.
National policies that attempt to close the digital divide for schooling
must attend to all of these contributing factors to be successful.
Reflections
But how does the use of ICT impact on the management of schools? It cer-
tainly has been a significant line item in school budgets across the countries
participating in the OECD (2001c) study. Where government policies may
reduce spending to meet neo-conservative agendas, budget allocations for
computer equipment, software and training may be subtracted from funds
available for teachers, management and consultative personnel, support
staff and learning materials. In business terms, what is the cost benefit
analysis of ICT?
There is no doubt that information and communications technology has
become an essential component of our lifestyle. Computer- and Internet-
related skills have also become a necessity in preparing students to compete
in the job market. Should ICT be seen as the focal point of the classroom, or
just another teaching aid in support of the learning process? What about the
concerns for social isolation, cultural differences and socio-economic
inequalities which contribute to the digital divide?
In a study of ICT usage undertaken in 2002 by the British Department of
Education, 840 primary schools, 790 secondary and 360 special schools
were surveyed. In primary schools, average spending on ICT rose by half in
the space of one year from £10,300 to £15,400 while secondary spending
rose from £60,300 to £76,900.
As compared to a similar survey in 2001, there was a dramatic change in
the use of ICT in the curriculum. Primary schools saw its use in English fall
98 Digital divide
from 89 per cent in 2001 to 65 per cent in 2002. In mathematics it fell from
74 per cent to 48 per cent, while science declined from 50 per cent to 26 per
cent and history from 46 per cent to 9 per cent.
In secondary schools, mathematics was down from 60 per cent to 21 per
cent and science from 67 per cent to 29 per cent. Even design and technol-
ogy fell from 81 per cent to 56 per cent. These dramatic changes could not
be attributed to teacher training in ICT as 93 per cent of primary teachers
and 75 per cent of secondary teachers had been trained.
Nor could the use of ICT be seen to be raising standards, in spite of the
increased spending. Another study undertaken by Becta, the government’s
computer agency, found no consistent relationship, from 1999 to 2002,
between the average amount of ICT use in any subject and its apparent
effectiveness in raising standards. The report said that the proportion of
lessons involving ICT was generally low. Pupils were using computers at
home as much as at school (BBC News 2002i).
Another study looked at 200 Israeli schools, 122 of which were teaching
on some of the 35,000 educational computers acquired in the mid-1990s
using state lottery funds. Test results were compared in mathematics and
language between schools with computers and those using conventional
teaching methods. The computer students showed no discernible improve-
ment or an actual decline in achievement. In mathematics, the computer
students’ test scores were 10 to 15 per cent lower. The study’s co-author,
Victor Lavy of Hebrew University of Jerusalem, observed:
One logical conclusion of our study is that computers are hurting the
learning process. You have to look at the possibility that computers,
which are very expensive to buy and maintain, are crowding out other,
potentially more helpful programmes. In fact, the average U.S.
$120,000 spent per school for computers would pay four teachers’
salaries in Israel.
(Hall 2002)
There is no doubt that computer literacy is becoming a necessity to prepare

students for employment. It is also true that manufacturers of computer
hardware and software target schools as a major market source, as well as
an entrée to influence future buying habits among students. The struggle for
the school manager, faced with budget cutbacks to suit political agendas, is
to be able to make choices which really benefit children and the local com-
munity, as opposed to questionable manipulations from an industrial/
political élite.
12 Learning to manage knowledge
School systems are facing two challenges in the twenty-first century. First,
as society evolves from an industrial to a post-industrial information-driven
economy, schools have been expected to become learning societies. Second,
as ‘houses of knowledge’, schools face competition from other knowledge
sources such as information and communications technology (ICT) and the
entertainment sectors. What is to be the new role of schools and school
leaders in this knowledge-based economy?
If schools are not to be marginalised, they must continually improve to
find their role in this new learning society. Education has not traditionally
been viewed in scientific terms where research, technical and organisational
advances are continuing to transform sectors such as medicine and manu-
facturing. Schooling has been more like an ‘art form’ where a systematic
scientific base of knowledge is not always relevant.
What new roles must schools and their professional personnel assume in
preparing students for life and work in a knowledge economy? The OECD
(2000a) believes future job creation will be more knowledge intensive, accel-
erating the demand for highly skilled, well-educated workers. The knowledge
economy emphasises lifelong learning from early childhood to adult educa-
tion. The concept of lifelong learning incorporates several factors:
● People learn in a variety of settings – leisure, work, home – not just for-
mal educational institutions. This requires a new approach to the
definition of education, and to the way in which we take personal con-
trol of learning and shape it to fit our own personal needs.
●
We must learn how to learn and develop the skills and competencies to
do so. This becomes an essential outcome for learning organisations,
especially schools. Future employees need to develop the capacity to
learn independently and continuously so as to make a positive contri-
bution to their working environment. These skills cannot be taught,
however, in a traditional didactic fashion. They need to be ‘modelled’
through a radically new version of apprenticeship, which is based, not
on skills from the past, but on highly transferable skills such as learning
how to learn and the art and craft of networking.
● Patterns of employment are continually changing. In the age of short-
term contracts and contracting out, people must change jobs more
frequently. Ongoing training and upgrading is required as the ‘shelf life’
of skills gets shorter and shorter. New sources of readily accessible ‘just-
in-time’ education and training are required, which may change the role
and function of traditional formal educational institutions known as
schools, colleges and universities.
● More comprehensive systems of career education are needed to ensure
students receive the counselling and guidance necessary for the transi-
tion between school and employment. This is a priority to meet the
demands that knowledge economies will place on them.
● ‘Knowledge mediators’ including information and communications
technology are needed as supplementary services to formal education.
For example, information and communications technology can assist
students with their homework assignments or even serve as a primary
learning source for those involved in home schooling. In many situa-
tions students may be more technologically advanced than their
teachers. New multimedia and software developments have enormous
potential to extend learning opportunities.
● These new developments will result in the expansion of ICT-related
educational services with the private sector both complementing and
competing with public sector provisions. This is particularly true in
higher education where ICT partnerships and digital broadcasting are
encouraging the growth of distance learning to serve underdeveloped
countries in Asia, Latin America and the Middle East.
● Post-secondary institutions faced with budgetary reductions and
restraint are being encouraged to be less dependent on government
funding. As a result, tuition costs have soared in many countries, mak-
ing higher education less available to low-income students. The demand
for high-quality yet inexpensive education is bound to have a profound
impact on university education, including teacher training, in the com-
ing years.
● As the partnership between post-secondary institutions and business
and industry becomes more important, choices have to be made as to
where to place priorities, e.g. undergraduate versus postgraduate; voca-
tional versus liberal arts; traditional disciplines versus multidisciplinary
studies; research versus teaching; and international versus regional
credibility.
● As the boundaries between formal and informal education blur, so do
those between vocational preparation and leisure activities or between
the school, the home and the workplace in finding a focus for lifelong
learning. Schools may evolve into multipurpose, all-ages neighbour-
hood learning centres with easier access and longer operating hours. In
addition, households integrated into knowledge-based learning net-
works may be the educational delivery system of the future.
Learning to manage knowledge 101
● While schools may continue to concentrate on the basic skills of literacy
and numeracy, they are also now expected to engage in moral and citi-
zenship education to prepare students for the duties, rights and
responsibilities of adult life to ensure social order and social cohesion.
● Individuals and institutions in the knowledge economy also must learn
to differentiate between knowledge which should be forgotten and that
which needs to be remembered and stored
(OECD 2000a)
Schooling for tomorrow

Schools, teachers and management personnel are being pressured by some
parents, politicians and employers concerning the level of student achieve-
ment and how educational institutions can guarantee that achievement.
These critics call for higher productivity by ‘working smarter’. They call for
the reconceptualising, restructuring and reculturing of the nature of educa-
tional institutions to improve knowledge creation and application.
In 2000, the Centre for Educational Research and Innovation (CERI) at
the OECD studied the nature of learning and school in a knowledge econ-
omy. Their report (OECD 2000a) raised five questions concerning the role
of educational institutions in the twenty-first century:
● What knowledge (and innovation) is likely to be needed and by whom

in education systems of the future?
● What are the best ways of i) producing, ii) mediating/disseminating and
iii) applying such knowledge?
● What action needs to be taken to increase the education systems’ capac-
ity for the successful production, mediation and application of
knowledge, and what infrastructure might be needed to support and
sustain this capacity?
● How can this be done to ensure that education systems are efficient and
effective and meet the new goals and functions that are likely to be set
for them?
● In particular, how might all these developments influence and support
‘schooling for tomorrow’?
Knowledge management refers to ‘the production, mediation and use of

knowledge’. In organisations such as commercial companies, hospitals and
schools, knowledge management involves the management of intellectual
capital which, like physical or financial capital, must be managed if the
organisation is to be successful.
CERI has developed seven themes to relate school management to
knowledge management.
Developing a commitment
Schools are entrusted with the task of transmitting and cultivating knowl-
edge, skill and understanding to students. But the creation and management
of pedagogical knowledge among professional staff, to improve teaching
and learning, is often neglected. In addition, many teachers and administra-
tors are reluctant to look to business and industry (e.g. engineering) for
sources of professional development.
Traditionally, teachers tend to work in very individualised settings – one
teacher with a group of students in a classroom. Professional knowledge is
acquired by trial and error on the job on a personal basis which is more
tacit than explicit. Teachers seldom share their knowledge collectively;
rather they preserve it as part of their own ‘personal art and craft’.
One method of counteracting this trend has been self-evaluation (as
described in Chapter 7). The school conducts an audit of selected areas such
as curriculum, programme and resources. A similar audit of the profes-
sional knowledge of the staff might be undertaken to begin a process of
knowledge management. Teachers would explore and map what they and
their colleagues collectively know about teaching and learning. In the same
way, they identify what they do not know and need to know. Business and
industry have considerable experience in conducting such audits and the
mapping and creation of repositories for the outcomes.
By sharing this methodology and experience from the commercial sector,
schools should be able to investigate their own collective knowledge, as well
as knowledge gaps which need to be addressed. To quote CERI (OEDC
2000a): ‘An audit of knowledge might, as in industry, be an incentive to
manage it more effectively and to create knowledge to meet the challenges
of schooling for tomorrow.’
Expanding the role of practitioners

Teachers, while producing knowledge, must often function in the role of
problem solvers. Both medical doctors and engineers learn through trial and
error, particularly if they do not seem to be getting results through conven-
tional means such as ‘book knowledge’. Both rely upon first-hand
experience, particularly in assessing and managing work that cannot be
done routinely. Among engineers, research and development (R&D)
requires a lot of trying, testing and revising before a successful result is
achieved.
In the same respect, teachers are artisans who work primarily alone, with a
variety of diverse materials, in a personally designed workspace. Over time,
they develop a repertoire of teaching skills and learning strategies. Their diag-
nostic abilities and assessment techniques allow them to assemble and use the
appropriate tools to meet student needs. This repertoire is usually developed
through trial and error based on success or failure in classroom practice as they
become more experienced. When things do not go well they are prone to
experimentation and ‘tinkering’ to solve the problem. Because students have
different abilities and styles of learning, teachers must tinker to find the right
approach to meet an individual need. Tinkering is, in fact, an important means
of learning to solve problems and create knowledge among all professionals. It
is a source of knowledge creation because, when something does not work in
practice, tinkering is a kind of experiment to discover what does work.
When knowledge is new, learning takes place as it is transferred from an
abstract idea into something one can use in practice or modified to fit local
circumstances. Implementing this new knowledge represents a form of R&D.
Next, the new knowledge, which is often explicit, must be integrated
with pre-existing tacit knowledge. Tinkering allows the new knowledge to
move from just something told about, read about, or observed, to become
accepted as a tacit element.
Tinkering has been found to be best done with another person or group,
so as to share ideas, support one another and combine creative applications.
But teachers traditionally work alone, particularly new teachers who lack
self-confidence. Group tinkering represents a way in which teachers can
explore their professional learning through trial and error without the
stigma of failure or incompetence. Education professionals may benefit
from the experience of knowledge-intensive companies where learning
through failure is part of a culture of success.
Another challenge for teachers in a knowledge economy is to prepare
their students to be lifelong learners. The role of the teacher has tradition-
ally been ‘the sage on the stage’ with expertise in a subject area and the
skill to teach it. Today’s teachers are increasingly expected to assume the
role of ‘the guide on the side’ in helping students to learn how to learn.
CERI (OECD 2000a) defines the elements of lifelong learning to be as
follows:
● being motivated to learn throughout life;

● being skilled at identifying one’s own learning needs or knowing how to
get help with this task;
● being able to identify the kind of education and training to meet those
needs and how it is to be accessed;
●
being able to acquire a range of meta-cognitive skills – thinking about
one’s own thinking, learning how to be flexible with learning styles and
strategies;
● being able to learn independently and in a range of contexts (work,
leisure, home) other than formal educational organisations;
● learning how to access information and knowledge from the new world
of the information and communication technologies.
To achieve these outcomes would seem to require a major transformation of

pedagogical practice. No longer is the teacher-directed dependency model
relevant to the preparation of lifelong learners. Learning how to learn
requires a new facilitating role for teachers as mentors to encourage and
enable students to identify their own learning needs, identify and access
resources to address those needs and to develop the self-confidence and self-
esteem to find success as an independent learner. It remains to be seen how
many current teachers see themselves as independent lifelong learners – role
models for their students to emulate.
Establishing and using networks

‘Schooling for tomorrow’ requires a transition on the part of teachers from
working and learning alone to being part of a co-production of knowledge
with professional colleagues. This transition from solitary work, where
knowledge production belongs to others, to interactive models represents a
challenge to bring teachers together to share their creative output.
Traditional teacher education and training courses are too slow, costly and
inefficient to meet this objective. Computer networking has been a well-
established means for academic study in the industrial sector. If teachers
could become a networked profession, it could become an important means
of managing knowledge capital to improve the effectiveness of schooling.
Among teachers, however, networking tends to be underdeveloped.
Many schools are already networked organisations in that internal net-
works often exist among staff, as well as network connections with outside
individuals and organisations. Teachers, however, tend to view schools as a
workplace rather than part of an interactive network. Therefore teachers need
to become more aware of their internal and external networks, recognise the
importance of strengthening these networks, and deploy such networks in the
interest of professional knowledge creation, dissemination and use.
Any audit of a school’s professional knowledge should include an
appraisal of its internal and external networks to see how they are currently
used and the potential for extending their use for further advantage. The
extension of networking beyond a single school may be an important step in
knowledge management. This has certainly been the case among knowledge-
intensive biotechnology companies who create network alliances among
themselves and with universities.
Many teachers already use networking to share information and experi-
ences on an informal personal basis. The transfer of practical knowledge
among professionals should mean more than simply telling or providing
information. The sharing of information about practice represents just
acquired information, not personal knowledge. Transfer occurs when the
knowledge of the first teacher becomes information for the second teacher
who then works on the information until it develops meaning and purpose.
This is integrated into pre-existing knowledge and then applied in action.
Transfer is the conversion of information about another person’s practice
into one’s personal know-how.
Simple dissemination of information is ineffective because it does not
provide the support which the receiver of the information needs to con-
vert it into personal knowledge which can be actively applied. When a
teacher ‘tinkers’ with new knowledge, it represents the conversion of
abstract information into applicable know-how which is the essence of
transfer. Professional development days, usually involving staff activities
in the school or elsewhere, could be used for network visits to other
schools and teachers to share information, tinker and transfer new profes-
sional knowledge.
To disseminate information from one person to another is ‘knowledge
transfer’. If the knowledge is transferred from one place (classroom or
school) to another it represents ‘knowledge transposition’. Disseminating
knowledge from one school to another involves both transfer and transpo-
sition. But there may be differences in the type of school, grade level,
student background, teacher value system, etc. It is difficult for teachers in
different schools to find opportunities to tinker together.
There are significant differences between primary and secondary schools
when it comes to transfer and transposition. Primary teachers are mainly
subject generalists with a common curriculum to teach children of about the
same age. Transfer of knowledge and knowledge base integration is much
more difficult with secondary teachers who are usually subject specialists
with different knowledge bases and professional language. Transposition
among some subject teachers in different schools may be easier than transfer
between teachers of different subjects in the same school.
Principals of primary schools, like other primary teachers, share the same
professional knowledge and experience. Secondary principals, by contrast,
may have a background in just one of the subjects taught in the school.
They are essentially managers rather than practising teachers. Persuading
teachers of different subjects to participate in creative tinkering remains a
challenge for secondary principals.
Use of information and communications technology (ICT)

Most schools are either linked or have the potential to be linked through
ICT. They can take part in professional knowledge-creation activities, as
well as its application and dissemination. But it is difficult to establish net-
works among schools because teachers tend to be fully occupied with their
classroom teaching duties. Professional development days are needed, with
the absence of students, so teachers have time for networking among col-
leagues and other schools.
As schools become linked through ICT networks, there is potential for
inter-school and inter-teacher networks in a variety of forms including
good practice databases, virtual teachers’ centres and forums for discus-
sion and debate. Private industry has seen an upsurge of such activity
since the 1960s with a rapid interchange of information, data, drawings,
advice and specifications between geographically dispersed sites. Such
networking has resulted in innovations in design, customisation and flex-
ibility with a permanent shift in industrial structure and behaviour.
Schools and teachers are gradually catching up with the new technolo-
gies providing the potential for institutions and personnel to be profoundly
changed. But the simple sharing of explicit knowledge such as ideas, experi-
ences, designs and documents is not enough. People really need to meet
personally or electronically to tinker in order to achieve knowledge transfer.
School principals need to support and encourage the creation of internal
and external networks among staff. Teachers need time to collaborate and
tinker for knowledge creation, transfer and application. It is common for
teachers, especially at the secondary level, to be allowed some time for
preparation, marking or professional development (although this time allo-
cation tends to be under attack due to cutbacks, budgetary restraint and
political agendas). It is important that ‘prep time’ should not be formalised
by introducing top-down mediators, managers or structured professional
development courses. Teachers need freedom to manage their own profes-
sional time to facilitate the tinkering required for knowledge creation.
Experience in the industrial sector strongly supports the direct involvement
of individual specialists in knowledge creation.
New roles for researchers and practitioners

The increased demand for higher education in many countries has tended to
reduce the funding available for research and development (R&D). This has
been particularly true in the field of education. For example, advances in
the study of cognitive science, evolutionary psychology and neuroscience
certainly have potential application to teaching methodologies, schools and
students. However, to expect any immediate ‘breakthroughs’ in pedagogical
theory and practice seems over-optimistic.
Schools and teachers are traditionally resistant to change. Are media-
tors and brokers the answer to bringing innovation to the classroom? It
seems new knowledge gained from outside R&D must be gradually intro-
duced to modify existing professional knowledge and teaching
technologies. To this end, there is a need to understand better how inno-
vations and new professional knowledge can best be applied to
knowledge creation in the education sector.
In the commercial sector, close relationships between researchers and
users have always been of utmost importance. Stanford University in
California saw the value in encouraging their graduates to start their own
entrepreneurial ventures in the electronics field when they established the
Stanford Industrial Park in 1951. Two of those graduates, Hewlett and
Packard, went on to found the Hewlett-Packard electronics empire in the
Park. It also became the focus for technology transfer from university
research labs to other business start-ups, which eventually became known
as the Silicon Valley. Income that the University derived from the Park
was used to recruit and retain star faculty, which moved Stanford to the
front ranks of academic excellence.
Such examples of industry/university partnerships, however, have not led
to a widespread restructuring of educational R&D to bring researchers and
teachers into closer association. Researchers, in general, have not moved
into schools to work alongside teachers as R&D partners. But there is a
potential for the improvement of formal education systems if university-
based educational researchers become more active in schools. CERI in its
report Knowledge Management in the Learning Society (OECD 2000a)
advocates the following:
● Training and supporting practising teachers in research skills, including

knowledge validation, to enable them to carry out more school-based
research for knowledge creation.
● Interpreting their partnership with teachers less often as occasions for
transmitting academic or research knowledge to them and more often
as opportunities to contribute to the integration and combination of
different kinds of knowledge as an important ingredient of teacher-led
knowledge creation.
● Co-ordinating dispersed, school-based R&D programmes, from small-
scale, preliminary knowledge creation in a consortium of two or three
schools to large-scale, multisite experiments, in order to create bodies
of cumulative knowledge about effective pedagogic practices.
● Helping to disseminate the outcomes through networks of schools and
teachers.
● Making the study of the creation, dissemination and validation of
knowledge in education a focus of university-led research.
Research, however, should not be limited to traditional school-based learn-

ing. There is a need to study and integrate into the repository of knowledge
different forms of learning outside the formal academic settings of schools
and universities. Adults involved in lifelong learning will encounter a vari-
ety of different modes, including part-time study; distance education;
non-formal learning; and prior learning assessment and recognition.
Knowledge management must also include integrated work and learning
which demands cross-disciplinary and cross-institutional collaborations
among educational researchers. This represents a blurring between formal
academic education and informal on-the-job training. There is much to be
learned from these new R&D partnerships.
New forms of professional development

Apprenticeship has been a common preparation mode for many professions
(e.g. medicine and engineering), but not always among teachers.
Apprenticeship, which has long been the preferred method of preparation
for the skilled trades, has some important advantages, such as socialising
the novice into the practice of collective learning by doing. This represents
one of the cornerstones of knowledge creation of practitioners, as well as
continuing professional development through on-the-job learning.
Teacher training institutions have tended to be segregated settings (class-
rooms) where formal, explicit, and codified knowledge is acquired. Formal
programmes of work (the curriculum) are taught by pedagogical experts
who may also be trained and qualified teachers. Apprenticeship learning
takes a quite different approach.
Apprenticeship, or situated learning, involves participation in a group
who already have competence and are willing to share their knowledge and
experience with the learner. These ‘masters’ are fully endorsed members of a
‘community of practice’. The new trainee wishes to acquire the knowledge
and experience of the masters, who allow the trainee to participate in their
learning community. Participation begins peripherally until the trainee gains
the work experience and demonstrates the requisite skills and knowledge to
be accepted as a full member of the community. This happens gradually
through supervised observation and practice. They move from the margins
to the centre with learning fused to work and the acquisition of knowledge
and skill resulting in a change of identity.
In many countries, teacher trainees tend to be institutionalised under the
guidance and direction of university-based teacher trainers, who may often
be educational researchers as well. Their relationship to the novice teacher
is not that of the master to the apprentice. The trainer belongs to a different
community of practice than that of the master teacher. Fortunately, the
trend in several countries is now to place trainees for longer periods of time
under the supervision of practising master teachers within their own com-
munity of practice. There is also a trend to locate more research in schools
to strengthen the role of the practising teacher as master in a teacher
apprenticeship programme.
Another approach to the professional development of qualified teachers
is to link it to school development. The importance of this approach is that
teacher learning is linked to the aims and objectives of their school; the
focus is on improving the quality of teaching to improve students’ learning
and achievement, and collaboration and peer support among the teaching
body is encouraged. CERI (OECD 2000a) believes a school-based strategy
for professional development should include:
● An experimental focus on the concrete tasks of teaching, grounded in

and derived from teachers’ work with students.
● An emphasis on inquiry, reflection and experimentation, and collective
problem solving.
● Attention to relevant research and the evidence base for teachers’
practices.
● Collaboration among the teachers, with a focus on teachers’ communi-
ties of practice rather than individual teachers.
School principals would see this as an innovative way to manage knowledge

capital by linking school-based research and development. New approaches
in this regard can be found in work experience for teachers in private com-
panies in Japan; problem-based learning for teachers in Sweden; and
teacher networks in the United States.
Integrating social capital

Social capital has two aspects. Structurally it refers to the networks which
exist between persons or organisations. Culturally, it can refer to norms of
reciprocity, mutual obligation and trust between people or groups. The two
aspects are often combined where social capital describes the amount of
mutual aid, civic engagement or participation in voluntary associations,
which exist in a community. The structural and social aspects of social cap-
ital involve social connections and networks associated with trust
relationships. Trust encourages co-operation, which builds social connec-
tions. Knowledge capital requires the sharing and exchange to be found in
social capital. Social capital is essential within and between organisations to
encourage the process of knowledge creation or knowledge transfer by peo-
ple and organisations in networks. In the commercial sector high levels of
social capital are associated with high levels of performance and innova-
tion.
But schools in many countries find themselves in a stressful environment
where continuing critical political demands for reform and restructuring
have eroded social capital and actually discouraged educational innovation.
As trust in social organisations (such as schools) declines, society has more
difficulty coping with the technological and cultural changes inherent in the
information age.
New economically productive and socially fulfilling relationships
between work, family and community are required to cope with these
changes. Schools should be seen as generators of social capital. In fact,
social capital along with cultural capital contributes to educational achieve-
ment, particularly among disadvantaged students. This can occur through
the teaching of citizenship; participation in extra-curricular school activi-
ties; student council membership; and community service learning.
Teachers who display a high level of social capital become role models
and mentors for their students. They project to their students the values of
tolerance, reciprocity, trust and networking. The degree to which schools
can demonstrate these values depends upon partnerships with parents,
employers and other citizens of the community. A strong relationship
between education and social capital represents the essence of lifelong
learning.
Reflections
To support the proliferation of knowledge management in education
requires a support structure at the national, regional and local levels.
Without such a support structure, schools, colleges and universities cannot
truly become learning organisations. Leadership is required to begin to
change the traditional culture of schools.
At the national level, ICT networks need to be established to link educa-
tional organisations and their partners. Principals, school managers and
senior administrators require training in the implementation of knowledge
management within their organisations. More resources should be made
available to support knowledge management. Powers and responsibilities
for the support of knowledge management need to be delegated. Finally,
forums should be convened to explore strategies and guidance for educa-
tional R&D.
At the regional and local levels, facilitators and co-ordinators are
required to develop and maintain local networks. Professional development
of educational personnel needs to be co-ordinated with mechanisms for
R&D in knowledge management. New partnerships need to be forged
between schools, universities and employers to share experience skills, as
well as local forums for debate and exchange. Finally, best practice in
knowledge management among educational organisations needs to be iden-
tified and disseminated.
The role of the school principal is vital in ‘bridging the gap’ by facilitat-
ing personal links within networks of innovative schools. But they need
support from local and national governments in their efforts to encourage
networks which promote knowledge transfer and innovation. University-
based research may also be an important means of support in mapping
patterns of linkage between schools, resulting in better knowledge manage-
ment. To quote CERI:
Governments, both national and regional, will, in forging educational

policies that are influenced by trends and developments in knowledge-
intensive industries and professions, need to take account of the
relationship between different forms of capital – human capital, knowl-
edge capital and social capital – since it is from their interactions that
the highest social and educational leverage can perhaps be obtained.
(OECD 2000a)
13 Tracking innovation
The OECD study (OECD 2001c) surveyed nine countries concerning inno-
vations in their school management practice. In every instance they were
looking at the effectiveness of these innovations and their transferability to
other countries. The following is a summary and critique of best practices in
the participating nations.
Flanders
A highlight of the Flemish experience has been their self-evaluation policy.
This policy incorporated evaluation, responsibility, continuing training and
increased school autonomy. The objective was to improve the quality and
the attractiveness of the schools. But rather than a bottom-up approach the
government chose to introduce industrial quality concepts from the top-
down. Unfortunately, teachers were not familiar with the language of the
corporate sector. This impacted on the rate of transfer. The goals of private
enterprise are different to those of public education.
In terms of increasing school autonomy, success was seen to be depen-
dent on school leadership. The most effective schools were seen to be
managed by charismatic leaders. But the range of responsibilities for
school heads continues to increase, including a variety of tasks for which
they are not prepared. This leaves the managers often standing alone
between the expectations of external policy makers and their own school
community.
There were three problems encountered in the Flemish context:
●
Recruiting good leaders – the teaching profession is not attracting qual-
ity candidates, especially future principals whose salaries are not much
different from that of a teacher. Principals must shoulder additional
workload and responsibilities without an improvement in working con-
ditions and other forms of support.
● Professional development – pre-service and in-service training tends to
be focused on management of people and relationships within the
school environment. There is a need to evaluate the effectiveness of the
training and extend the opportunity to all school managers. Private
school networks tend to guard their autonomy and not to make profes-
sional training compulsory when employing school managers.
● Sense of isolation – many principals express the need for more group
work in the school and the opportunity to network with their peers.
While participatory leadership seems an ideal, some teachers are uncom-

fortable with a responsive, interactive atmosphere and seek more structure
and discipline. Staff members at Bree Middle school identified the following
characteristics of a school leader within a participatory culture:
● Be a convincing missionary of the school mission.

● Have a strong belief in the promotion of each participant and a strong
commitment to realise the most optimal conditions for all.
● Have strong organisational qualities to make a learning organisation
possible.
● Recognise that team members have specific tasks and responsibilities.
● Attend courses and participate in debates about innovations in education.
● Take into consideration the recommendations of the review of the policy
plan.
● Be a dynamic, enthusiastic, flexible coach, proficient in social and com-
munication skills.
Changing a school into a ‘learning organisation’ means a major shift in atti-

tudes among staff and a transformation of the school’s culture. Leadership
is very important in facilitating this transformation. The role of principal as
‘change agent’, therefore, requires a totally new set of human relation skills
rather than those traditionally available in the training of school managers.
However, it may be that some parents, particularly from immigrant fami-
lies, are more concerned about structure and success in examinations than
the school as a learning organisation.
The fact that most schools in Flanders are private and subsidised makes
for a multiplicity of structures and decision making. The government has
introduced decentralisation to encourage innovation. While many principals
seek the freedom to innovate, there is a sense that the government does not
appreciate how really difficult it is to be a school leader in a post-industrial
society (OECD 2001c).
Greece
Schools in Greece have suffered from weaknesses in school buildings and
equipment. They have begun to address this concern through the
Reorganisation of School Premises Project. Student classrooms have been
converted to subject specialist classrooms at the lower secondary level. The
government maintains that this has led to improved teacher and student
Tracking innovation 113
morale; more effective delivery of the national curriculum; security of teach-
ing equipment; and greater parental involvement in schools. It should be
noted, however, that schools must volunteer for these projects through their
principals and associated stakeholders. Only a limited number of such pro-
jects have been established.
The other area of innovation is the Self-Evaluation Project where pilot
schools have been supported by the government to try out new ideas. Due
to Greece’s aversion to external inspection, the pilot schools develop and
implement the self-evaluation strategies, including the evaluation of senior
staff and individual teachers.
Both the Reorganisation and Self-Evaluation Projects are co-ordinated
by the Pedagogical Institute, a governmental curriculum development
organisation. It is unclear how the results of the projects will be evaluated
and disseminated throughout the country.
Greece has been redefining the role of the school principal to focus on
decentralisation, deregulation, democratisation and modernisation. The
government has also encouraged the schools to be innovative, participate in
decision making and accept new responsibilities. Principals are expected to
shift from a systems maintenance role to a managerial systems improvement
role. Innovation is seen as being dependent on the ability of principals to
pursue a common goal in organisational improvement. The need for pre-
service and in-service training of principals to achieve this goal seems of
critical importance (OECD 2001c).
Hungary
The priority of the Hungarian government has been to promote decentrali-
sation while involving more private sector trainers in the innovation
process. Emphasis has been placed on developing and implementing new
curriculum and programme, quality improvement and training for teachers
and principals. At the same time that decentralisation has been encouraged
as a policy objective, the government has introduced a new curriculum
framework. While all schools were given the responsibility of developing
their own curriculum and programme, only some were able to do so.
Quality improvement was piloted in about one tenth of the country, and the
challenge for the government is to spread the innovation nationally.
But the economic recession and the costs of modernisation have limited
educational spending and affected the rate of innovation. Small schools in
poor areas have less income, so the government has introduced special
grants if smaller villages agree to work together. However, conflicts between
local and central political interests still tend to impede progress. Private sec-
tor training courses are offered but they have to involve all players, not only
those who are the most motivated and enterprising.
Hungary encourages private free-market involvement in the training
process but some service providers seem to have better connections to be
awarded contracts. There is a concern that large international training com-
panies will attempt to control the market. The large number of providers
competing for contracts can also be a source of confusion for schools and
teachers.
But introducing industrial concepts and experts from industry to the field
of education raises a number of problems between the two worlds. They
represent different cultures and use different terminology. There tends to be
a huge difference in income between teachers, who are poorly paid, and
outside consultants. Hungary represents a good place to study the dangers
and benefits of linking education and the market place.
Principals find themselves under great pressure with an ever-increasing
set of responsibilities. They must attempt to satisfy the government’s quest
for innovation while fulfilling the needs of students, parents and other local
stakeholders. This may often lead to conflicting demands. They must
develop and implement their own curriculum and programme instead of
simply following the dictates of a centralised, bureaucratic system.
Despite the introduction of innovative privatised training programmes,
principals still require more to be done to improve their pre-service and in-
service opportunities. The government is trying to transform a traditional,
conservative, centralised school system into a modern competitive, market-
driven, decentralised educational service. But to what extent can quality
issues be addressed when teachers are so poorly paid and principals must be
managers in such a stressful environment (OECD 2001c)?
Japan
School community relationships have been highlighted in Japan embracing
both curricular and extra-curricular activities, community development,
school improvement and public relations. A strong set of bottom-up initia-
tives were introduced in Kawasaki City with input from area residents.
School advisers were introduced to bring another community perspective to
school management. While these innovations are relatively recent, they do
represent formal links between schools and their communities.
Parental choice represents another innovation on a smaller scale. As
enrolment continues to fall, competition for students becomes increasingly
important. Principals will need to market their schools as being unique and
successful to ensure their long-term viability.
Traditional top-down hierarchical public management is slowly begin-
ning to change as decentralisation policies gain strength. Local and
prefectural education boards have hastened this process, but it is still diffi-
cult for bottom-up initiatives to take root and be accepted within the school
and community.
Education boards currently assume most of the managerial responsibili-
ties concerning human resources, staffing, and financial affairs, including
school budgets, which primarily consist of staff salaries. Flexibility for
individual school management comes through subsidies provided by the
education boards (e.g. newly appointed school advisers).
Student behaviour remains a concern at the local school level, as well as
increasing parental expectations for student achievement. Principals are
now responsible for curriculum improvement, staff development and
improving school/community relations. Their role has changed from ‘sensi-
tive mentor and careful administrator to the efficient manager and human
developer’ (OECD 2001c).
While principals are aware of their need for professional development
policies in such areas as staff evaluation, curriculum development and
community relations, it is not mandatory that school managers receive
pre-service or in-service training in these areas. They must fulfil local
expectations, as well as externally defined administrative and legal
requirements.
Public schooling has not escaped the government’s reform agenda of
decentralisation and deregulation. But decentralisation is supposed to mean
the transfer of resources and decision making to prefectures, municipalities
and schools. The financial resources have yet to be transferred. School
board members and school advisers continue to be nominated by the cen-
tral government, not elected. It remains to be seen how traditional
top-down management practice in Japan will be reconciled with the need
for twenty-first century innovation (OECD 2001c).
Mexico
The Mexican federal government (with its 31 states) faces a monumental
task in its efforts to transform school management at the pre-school, pri-
mary and lower secondary levels of compulsory basic education. This
represents more than 200,000 schools with 1.5 million teachers serving 28
million students. The rate of poverty stands at 42 per cent of the population
(or 40 million persons), especially among indigenous peoples and migrant
workers. Only 50 per cent of Mexican students continue beyond a grade 9
level.
One reform thrust of the federal government has been the 1995–2000
Educational Development Programme, which included the following inno-
vations:
●
increased spending to improve school buildings;
● purchase of new furniture, equipment and learning materials;
● an increase in teachers’ salaries;
● curriculum reform and the publishing and distribution of new texts and
workbooks for primary schools;
● improvement in school libraries at the basic education level;
● special teaching and learning materials for indigenous and migrant chil-
dren, including a computer tracking system, to improve their education.
The School Management in Elementary Education Project has focused
on the needs of teachers to be self-evaluators in their own learning environ-
ments. This requires a redefinition of the role of the principal from
administrative gatekeeper to transformational leader. They are required to
empower teachers to assess learning needs, plan and implement school pro-
jects and evaluate the results on an ongoing basis.
Parents have been acknowledged as valued participants in the learning
process. The self-evaluation design involving professional development and
action research began with 200 schools in five states and has now been
extended to 2,000 schools in 20 states. Top-down resources have been used
to encourage bottom-up renewal.
The Pilot Project for a Relevant Education was implemented at the upper
secondary level involving governments, employers and universities. Ten
schools have initiated a new diversified curriculum, teaching methods, pro-
fessional development, and liaison with employers seeking skilled workers.
Classroom and library facilities were improved, and computers and technical
equipment installed, the better to prepare students for higher education and
future employment. The objective of that project was to transform a tradi-
tional academic upper secondary system into one which attracts and retains
students while preparing them for the challenges of a new technological age.
A basic education school management project in the state of Nuevo León
has endeavoured to transform the role of the area supervisor from purely
administrative functions to that of a facilitator and monitor of educational
improvement at the local level. Professional working groups were established
to redefine the supervisor’s job description. Modern pedagogical and evalua-
tive skills were acquired, engendering a new sense of self-esteem and
professionalism among the area supervisors. Success with the pilot project has
meant a totally new leadership role for area supervisors in the state.
Mexican innovations have stressed intervention at the grass roots bottom-
up level rather than a series of top-down directives, rewards and sanctions.
The use of the carrot, not the stick, seems to be working to improve Mexico’s
vast, complex, impoverished system of education.
Netherlands
Parents and other interest groups in the Netherlands have the constitutional
right to establish ‘schools of choice’. They have demonstrated that local
stakeholders not only have the ability to create schools responsive to their
needs but can manage them effectively. The central government financially
supports these schools provided they meet national standards. This experi-
ence has important implications for experiments in school management in
other countries (e.g. charter schools in the United States and grant-main-
tained in the United Kingdom).
The Dutch government and some governing boards have maintained a
definite commitment to the concept of the ‘community school’ (open
school or broad school). These schools make extensive use of community-
based resources to improve services and opportunities for learning.
Partnerships are forged with social welfare, health, immigrant support,
and law enforcement services. Cultural resources (e.g. museums, galleries,
theatres, etc.) are used to enrich the learning environment. Another area
of school/community development has been industry education partner-
ships where employers may donate equipment and participate in
school-to-work transition programmes. Parental involvement is also
important in community schools with parents participating as classroom
volunteers, serving on school governing boards and acting as fundraisers
for the school.
While teacher-directed education is still the norm in Dutch schools, a
new emphasis on active, independent learning is beginning to grow. Study
centres have been introduced at the upper secondary level where students
are encouraged to undertake independent study projects after the basic edu-
cation curriculum has been completed.
At the primary level, Made Primary School has demonstrated a ‘learning
through experience approach’. The introduction of personal learning con-
tracts, and co-operative problem solving in small groups, has laid the
framework for a more inclusionary, holistic approach to education. The
principal, as transformational leader, has been the key element in creating
this climate of innovation.
There is also a strong commitment to the implementation of information
and communications technology (ICT) in Dutch schools. ICT is seen as an
essential skill for competition in the job market, and for participation in
society as a whole. On average there is one computer for every 16 students
in the nation’s schools, but school managers face the following challenges in
the integration of ICT into the curriculum:
● the availability of appropriate software;

● the ongoing upgrading of hardware;
● professional development for teachers in ICT use;
● ongoing financial support from central authorities to meet the above
challenges.
Central authorities in the Netherlands support a variety of in-service train-

ing programmes for school leaders, particularly at the primary level. A
series of part-time courses is offered with the government picking up tuition
and replacement costs. The objective of the two-year programmes has been
to see the school manager as an integral leader, both in classroom and
administrative practice, in the following ways:
● Strategic leader (school and environment).

● Human resources manager (transformational).
● Quality performer (financial, academic achievement).
● Reflective practitioner (creative problem solving to promote good
practice).
The primary delivery mode has been through group learning where a cohort
from different areas meets together to discuss problems, reflect on solutions
and support each other. Content includes self-directed learning; co-operative
learning; transformational leadership, etc. During the second year they
reflect on Senge’s Five Disciplines (challenging, inspiring, enabling, model-
ling, encouraging) and the school leader as coach.
The education system in the Netherlands has a unique loose/tight
approach to accountability. While autonomy is stressed in local school gov-
ernance, the central authorities impose uniform curriculum standards and
an inspectoral system of school assessment. Principals are expected to be
accountable to both central authorities and local governing boards for stu-
dent achievement and school operation. The result is a complex and
sometimes turbulent environment (OECD 2001c).
Sweden
Sweden has not embraced one single-management structure but rather several
styles of leadership. In some schools the head no longer manages individual
teachers but facilitates teams of teachers who may simply reinforce existing
practice rather than introduce changes in the way students learn. The school
leader must challenge the teams to find new ways to solve pedagogical problems.
At the same time students may take more responsibility for their own
learning if they gain the skills and the environment to enhance that learning.
While learning can be individualised, it is felt to be important to look at the
whole student rather than just individual subjects. The whole interest of the
student must be taken into account – interpersonal relations with family,
friends, the environment and societal institutions. Every teacher should be
seen as a leader of learning experience.
The adoption of decentralisation in Sweden has produced a conflict
between administration and the economy on one hand, and the leadership
of teaching and learning on the other. To be accountable in a decentralised
system there is need for clear lines of responsibility – planning, implementa-
tion, follow-up and evaluation. But there are still tensions which exist
between central control and decentralised views on how evaluation should
be conducted. School leaders need to be able to resolve these tensions while
solving pedagogical problems within their own schools.
But the nature of pedagogical leadership has changed, just as methods of
teaching have changed. Teachers no longer simply interpret the world for
their students. They now are organisers of work processes, which enable
students themselves to understand the world around them. Teachers
become more thought-challengers and knowledge-challengers and less
thought-prescribers and knowledge-prescribers. While teachers may learn
the language of change quickly, it does not necessarily mean that they will
behave in a different way. It is the role of the school leaders to facilitate the
adoption of new goals and finding ways to achieve these goals.
The need for training in school management is accepted at both the
national and municipal levels. Leaders in charge of schools, however, may
not have experienced any in-service training for many years. There now is
the view in Sweden that management training should not be reserved for a
select group of school heads but should be an activity for all members of the
school staff, both in-service and pre-service. If teachers are to lead students
to manage their own studies, they also have to be part of a team and under-
stand the management of their own school. Democracy is ingrained in the
Swedish psyche and it is necessary that teachers have a clear understanding
of the day-to-day operations of their school.
Three other impacts of decentralisation have been noted. A dismantling
of the national system has meant that the energies of parents tend to be con-
centrated at the local level with less representation in policy discussions at
the national level. In the upper secondary area parents have no representa-
tion at the national level. Although primary and secondary parent-majority
boards can be established, it seldom happens. Under the Education Act of
1985, all children and young people are supposed to have access to equal
educational opportunities. But since 1991 inequalities have arisen. The
challenge for school leaders in a decentralised system is to promote equality
of opportunity.
Decentralisation may give greater freedom to municipalities, schools,
teachers and students to work out their own pedagogical problems within
the framework of national goals. But politicians, local school directors,
superintendents and school leaders must have the courage and foresight to
use these opportunities wisely (OECD 2001c).
United Kingdom
The major changes in school management structures and processes in
England and Wales began with the Education Reform Act of 1988. Four of
its provisions called for a national curriculum, the operation of school bud-
gets, competition between schools and the privatisation of services
traditionally supplied by local education authorities (LEAs).
The national curriculum covered years 1 to 11 of compulsory schooling.
This provided a standard educational experience for all, whereas before the
curriculum had varied between schools. A series of standardised national
academic achievement tests was introduced at the ages of 7, 11 and 14.
The 1988 Act also changed the procedures for funding schools. School
budgets had previously been set by the LEAs, which also controlled staffing
levels. The Act delegated budgets to schools, related to numbers and ages of
students. Control of the budget was delegated to school governors but the
influence of principals over decisions increased. Schools were free to hire
their own staff and the appointment of head teachers became the responsi-
bility of local governors. While LEAs continued to offer services such as
supply teachers, advice and in-service training, schools had the option of
purchasing services elsewhere. Schools also had the option of spending the
money on other things with different providers.
In the new financial arrangements, many schools sought to increase rev-
enue. As students generated funds, schools began to compete with
neighbouring schools for students. Successful schools, according to test
results, could market themselves to fill excess capacity. Less successful
schools, with lower test scores and serving a more challenging student
enrolment, suffered a decline in enrolment and related financial support.
Successful schools could apply for grant-maintained (GM) status
whereby they opted out of LEA control altogether. Funds would flow
directly from a government agency, including funding previously allo-
cated to the LEA. GM schools became more attractive and attracted
advantaged students. Less successful schools, unable to compete with GM
schools, were left with a smaller enrolment serving a disproportionate
share of educational problems and behavioural needs. As a result, schools
viewed each other as competitors in the market place, not education service
collaborators.
With the displacement of LEA services, schools were able to source alter-
native suppliers from the private sector for such contracts as school meals,
staff development, training, consultative and replacement services.
Other impacts on school management have been the introduction of
school performance tables, comparing results that children achieve in
the tests for 11-year-olds and public exams at the 16- and 18-year-old
levels. These performance tables are fully distributed within the school’s
community, to local parents and the media. However, a number of fac-
tors impact on the results including ability of students entering school;
socio-economic status; and education level of parents. But league tables
only publish raw materials. Some schools in disadvantaged areas may
actually be improving while those in advantaged areas may just be
marking time.
Another government policy has been the introduction of a national sys-
tem of school inspection carried out by the Office for Standards in
Education (OFSTED). Every school must be inspected by an OFSTED team
within a four-year cycle. It involves a review of the quality of teaching and
learning according to the national curriculum and management arrange-
ments. The OFSTED inspectoral team, many of whom are non-educators,
also collect evidence from parents and students to include in their formal
report which is published and distributed.
The OFSTED inspectoral procedure has caused concern to schools as
issues previously regarded as ‘professional’ and ‘confidential’ are now
placed under public scrutiny. There is also concern over the privatisation of
the OFSTED inspectoral process. Despite these concerns, the Conservative
and subsequent Labour governments have continued to promote the exter-
nal inspections as a ‘significant measure for school improvement’.
The Labour Government has also introduced a ‘performance management’
scheme for teachers and school managers. By reaching a performance thresh-
old teachers can win new levels of remuneration. Objectives for performance
are agreed to by school managers and progress is regularly reviewed.
Governing bodies are responsible for a review of heads and deputy heads
with the assistance of a trained external adviser.
In 1997 the Labour White Paper Excellence in Schools (OECD 2001c)
introduced target setting. Attainment goals are set for students at different
stages of their schooling. Governing bodies must set performance targets for
student achievement during one academic year. Target setting is seen as a
means to ensure that development plans related to improvements in school
performance are achieved.
Another area of innovation has been the ‘Beacon schools’ – those identi-
fied by OFSTED inspectors as among the best performing schools in the
country. The Department of Education and Employment began providing
extra funding to the first 75 schools in 1998. They were particular schools
which could serve as ‘Beacons’ of exemplary practice for other schools in
the nation. By 2000 there were 550 such schools, with plans to have 1,000
by 2002.
Beacon schools tend to emphasise self-evaluation – identifying weak-
nesses as well as strengths and then resolving them. They provide a
collaborative culture with teachers working in partnership with colleagues
inside and outside the school to share practices and experience.
An independent evaluation of the first 75 Beacon schools found the fol-
lowing:
● Beacon schools can be a lever for change, acting as a catalyst for debate,
and challenging other schools to review their own practices.
● They have demonstrated a felt need to learn from each other.
● They reinforce the value of collaboration and partnership between
schools.
● They demonstrate the potential for school improvement through pro-
fessional development.
British schools operate within a tight top-down structure as spelled out in

the School Standards and Framework Act of 1998. This encompasses target
setting, performance management, publication of performance tables, and
the OFSTED inspection system. The principal’s role is defined through this
framework and the administration and implementation of the national cur-
riculum. Little time is left for developing and managing a curriculum within
a school.
United States
The fact that the United States has a federal system, with 50 different state
jurisdictions divided into thousands of local school districts, makes the
choice of innovations particularly daunting. Relative success has been found
in both top-down reform and bottom-up renewal policies and programmes.
Many school districts are decentralised with principals assuming significant
discretionary powers in site-based management decisions (e.g. budget, per-
sonnel, curricular, etc.).
In general the situation in the United States is as follows:
● Everyone seems committed to improving the quality of education in the

nation’s schools.
● Every state has some system of standardised testing or assessment by
which to identify and compare academic outcomes.
● Most states and school districts recognise the importance of parental
and community partnerships in improving schools.
● Most states utilise federal educational policies and incentive funding to
promote school improvement in impoverished areas (e.g. Compre-
hensive School Reform Demonstration).
● The majority of states have approved a legal framework for the estab-
lishment of charter schools.
● Many school districts have adopted site-based management policies.
● Most school districts have teacher- and principal-appraisal procedures
in place.
● All states require pre-service training for school administrators, while
some school districts also provide in-service training for administrative
personnel.
● Many school districts are having difficulty recruiting competent, quali-
fied teachers and administrators.
● A future direction is for teacher unions to work with school district
management to promote school improvement (e.g. Teacher Union
Reform Network – TURN).
● School districts are making increasing use of alternate sources of support
(e.g. business and industry, foundations, federal programmes, etc.).
● Many school districts subscribe to the concept of ‘community schools’
as part of their school reform/renewal plan.
● Most states and school districts are reviewing and revising curricular
content to reflect new economic and employment realities.
Some would say the United States must adopt a corporate-business-like

model to redesign, restructure, and reform schools, based on rigid instru-
ments of assessment to coerce new, more rigorous, academic standards.
Others would say ‘communities of learning’ must be created at the local
level which: involve all stakeholders; are committed to excellence; and are
self-renewing. All agree that literacy, numeracy and co-operative problem
solving are among a universal set of essential skills. United States policy
makers seem to be seeking the best of both the top-down and bottom-up
approaches (OECD 2001c).
Reflections
In reflecting on the innovation in school management identified in the nine
countries participating in the OECD study, the following comments come
to mind:
● School management has become a hot political issue in most countries.

Neo-conservative reform policies have produced top-down structures
and constraints on public spending at the same time as we experience a
technological revolution.
● School managers are faced with an increasingly complex and demand-
ing working environment. At the same time many countries face a
shortage of school managers and inspirational leaders to fill current
and future vacancies.
● Professional development and management training at both the pre-
service and in-service levels are essential in such areas as human
resource and financial management, labour relations, and transforma-
tional leadership.
● There is a sense of excitement that change is possible, but it requires a
change in the culture of schooling from an industrial, structured,
approach to a post-industrial learning society. This is likely to be a slow
process.
● Successful schools have a clear vision of their mandate and a sense of
commitment by all stakeholders whose roles are clearly defined (e.g.
students, teachers, support staff, parents, employers, community ser-
vice agencies, etc.).
● School leaders, as change agents, must motivate their learning commu-
nities to do more than ‘talk the talk’. They must also ‘walk the talk’ in
search of achievement, responsibility and self-fulfilment.
●
The school leader should be an effective manager of communications
who encourages the effective use of technology to enhance the learning
process.
●
Wherever possible, a research component should be added to innova-
tive projects to ensure that a formal evaluation will be available to
inform policy decisions.
● Leaders who form management teams tend to have a more pervasive
influence than those who rely on their own personal efforts.
● A school-based community development process mobilises resources,
improves management, and builds a sense of shared ownership and
problem solving, gaining confidence to undertake future innovations.
● Innovations should not be dependent on the single charismatic leader to
sustain change within schools. Learning organisations must develop
broad leadership bases if their innovations are to endure. ‘The ultimate
test of any transformation is its durability beyond its original instigator’.
(OECD 2001c)
14 Management for a learning society
At a 1998 conference on Institutional Management in Higher Education

convened by OECD/CERI, John Bryne of the Kellogg Commission had the
following observation:
Today, the knowledge level of our citizens is higher than ever and is ris-
ing. Lifelong learning is a reality for many citizens, and as a result,
society itself is assuming many of the characteristics of a learning organ-
isation. ‘Learning societies’ are beginning to develop. A learning society
is one in which lifelong learning of individuals is a reality and society
itself has developed organised ways of raising its collective educational
level, of gaining new knowledge, and of applying that new knowledge
for the benefit of all. Society itself becomes a learning entity, which con-
tinually develops its ability to create new tools for collective
improvement. In a learning society, the techniques for the intellectual
development of workers at all levels developed by organisations for their
own advantage are, at the same time, beneficial to the larger community.
(Bryne 1998)
Dee W. Hock, founder and CEO Emeritus of VISA U.S.A. and VISA
International, begins an article, ‘The chaordic organisation: out of control
and into order’, with this observation:
It is almost impossible these days to read a business article or partici-

pate in a seminar without stumbling over such popularities as ‘learning
organisations’, ‘empowerment’ or ‘re-engineering’. It is equally com-
mon to encounter in the scientific community the study of complex
adaptive systems commonly referred to as ‘complexity’. I find it cum-
bersome to either think or write about fundamental principles
underlying both physical systems and human institutions in terms
unique to either business or science. So after grubbing in various lexi-
cons for a suitable word to describe the kind of organisation discussed
here, it seemed simpler to construct one. Since the knowledge pursued
is believed by scientists to lie on the knife’s edge between chaos and
order, the first syllable of each was borrowed and Cha-ord emerged. By
Cha-ord, I mean a self-organising, adaptive, non-linear, complex sys-
tem, whether physical, biological or social, the behavior of which
exhibits the characteristics of both order and chaos or, loosely trans-
lated to business terminology, co-operation and competition.
(Hock 1995a)
Hock, considered to be the father of the credit card system, poses an inter-
esting dichotomy between two ages. The industrial age of controlled
structure and order and the new economic-information age which often
defies any sense of order, logic or organisational form. It is in this environ-
ment that our school leaders find themselves in the twenty-first century.
Actually they must live in three worlds – the past, the present and the
future – and be somewhat marginal to all of them. Hock describes the late
1960s when VISA was born. He speaks of the dilemma of ‘expert managers’
living on the cusp of two different ages. On the one hand, the experts were
trained to deal in the creation and control of constants, uniformity and effi-
ciency, but their need now became the understanding and co-ordination of
variability, complexity and effectiveness. These were attitudes and skills for
which they had never been prepared.
Hock, in a speech at Governors State University, provided a vivid insight
into the future of learning (not just schooling) in the new millennium:
Learners have the choice of all-inclusive, site-specific schooling, or con-

struction of a unique education by combining courses, educators,
classes and self-instruction delivered either electronically or personally,
at home, at computerised centres, or at traditional site-specific schools,
or any combination of the three. Some learning is interactive and some
highly instructional. Learning services are purchased by each individ-
ual, or through purchasing groups formed in voluntary concert with
others. Prices generally move freely by supply and demand, although
they can be set by public policy where essential.
(Hock 1995b)
Is this the teacher-directed classroom in the hierarchically administered

school experienced in most of the twentieth century? The need for school
managerial transformation has never been more apparent.
E. Verbiest, in a 1996 article in Meso, the Journal for Educational
Management, recognises the social, economic, political and technological
trends which are shaping public education throughout the western world:
● a strong but limited role for the government, especially as regards edu-
cational objectives and frameworks of accountability;
● a stronger emphasis on a system of education meeting the demands of a
nation in the context of a global economy;
Management for a learning society 127
● greater autonomy for schools within the constraints of centrally formu-
lated parameters;
● the use of new information technology in education;
● greater emphasis on more independent learning, problem solving, cre-
ativity, permanent education;
● a greater role for parents as well as for the (local) community.
(Verbiest 1996)
Leadership styles
The concept of the ‘powerful principal’ has long been synonymous with
school success and educational improvement. In 1989, an OECD report on
‘Schools and Quality’ found in reviewing a number of studies that the ‘qual-
ity of leadership of the principal’ played an active role in school
improvement initiatives. But this can work both ways. John Goodlad stated
that ‘the role of the principal was strategic, as much impeding, as facilitating
change’. Michael Fullan in his review of American and Canadian research
also concluded ‘that the positive or negative role of the principal has a criti-
cal influence on teachers’ receptiveness to new ideas’ (OECD 1989a).
What do we mean then by a powerful principal? What is the role of the
modern principal to be? In the 1989 report, U.K. head teachers were recog-
nised as: playing a key role in developing curriculum; devising assessment
policies; managing the teaching staff and their in-service needs; fostering
good relationships with surrounding communities; and giving the individ-
ual school its particular ‘ethos’.
In the United States, principals were expected to play a key role in foster-
ing school and community support for programme reform and curriculum
renewal, while often delegating to their assistants day-to-day administrative
and disciplinary duties. In some European and other countries, with a tradi-
tion of strong central control, the school leader was expected to promote
teaching and school-based appraisal procedures.
Three traditional models exist for school leadership:
● a pyramidal hierarchy characterised by structured top-down authori-
tarian control;
●
collegial leadership where the designated leader may delegate or share
some administrative duties and decision making with teachers;
●
representative leadership where staff may elect a ‘first among equals’
from their group to serve for a fixed term.
(OECD 1989a)
However, the increasing impact of the educational reform movements, par-

ticularly in the United States and the United Kingdom, tends to reinforce a
control orientation for school managers fostered by standardisation and
accountability measures (e.g. teacher evaluation, curriculum and teaching
methods). Principals are seen as: administrators; technicians; implementers
of programmes and policies; and enforcers of rules, regulations, mandates
and procedures, as defined by external agents.
This role might be contrasted with the post-industrial information-age
concept of the principal as developer of the ‘learning organisation’. To
quote Peter Senge: ‘Learning organisations continually expand their capac-
ity to create results they truly desire, where new and expansive patterns of
thinking are nurtured, where collective aspiration is set free and where peo-
ple are continually learning how to learn together’ (Senge 1990).
The school is seen as a ‘community of learners’ where all participants –
principals, teachers, parents and students – engage in learning and teaching
(Barth 1990). Unfortunately, with the stressful environment which charac-
terises many of today’s reform-driven schools, there may be relatively little
time (or energy) to create such a learning organisation.
The Netherlands demontrates a comprehensive appreciation of leader-
ship styles more congruent to today’s complex educational milieu:
● Instructional leader – serves as a role model, co-ordinating the educa-

tional programme, encouraging professional development, monitoring
pupil and academic performance and maintaining an orderly and
peaceful learning environment.
● Transformational leader – promotes school improvement and renewal
through professional co-operation, professional development and effec-
tive problem solving.
● Integrative leader – combines a personnel-educational and financial-
management vision, which encompasses the school’s mission of
continuous improvement.
● Co-operative leadership – leadership is shared by professional staff who
are qualified to assume managerial responsibilities (such as instruction,
teacher co-operation, vision development, facilities management, profes-
sional development, encouragement and recognition, standardisation of
procedures and monitoring of change) as a shared responsibility of the
whole school.
(OECD 2001c)
After eight years of research on Chicago school reform, Sebring and Bryk
described key elements of principal leadership in productive elementary
schools as follows:
● Inclusive, facilitative orientation – principals can articulate a ‘vision in

outline’ for their schools and invite teachers and parents to further elab-
orate and shape this vision.
● Institutional focus on student learning – they set high standards for
teaching, understand how children learn and encourage teachers to
take risks and try new methods.
● Efficient management – they ‘get things done’: texts are available when
classes start; academic and social support for students is available;
classroom disruptions are minimised.
● Combining pressure and support – while pressing to adopt a new
approach they also make time for teachers to learn new content and
strategies, to receive coaching and obtain necessary materials.
(Sebring and Bryk 2000)
Another United States study among elementary principals in a north-eastern

state found that ‘social influence’ (trustworthiness, attractiveness and expert-
ness) and ‘teacher empowerment’ (decision making, professional
development, status, autonomy, impact and self-efficacy) were important
attributes of principals involved in a shared-governance school-improvement
model. It found that principals who want to promote teacher empowerment
have to consider the social attractiveness between leaders and followers.
Based on these findings, principals might communicate genuine concern and
empathy for the welfare of their faculty, as well as support for teachers’ work
(Rinehart et al. 1998).
A study of primary heads in a depressed area of Wales explored the real-
time issues arising from a change of their role and a better understanding of
their real-world preoccupations. Of particular interest was the dispropor-
tionate amount of time spent in a counselling role with parents discussing
parenting and personal problems and in some instances setting up social
and life skill classes for parents. The heads perceived themselves as a source
of help and stability, even though they had no formal training as social
workers or family counsellors (Jones 1999).
Another study in the United Kingdom sought to explore the nature of
collegial leadership among head teachers and middle managers (department
heads) in secondary schools, during an era of site-based management and
decentralised decision making. It sought to discover whether the delegation
of whole school decision making ‘reaches to, involves and empowers middle
managers’. The study also looked for evidence of alternative models of
management for decision making. They found that there has been an open
or tacit acceptance of collegial styles of management. But United Kingdom
reform in preparatory training for aspiring head teachers introduced in
1997 has largely been framed in terms of school hierarchy (head teacher as
corporate manager). Teachers’ willingness to share in decision making is
influenced primarily by their principals. They appear more willing to par-
ticipate if their principals are more open, collaborative, facilitative and
supportive. They are less willing to participate if their principals are closed,
exclusionary and controlling. Instead of the school managers’ time and
energy being spent on control, it can be better spent facilitating teachers’
knowledge, talent and expertise (Brown et al. 1999).
Training for school managers
The in-service and pre-service training of school leaders was of primary
importance to the nine nations which were the focus of the OECD study. In
analysing their experience at least three factors should be considered:
1 Content – what are we training leaders to do? Are they to implement an

industrial, quality control, scientific management, top-down managerial
model? Are they to be deregulated, site-based managers within parameters
set by a central authority? Are they to be collegial managers who share
decision making with teachers, parents, students and other citizens of
the community? Or are they to be members of a co-operative leadership
team, which shares duties, responsibilities and visioning as part of a
collective management strategy?
2 Style – is the training to be a traditional university or institute-based
‘lectures by experts’ model? Will it be a school-based apprenticeship/
mentoring method, which encourages teamwork and personal fulfil-
ment? Will it be offered as an interactive distance learning option via
the Internet or video conferencing? Will the focus be on the ‘learning
community’ rather than ‘tips for survival in the trenches’?
3 Focus – is it to be a pre-service programme for aspiring leaders or in-
service for current school managers (or both)? Will other players in a
shared-governance model participate in the process (e.g. teachers, par-
ents, students, other citizens, etc.)? If an in-service programme, is it part
of an ongoing process of professional renewal? When will the training
be offered and who will pay for it?
In the Netherlands, Fontys University for Professional Education (through

its Centre for School Management) has joined with the Catholic Training
Institute to offer 20 programmes throughout Holland for practising princi-
pals and vice principals. This part-time residential course (over two years)
focuses on ‘school manager as integral leader’ in the areas of: strategic
leader; human resources manager; quality performer; and reflective practi-
tioner. The delivery method is ‘inter-vision’, where a cohort of participants
from different regions work co-operatively to solve problems, support each
other, and gain an insight into ‘good practice’ in school management.
The Netherlands School for Educational Management (NSO – a co-
operative venture among the University of Amsterdam, Free University of
Amsterdam, Catholic University of Nijmegen, University of Utrecht and
State University of Leiden) has developed a management programme for
secondary school leaders. It is a part-time, two-year course for applicants
who aspire to leadership roles at the secondary school level (as well as fur-
ther education or community colleges). Applicants must have teaching
experience in primary, special or secondary education to be eligible. The
format includes seminars, training sessions, consultations and practical
projects. Participants are expected to utilise knowledge, skills and attitudes
gained to enlarge and improve their problem-solving performance in the
workplace.
The curriculum covers the following competencies:
● Pedagogical and educational – improving practice in school manage-
ment; guidance; change and innovation; effectiveness and quality care;
curriculum planning and organisation.
● Control – creative handling of financial, legal and jurisdictional issues
including business economics, budget and financial planning, person-
nel, buildings, government and labour relations and information
management systems.
● Executive and leadership – including decision-making and change
processes; leadership, communications, negotiating, conflict and stress
management skills.
● Organisation – involves policy development, internal and external rela-
tions, market and public relations, programming, self-evaluation, and
quality control.
● Guidance – includes human resources management, staff relations,
supervisory skills and socio-psychological processes.
(NSO)
In 1997, the United Kingdom’s Teacher Training Agency (TTA) introduced

the National Professional Qualification for Headship (NPQH) which pro-
vides (over one to three years) professional training for those seeking
appointment as a head teacher. For the first time, nationally agreed stan-
dards have been set for school leaders which eventually will become
mandatory. The NPQH is an acknowledgement that planned, consistent
and coherent professional development is required for head teachers.
As of 1998, there were 11 assessment centres and 11 training and develop-
ment centres in England and Wales providing NPQH training. The role of the
assessment centre is: to select candidates from non-local education authority-
maintained schools and those not employed in schools; needs assessment for
all candidates; the assessment of any national standard not assessed through
training (experiential profile); and final assessment for all candidates.
The training development centres are responsible for the compulsory
‘strategic leadership and accountability’ module and the three optional
(depending upon individual assessment) modules in:
● teaching and learning;

● leading and managing staff;
● efficient and effective deployment of staff and resources.
The needs assessment process takes one and a half days, including: a candi-
date’s self-evaluation; a psychometric test; a presentation; an observed
group discussion; and a personal interview. The candidate then draws up an
action plan for the training and development phase.
After successfully completing the needs assessment phase, candidates
undertake training and development according to their individual action
plans. Using a range of assessment techniques, including a portfolio demon-
strating their direct involvement in school improvement, candidates are
assessed against the national standards. Final assessment involves the candi-
dates taking a rigid battery of exercises focusing on ‘the core purpose of
headship to provide professional leadership for a school which secures its
success and improvement, ensuring high-quality education for all its pupils
and improved standards of achievement’ (TTA 1997).
In 1993 the Vlerick School of Management at the University of Ghent,
Belgium, conceived a new in-service programme for school teams. Partici-
pation was open to all secondary schools. There were no prerequisites for
past participation in other university or governmental programmes. The
objective of the programme was ‘to stimulate creative, critical and problem-
solving thinking of school teams in their local environment and to limit
academic barriers as much as possible’. The format of the training was to be a
‘school-based management contest’ supported and financed by the Ministry
of Education (Devos et al. 1998).
The programme was designed so that the training and coaching of par-
ticipants would be school-site-based. A team of five people per school must
be directly involved in school organisation. Team members could be school
administrators, teachers, parents, members of the school board or any
other person involved in school operations. The programme focused on the
development of the personal, organisational and self-assessment skills of
the participants. The process was to be enhanced by using the learning
capacity of the school and the ability of participating teams to learn from
each other.
The idea for a contest-based programme came from business games, used
in master of business administration programmes, to combine co-operative
and competitive learning. Teams of students must perform certain tasks in
an inter-group competition. It has been found that such a simulation game
leads to significantly higher satisfaction, trust, openness and social support
among team members (Bottom and Baloff 1994).
Unlike the business games, the school management contest was not a
simulation. It was an actual school-based programme focusing on the daily
practice of school leaders in their own environment.
An interdisciplinary team from the Vlerick School of Management
designed five assignments for the first edition (pilot) project:
● dealing with complaints of parents and the local community of the

school;
● coaching first-time teachers;
● professional relations between teachers;
● the concept of school-based management;
● analysing data on enrolment, transfer and dropout rates of students.
An evaluation of the pilot project among a sample group of team members

indicated ‘great satisfaction with their experience’. The problem-based and
practice-based team approach caused a thorough analysis of the school’s
practices, regarding the different topics.
By December 1998 four editions were organised, with 174 teams from
143 different schools. As each team must have five members, more than
900 people were officially registered (Devos et al. 1998).
A survey of other countries with regard to their school leader training
provisions produced this summary:
● In Japan, the focus was on shifting the traditional role from ‘school
administrator’ to the new role of ‘school manager’. Teachers need to
pass an exam to hold a managerial position and boards of education
and teachers’ unions have mounted a variety of training programmes in
curriculum management, staff development, external relations and
financial control (OECD 2001c).
● The governing board in Antwerp, Flanders, requires candidates for the
position of principal to complete a two-year part-time special training
course. The emphasis is on human resources management and how to
implement change with a view to creating a ‘learning organisation’. The
course of study includes: conflict resolution; communication and lead-
ership styles; multiculturalism; lifelong learning; differentiation; policy
making; networking; and quality improvement. Simulation games,
videotapes, role playing and case studies are used to enhance the learn-
ing process (OECD 2001c).
● In Sweden, there is a view that management training should be an activ-
ity for all members of the school staff, as well as being part of initial
teacher training. Democracy is deeply ingrained in the Swedish psyche.
Many believe that just as teachers encourage students to manage their
own studies, they have to work as part of a team and understand how
teamwork is essential to the running and management of the school
(OECD 2001c).
●
The United States, as a federal system, has a vast array of leadership
training programmes for principals and other administrative personnel
throughout the 50 states. For the most part, these courses are offered by
university faculties of education at the graduate school level, leading to
a masters’ degree.
There is a growing tendency, however, to move the training from
the ‘halls of academe’ to deliver team-based training and support
directly on-site at the local school. In this regard, rural Wisconsin pro-
vides a joint venture between New Paradigm Partners Inc. and Good
Hope College which offers collaborative leadership development for
principals, teachers, parents, students and other citizens involved in
school improvement and community development (OECD 2001c).
The two teachers’ unions in the United States – National Education

Association (NEA) and the American Federation of Teachers (AFT) – have
both been active in promoting school reform by sharing leadership with dis-
trict and local school management. One example of labour/management
partnership has been the ‘Quality Challenge’ – an integrated approach to
school improvement by the National Education Association and the
Pinellas County Schools Quality Academy. In 1991 Pinellas County Schools
established the ‘Quality Academy’ based on the United States Department
of Commerce’s Malcolm Baldridge National Quality Award criteria to
improve classroom, school, department, and district level performance. The
‘Quality Challenge’ integrated management system has a set of core values
to guide the cultural transformation of the school, classroom or team. The
Quality Challenge assessment criteria are organised into six categories:
leadership; strategy development process; customer focus; information and
analysis; human resources development and management; and performance
results. A schematic plan is designed as a circle and represents all the cate-
gories working together to accomplish the aim of the system with
leadership moving the organisation through cycles of continual improve-
ment (NEA 1997).
Another example of new labour partnerships involving both NEA and
AFT is the Teacher Union Reform Network (TURN). TURN has stressed
strong collaborative working relationships with district and school manage-
ment. This has included performance systems to support teacher career
development, and standards to demonstrate teacher knowledge and skills.
They often partner with school authorities and community interests to sup-
port pre-service and in-service training activities.
Reflections
The concept of the learning society envisions an environment which sup-
ports and encourages lifelong learning where people of all ages share the
opportunities and access to resources required to improve their knowledge
and skills. In this regard, the school is another workplace, not unlike those
to be found in business, industry, the community service sectors, and indeed
the family itself.
The principal, therefore, has the potential to develop the school as a true
learning organisation, which encompasses the needs of all participants,
including students, teachers, support staff, parents and administrative per-
sonnel. The fact that principals are often expected to be scientific managers
within a reform structure, as opposed to facilitators within a learning
society, creates a conflict. Dee Hock characterises it as the difference
between competition and co-operation.
The top-down, all-powerful principal, driven by neo-conservative
ideals, seems out of place in the learning society. The OECD study of
school management describes several examples of in-service and pre-ser-
vice training of principals and vice principals which attempt to combine
both the reform and renewal agendas. Is it possible to do both, or are
industrial age school managers ill-equipped to be post-industrial educa-
tional leaders in a learning society? This is the challenge faced by the
principal in the twenty-first century.
15 Leaders for the twenty-first century
The late W. Edwards Deming is acknowledged as the father of the quality

movement, which influenced the Japanese economic miracle of the 1970s
and 1980s. Deming was a harsh critic of national education policies which
promote goals, tests, state and school report cards, merit pay and other
coercive means of ‘management by results’. He taught that trying to manage
public education by test scores was the equivalent of ‘driving down the road
by looking in the rear view mirror’. He recognised that management and
workers must be concerned with the system in place and the processes
affecting that system. One of his great insights into human endeavour was
to understand that true standards of performance are not set; they are cre-
ated. He showed us that extraordinary performance could be achieved
through a process of continuous improvement and a clear focus on the aim
of the system (Ramirez 1999).
As mentioned in previous chapters, school improvement has been
‘hijacked’ by the political right as a platform which has resonance with
the electorate. People are confused and frightened about the future. While
the knowledge economy and the information age have been a source of
emancipation to many, the new technology has also served further to
alienate others and increase stratification between the ‘haves’ and the
‘have-nots’. In this instance we are speaking not just of wealth but of
employability and job security. Those who ‘have’ the information age
communications, lifelong learning, problem-solving, teamwork and entre-
preneurial skills should be able to cope and even prosper in the new
economy. Those who ‘have not’ acquired this knowledge, these skills and
attitudes may be locked into an industrial age hierarchical style of
employment and are destined to be discarded. The widening gap which
exists between the ‘rich copers’ and the ‘poor discards’ is a massive socio-
economic problem of global proportions.
All school reformers agree that we need more ‘copers’ and fewer ‘dis-
cards’. The question in the latter part of the twentieth century has been:
‘How do we get there?’ The social, economic and political stability and
well-being of OECD member countries, as well as others in the developing
world, hang in the balance.
Leaders for the twenty-first century 137
We are faced with a quandary in school leadership between what John
Goodlad calls the ‘soft and tender’ versus the ‘hard and tough’. The hard
and tough neo-conservative reformers still promote Tayloresque top-
down scientific management to repair (or privatise) schools which are
broken. The soft and tender liberal renewers believe in New Age manage-
ment, which espouses teamwork and ‘affective’ leadership with flexible,
self-renewing learning organisations as envisioned by Peter Senge and
others.
Can the gulf which exists between the two ideologies ever be bridged or
are school leaders to wander in a schizophrenic wilderness? The impact of
this conflict in values and behaviour can have devastating consequences. As
previously stated, a teachers’ union in the United Kingdom is currently
embroiled in a dispute with the Chief Inspector of Schools concerning a 57-
year-old teacher who committed suicide after a visit by OFSTED inspectors.
In some school districts, especially those serving low-income, immigrant
and migrant areas, test scores have, in fact, declined under the pressures of
top-down structured reform policies.
In addition to their tradition of financial, personnel and other adminis-
trative duties, principals are now expected to be systemic change agents,
transformation experts, and mental health counsellors. Some leadership
models emphasise top-down efficiency while others focus on moral author-
ity and shared decision making. Often the role is ‘multidimensional’
without the means to integrate diverse strategies into a cohesive plan.
Reform demands the ‘powerful principal’ as an ‘heroic, take charge
leader’ who can still share powers with others. Principals often support site-
based management, in principle, but the parameters of their authority may
remain ambiguous causing frustration and stress. Concerns about safety
and security in schools and the threat of terrorism have further strength-
ened the role of the powerful principal as a custodial shepherd protecting
the flock.
In the realm of bottom-up renewal, however, principals are involved in
intentional improvement. As ‘learning leaders’ they are expected to expand
the school’s capacity for learning by creating ‘learning communities’ that
collaboratively solve problems facing the organisation.
Another leadership concern is a public perception that schools may be
losing their ‘moral authority’. Principals must demonstrate a high level of
ethical behaviour as a ‘moral voice’ for the school community and a focus
for shared values and personal motivation and fulfilment (Lashway 1999).
It is not enough for principals to ‘cope’ by simply working harder and
adding duties and responsibilities. This may leave them tired, frustrated and
cynical, ready to seize the first pre-packaged solution (or retirement pack-
age) that comes along. Management and administrative tasks, being more
immediate, tend to push leadership into the background. Schools looking to
improve should support full service leadership, not just management by
expedience.
To quote Abbott and Ryan:
Those people in positions of influence over the current systems of edu-

cation (elected officials, educational administrators and teachers’
unions) see their role as participating in the management of the current
system; they are concerned with reform, not transformation. This
means it is in their interest to defend the system from those who advo-
cate changes that would seek to disperse power to those outside the
control of the formal system. These educational gatekeepers often make
the argument that what is needed is incremental strategies of educa-
tional reform that can be easily managed and controlled. It is in their
interest to manage rather than lead for the simple fact there is less risk
and exposure to controversy by not rocking the boat. Besides, why
challenge a system that has been good to you personally? Fifteen or
more years of increasingly prescriptive legislation has turned the job of
Headship (or in the United States the job of Principal) into that of a
manager rather than a leader. Managers have rules to follow, not ques-
tions to ask.
(Abbott and Ryan 2000)
Quest for leadership

School leadership may be equated with the terms ‘leadership’ and ‘manage-
ment’ as both are combined in the role of the ‘powerful principal’. In 1989,
the OECD proposed three models for organising school leadership: the
pyramidal hierarchy; collegial leadership; and the principal elected or
appointed by the teaching staff as the first among equals. To this might be
added the autonomous or semi-autonomous site-based principal and the
principal who is an agent of the central bureaucracy implementing policies
dictated from above (district/region/state or national levels).
In many countries the trend is for the principal to function in an
increasingly participative and collaborative environment. But teaching
and learning may be defined differently in different cultures. For example
in Asian countries, a teacher’s knowledge and the teacher’s identity may
carry more respect than in Western societies. In some cultures parental
involvement is encouraged, while in others parents view teaching and
learning as exclusively school activities and parental involvement as inter-
ference. Similarly, teacher-centred learning predominates with
student-centred learning frowned upon or not understood. In some
schools, the teacher is expected to be a subject specialist, while in others
he or she would be expected to teach a broad range of subjects. These are
cultural differences, which the school leader must learn to accommodate
depending upon the predominant cultural environment of a country (e.g.
Asian versus European) or the prevailing cultures (or cultures within cul-
tures) to be found among immigrant and migrant parents and their
familial values. School leaders must have a knowledge of and sensitivity
for the cross-cultural nature of the community in which they serve and
adapt their leadership style accordingly (Dimmock and Walker 1998).
Another prevailing issue in school leadership is the change in the tra-
ditional role of women as industrial age housebound mothers, able to
spend ‘quality’ time on the care, nurturing and moral education of the
children. While neo-conservative political theory stressing family values
would see mothers return to that role, it now often takes the income of
both parents to sustain the economy of the family. This requires fathers
to assume more responsibility in the parenting role (which may, or may
not, happen). The increasing proportion of single-parent families also
leaves limited time for traditional parenting. The school often becomes
the institution which society expects to subsidise the parenting role. The
principal may now be required to provide leadership in inculcating moral
values and social skills.
Site-based management and shared decision making involve the whole
community in the managerial process. In this regard, another non-traditional
role for school principals would see ‘the school as an extension of the
community it serves’. Instead of being a clinical institution sheltered
from the realities of community life, the school becomes a focus for com-
munity living and human fulfilment. This has been the ‘community
school’ model originally envisioned by John Dewey and Edward Olsen.
In this community development process, the school, as the major human
and physical resource in the neighbourhood, provides leadership by help-
ing to bring citizens together to assess local needs, mobilise resources and
improve the quality of life in the community. The principal of the commu-
nity school is an integral leader in a community development process. This
has been of particular relevance to impoverished rural and urban areas
(Shuttleworth 1993).
For example, community education in the Metropolitan Borough of
Rochdale, England, addresses the learning needs of people of all ages in a
variety of community-based settings. The focus is on the ‘whole person’,
with particular emphasis on individuals or groups who face discrimination
or who are disadvantaged in that they have not benefited from a traditional
approach to schooling.
A set of core principles for community education includes the following
beliefs:
● People should be actively involved in the management of their own

learning, making decisions not only about alternative forms and out-
comes but also about curriculum development and resource allocation.
● A community development approach to education should be fostered in
order to enable local people to develop together skills and knowledge,
as well as critical awareness about the issues which affect them, and to
empower them to improve the quality of life in their communities.
● Education should be organised in a way which recognises that learning
is a lifelong process and that people’s educational interests and needs
continue to change and develop.
● Curriculum should be rooted in the realities and resources of local com-
munity life.
● In order to make the most of educational resources within communi-
ties, systematic strategies must be developed to break down the
traditional barriers between provider agencies and to facilitate collabo-
rative initiatives
(Giles 1992)
Reflections
The role of the school administrator emerged in the twentieth century as
that of a practising teacher with added technical responsibilities. In the lat-
ter part of the century, the role became that of a full-time professional
manager of human, financial and other resources. Instructional leadership,
staff evaluation, budget management, performance assessment and commu-
nity relations were added to the job description. When the school operated
as an industrial age learning factory, duties were relatively straightforward
and systematic. Many teachers (especially males) saw a principalship as the
crowning achievement in their educational career.
The politically driven school improvement/educational reform move-
ment has added a totally new dimension to the job. Principals are expected
to be motivational leaders demanding a high standard of performance from
students and teachers. Decentralisation has often meant site-based manage-
ment and deregulated school boundaries requiring enhanced business and
marketing skills in a highly competitive struggle to recruit students on the
open market. Ensuring the safety and security of students and faculty has
gained a new sense of urgency for school managers.
The new economic age has also expected principals to be knowledge
managers able to inspire teachers and students to be self-renewing learners
in a learning organisation. Here lies the conflict. Should the principal on the
edge of a new millennium be an industrial age supervisor of quality control
standards (the powerful principal), or a multidimensional knowledge man-
ager of human and physical resources – able to share power and decision
making as a facilitating source in a learner-centred community? Can these
roles be combined? Where are we to find such leaders?
During the past decade, teachers and principals have been devalued, con-
fused and frustrated by their changing role in society. Stress levels have
risen, as self-esteem has fallen – hardly good role models for our children.
Young people may think twice before choosing a career in education.
Teachers may no longer aspire to a career path which leads to the stress and
frustration of the principal’s office. This is at a time when thousands of new
recruits are needed just to fill vacancies as baby boomers retire from the
profession. We can ill afford not to pay teachers and principals well, not to
value their contribution, not to renew our schools, and not to prepare our
young people adequately to compete in a new economic age, where
unskilled labour is expendable. Strong, inspirational, yet empathetic, school
leaders and management teams are needed to span the digital divide
between the old industrial age and the infinite flexibility of our new life-
long learner-focused society.
This does not mean that schools, teachers and principals should not be
accountable to the people they serve. What it does mean is captured in the
words of economic visionary W. Edwards Deming: ‘True standards of per-
formance are not set; they are created.’ Extraordinary performance can only
be achieved through a process of continuous improvement based on a clear
collective assessment of our learning needs, followed by an investment in
the leadership and resources to fulfil these needs for all members of the
community. To quote Andy Hargreaves: ‘In the face of the global tendencies
to force educational change through externally imposed restructuring and
reform, we should emphasise the parallel and often greater importance of
improving the internal interactions and relationships of schooling’
(Hargreaves 1997).
Schools are but one facet of an essential public service infrastructure that
has been struggling with a neo-conservative agenda which includes decen-
tralisation, taxpayer accountability, restructuring, and privatisation with
diminishing financial support. This is an organic, politicised, service deliv-
ery system, which must continually respond to diverse consumer needs. The
public service cannot pick and choose its clients or manipulate its outcomes.
It has a universal mandate to serve virtually all members of society. In a ser-
vice economy, it is the most accountable sector within the social order. If we
are to retain and improve the standards of excellence our society deserves,
we must invest in renewing the self-esteem, learning capacities, problem-
solving abilities and leadership skills of our public service professionals.
Schooling by test scores, sanctional threats, chronic criticism and employ-
ment insecurity are devaluing our human and social capital and are poor
sources of motivation for improved performance among students, teachers
and managers. Our future social and economic well-being and quality of
life are clearly at stake.
Appendix
National profiles
Belgium (Flanders)
Belgium has one of the highest population densities in Europe with ten mil-
lion people occupying just 30,000 square kilometres. From 1970 on,
Belgium has become progressively a federal state divided into three distinct
communities: the Dutch-speaking Flanders with 5.9 million inhabitants and
58 per cent of the population; the French-speaking Walloon region with 32
per cent, and a small German-speaking community. Approximately one mil-
lion immigrants, of whom about one half are of Turkish or Moroccan
descent, are also to be found in Belgium.
Flanders occupies, in many respects, a central position in Europe.
Brussels is at the same time the capital of the Flemish Community of
Belgium and of Europe. Furthermore, the Flemish Community is at the
crossroads between different European cultures and traditions and actively
participates in a number of European programmes. It has a common history
with the French-speaking part of Belgium, but a common language, and to
a large extent a common culture, with the Netherlands, with which there
are frequent exchanges of ideas and of experiences.
During the 1980s, Belgium experienced a dramatic decline in the manufac-
turing sector which was matched by a rise in service industries. Unemployment
rates in Belgium have been amongst the highest in OECD countries.
However, this is changing as unemployment figures have been substantially
declining in recent years, reaching 9 per cent in 1999. Unemployment in
Flanders, at 7.1 per cent, is below the national average and, unlike the
Walloon region, tends to be cyclical rather than structural.
Freedom of education has been included in the constitution since the
beginning of the Belgian state. This principle consists of two pillars: free
choice of school; and educational freedom, namely the right to establish
schools autonomously. However, this principle has been the cause of much
conflict and struggle. The ‘school wars’ constitute a significant part of the
cultural and political history of Belgium, both in the nineteenth century –
with major flare-ups around 1850 and 1879 – and in the twentieth century,
particularly from 1951 onwards. This century of confrontation ended with
144 Appendix
the signing of the ‘School Pact’ in the 1950s. This was an agreement
between the political parties to ensure a distributive justice between the dif-
ferent educational networks. A law of 29 May 1959, referred to as the
School Pact Law, has formed the basis for the organisation of all educa-
tional establishments, with the exception of the universities, in an
educational system organised and grant-aided by the state.
Education is a priority in Flanders and the standards of education are
above the average. According to the TIMSS international survey, the level of
achievement of Flemish students in mathematics and science is one of the
highest (OECD 1998d). Participation in pre-primary education is almost
100 per cent whilst in secondary education it is very high. Compulsory edu-
cation has been extended up to the age of 18 (OECD 2001c).
Greece
To understand recent changes in school management in Greece it is neces-
sary to consider political, economic, demographic and social changes that
have occurred since 1945. A civil war in the mid-1940s was followed by a
constitutional monarchy that lasted until 1967, when it was replaced by the
military dictatorship that ended in 1974. Since then, Greece has been a pres-
idential parliamentary republic with a written constitution. Given this
history, it is not surprising that words like ‘authority, control, inspection
and management’ need to be used cautiously in any discussion about the
governance of educational institutions.
Economically, Greece has moved rapidly from being heavily dependent
on primary resources, such as agriculture, fishing and quarrying, to a more
diverse range of employment, including tourism, commercial and manufac-
turing industries. These changes have impacted on schooling as increasing
prosperity has led to higher parental and student expectations. These have
been expressed in higher participation rates in upper secondary schools and
institutions of tertiary and higher education, and the expansion of full-time
and part-time private schooling. There has also been a greater demand for
vocational education at secondary schools and beyond.
Demographically, the last 50 years have been characterised by popula-
tion growth, rural depopulation and urban expansion and periods of
emigration. This has involved the in-migration of returning migrants and
the immigration of persons from neighbouring countries. Cities have grown
in area and population density, resulting in school overcrowding. The
demand for more schools in the cities, while enrolment has declined in rural
and island communities, has posed quite different problems for educational
planners.
Since the establishment of the modern Greek state in 1832, Greece has
had a long tradition of a highly centralised, tightly regulated system of edu-
cation. Legislation determines the organisation of schools, the national
curriculum, the funding arrangements for schools and all aspects of school
Appendix 145
staffing. In recent decades, the government has sought to decentralise,
deregulate and de-bureaucratise public administration in general, and edu-
cation in particular (OECD 2001c).
Hungary
During the last decades, Hungary has experienced a process of transition,
which has had far-reaching consequences for the economy and society as a
whole. But it is important to underline that this process has been initiated
much earlier than in the neighbouring countries. In the 1980s, a gradual
process of democratisation and of decentralisation was introduced and the
private sector became increasingly significant. Dynamic entrepreneurs
began to appear and intellectuals were quite aware of new ideas and devel-
opments on the international scene.
It is not so surprising, therefore, that when the change of regime took
place, around 1990, Hungary went through the transition process at a partic-
ularly rapid pace. Drastic measures of privatisation and economic reform
were undertaken as well as far-reaching institutional changes involving a large
degree of decentralisation. During the early 1990s, economic restructuring
and the loss of export markets (especially in the Soviet Union) had serious
adverse effects on the standard of living. There was a deep economic reces-
sion, with unemployment, poverty and inequalities between regions and
social groups appearing for the first time.
The stabilisation programme adopted in the mid-1990s was followed by
an economic recovery. The growth rate of the GNP has been high during the
latter part of the decade, but problems of poverty and inequality cannot be
solved overnight. Restrictions on public expenditure had to be maintained,
which continued to have a serious impact on all government activities.
Changes which have taken place in the field of education have been
reviewed extensively by an earlier OECD report, The Transition from
School to Work (OECD 1992). All aspects of the educational system have
been affected by these economic changes, particularly the organisation of
schools and the curriculum content. In view of its relationship with a chang-
ing labour market, the re-orientation of vocational and technical education
has received considerable attention.
In the whole system, teaching methods have usually been perceived as
rather conservative. But according to international surveys, the average per-
formance of Hungarian students is very good in science and mathematics,
while reading performances are not so satisfactory. There are wide and
increasing inequalities. For example, the recent International Adult Literacy
Survey data published by the OECD shows that Hungarian adults are not at
the same level as the students (OECD 2000e). There are also wide and increas-
ing inequalities among regions and among families of students with different
backgrounds. The most important trend affecting the school system is the
drastic demographic decline of the school-age population (OECD 2001e).
146 Appendix
Japan
From the 1960s, Japan has made massive economic progress based largely
on manufacturing industries with a move towards tertiary industry. By
1997, only 5.5 per cent of the working population were employed in pri-
mary industry with 31.9 per cent in secondary industry and 61.8 per cent in
tertiary industry. A period of continuous economic growth came to an end
in 1997, leading to calls for industrial and commercial restructuring. This
coincided with increasing attention being paid to globalisation, particularly
to the impact of new information and communication technologies, which
brought reforms in education.
Demographically, Japan has witnessed intensive urbanisation and conse-
quent rural depopulation. The government is concerned with the
implications of a falling birth rate, the trend towards nuclear families and
an ageing population. Across the country, educational expectations have
been heightened, with parents wishing to see their children attend presti-
gious schools followed by prestigious universities and hopefully by high
status jobs. Increasingly, expectations have been high for both males and
females. Social mobility, maintaining high living standards, and education
have been seen to be closely linked.
Traditionally, the centralised administration has been strong in Japan.
But, in recent years, important steps have been taken to deregulate and
decentralise many areas of the public sector, including education. A package
of laws designed to promote decentralisation was passed in July 1999, with
implementation beginning in April 2000.
Such broad trends are reflected in national, regional and local policies for
educational reform. In 1996, the second Hashimoto Cabinet designated
educational reform, alongside government administration, the economic
structure, the financial system, the social welfare system and the fiscal struc-
ture, as one of the government’s major areas for reform. More recently, the
Obuchi Cabinet took up education as a major agenda item and in March
2000 established the National Commission on Educational Reform, a pri-
vate discussion group of eminent citizens advising the Prime Minister.
The Japanese state education school system consists of compulsory ele-
mentary schools (six years) and lower secondary or junior high schools
(three years), voluntary upper secondary or senior high schools (three
years), followed by universities (four years) or junior colleges (two years).
In 1999, the Ministry of Education, Science, Sports and Culture approved
the establishment of a unified six-year secondary education system in three
forms: unified secondary education, both provided in one school; jointly
established lower secondary and upper secondary schools; and co-ordinated
lower and upper secondary education. Municipal lower secondary schools
and prefectural upper secondary schools are co-ordinated on educational
programmes and exchange of teachers or students (OECD 2001c).
Appendix 147
Mexico
With a land area of almost 2 million square kilometres and a population of
about 96 million, Mexico shares borders with the United States to the north
and Guatemala and Belize to the south-east. It is a representative, democra-
tic and federal republic with a government composed of legislative, executive
and judicial branches. The country is divided into 31 sovereign states, as well
as the federal district in which the capital, Mexico City, is located.
Bridging both temperate and tropical regions, Mexico’s terrain includes
mountains, plains, valleys and plateaux. Snow-capped volcanoes slope
down to pine forests, deserts and tropical beaches. This diverse topography
supports a variety of industries including manufacturing, mining, petroleum
and agricultural production. As a member of the North American Free
Trade Agreement (NAFTA), it has the United States and Canada as main
trading partners. In economic terms, Mexico boasts a GDP of U.S. $370 bil-
lion (U.S. $8,100 per person), which ranks it thirteenth in the world. It has
an annual growth rate of over 6 per cent. Beginning in 1985, Mexico
started a process of trade liberalisation and privatisation. From 1982 to
1992, government-controlled enterprises were reduced from 1,155 to 217.
Approximately 80 per cent of the population is of mixed European and
North American Indian or African slave ancestry (mestizo), while 10 per
cent is of purely indigenous descent (indégena). Mexicans are predomi-
nantly Roman Catholic Spanish-speakers, but more than 50 distinct
indigenous peoples maintain their own languages and cultural traditions.
The indigenous population is over-represented in the poverty statistics in
which 28 million Mexicans are estimated to live in extreme poverty, with a
further 12 million classified as poor.
Both rural/urban and internal/external migration characterise the life of
many Mexicans seeking improved employment opportunities. For example,
the population moving from rural areas to municipals of more than 2,500
increased by 13 per cent from 1970 to 1990. Seasonal agricultural labour-
ers regularly migrate with their families to northern farms searching for
work. The number of Mexican citizens living in the United States was esti-
mated to be 7 million in 1996.
Mexico has a very young population, with 56 per cent aged 24 or
younger. In 2000 the population below the age of 14 represented a third of
the total – falling to 28.4 per cent by 2020. The number of pre-school chil-
dren is declining at an annual rate of 0.7 per cent, while the demand for
mandatory basic education among 6- to 14-year-olds is experiencing an
annual increase of 0.1 per cent. It is estimated that the juvenile population
aged 15 to 24 will reach 20 million by 2020.
Mexico has a vast educational system with about 1.5 million teachers
instructing 28 million students enrolled in 208,000 schools during 1998–9.
Ninety per cent attend primary and secondary schools, while 8 per cent are
enrolled in post-secondary institutions and 2 per cent receive job training.
148 Appendix
Education has long been a political priority and was a major issue in the
2000 presidential elections which were won by the National Action Party
(OECD 2001c).
The Netherlands
The Netherlands is the second most densely populated country (after Korea)
among OECD nations, with 15.7 million people crowded into 41,000 square
kilometres. Fertile land reclaimed from the sea provides for a highly auto-
mated and efficient agricultural sector whose worldwide exports are second
only to the United States and France. It also has a strong industrial economy
led by food processing, oil refining, metalworking, chemicals and electronics.
Almost 80 per cent of the gross domestic product, however, is devoted to the
service sector, which accounts for 75 per cent of the labour force.
The Netherlands boasts an unemployment rate of about 5 per cent – one
of the lowest among OECD countries. However, a quarter of the labour
force is either on social security or on job-creation schemes. Many new jobs
created during the 1990s have been part-time. Women comprise about 50
per cent of the workforce, but the long-term unemployment rate among
women with little education is four times that of the unemployed popula-
tion as a whole. Persons of Dutch heritage comprise 96 per cent of the
population, with the other 4 per cent being of predominantly Turkish or
Moroccan origin.
Two themes characterise schooling in the Netherlands. First, the national
government maintains a stated policy to ‘decentralise and deregulate’ the
educational services. While overall financial support is provided by the
Ministry of Education, 70 per cent of schools are operated by the private,
non-profit sector (e.g. denominational), leaving 30 per cent to be adminis-
tered by local municipalities (state schools). In fact, ‘the right of choice’ is
enshrined in national educational policy. Groups of parents, religious or ped-
agogical interests may establish and maintain independently managed
schools financially supported by the Dutch government. In 1999 there were
more than 7,700 primary schools with an average enrolment of 218 pupils
or an average of 140 for those serving children with special needs. Secondary
education consists of 700 schools with an average enrolment of 1,200.
The second theme might be described as ‘governing from a distance’. To
ensure accountability, the national Ministry of Education combines deregu-
lation and enhancement of school autonomy with ‘quality control’ at the
local school level. These were formulated after extensive consultation with
all parties concerned in the field of education to form an ongoing comple-
mentary relationship.
The schools are provided at both the primary and secondary levels.
Primary education serves children from age 4 to age 12, while secondary
education is for students between 12 and 18 years. Both levels provide spe-
cial education for pupils with learning disabilities. Secondary schools
Appendix 149
include education at the pre-vocational (VBO), junior general (MAVO),
senior general (HAVO), and pre-university levels (VWO). Secondary voca-
tional training is also provided at the assistant, basic, professional and
middle management levels for students aged 16 to 20 years (Ministry of
Education, Culture and Science, 1998). MAVO and VBO are currently in
the process of being transformed into VMBO or pre-vocational secondary
education, which will also incorporate part of special education.
Individual schools (and collectively managed groups of schools) are
encouraged to be more autonomous through deregulated financial provi-
sions covering pay and non-pay items of expenditure. VBO, MAVO and
HAVO have the same ‘basic education’ curriculum during the first three
years of secondary school. Educational output is regulated through final
exams with ‘attainment targets’ to be maintained and measured through
normative standards of the Inspectorates in Primary and Secondary
Education (Kreuzen et al. 2000).
The result is a ‘loose/tight’ deregulation versus regulation conflict.
Schools on one hand are encouraged to be more autonomous in certain
financial, facility and personnel management areas. At the same time, the
national government has tightened its controls and expectations regarding
curricular content, student achievement and school management. Schools,
therefore, often function in a complex and sometimes apparently contradic-
tory environment.
Changes in the social and economic environment have also impacted on
the role of the school. Factors such as the changing nature of work, socio-
cultural realities, family relations and the growing freedom of young
people, have required schools to develop new values and norms for children
and adolescents. Another issue is the growing importance of information
and communications technology (ICT) in everyday life and future employ-
ment opportunities. The implementation of ICT, while a priority, has been
difficult due to a shortage of equipment and teacher know-how. ‘Beacon
schools’ have been established to encourage the integration of ICT into the
school curriculum and programme and to act as models for other schools
(OECD 2001a).
Sweden
Sweden has been to the forefront of the information technology (IT) revolu-
tion, not just in schools and the workplace but also in the home. The
Swedes are among the highest users of the Internet for business and per-
sonal use. There is a widespread recognition that even more rapid changes
in communications and information technologies will reverberate through-
out society and will have a profound impact on the manner in which family,
school, recreation and work activities are organised.
The increase in usage of IT coincided with the recovery from the eco-
nomic downturn that had led to cut backs in public expenditure as well as
150 Appendix
to higher unemployment in the early to mid-1990s. The unemployment rate
has returned to around 5 per cent while industrial production was up 11.6
per cent in June 2000 compared with June 1999. However, the benefits of
the improvements in the economy are not spread evenly among the 8.8 mil-
lion people in Sweden, of whom 12 per cent are either foreign-born or
first-generation immigrants. If anything, inequalities have grown.
Sweden has been moving steadily in the direction of greater decentralisa-
tion and deregulation. The municipalities, or kommuner, have been given
additional powers but also greater responsibilities. They are obliged to offer
pre-school education for children whose parents are working or studying.
Pre-school centres, primary schools and recreation facilities are being inte-
grated in many municipalities, with consequent changes for the manner in
which the education system is organised.
There is a recognition – at official level at any rate – that teaching and
learning have to change in parallel with what is happening in the wider soci-
ety outside the school. The day-to-day practice at school level inevitably
takes time to catch up with the official rhetoric. But the acceptance of the
need for change is reflected in some of the far-reaching decisions taken over
the past few decades whose effects are still working their way through the
school system.
Teachers are now employees of the municipalities, which have to weigh
school needs with other demands on local budgets such as care of the elderly,
libraries, childcare, etc. With the agreement of the unions, teachers’ pay has
become increasingly individualised. They are no longer automatically enti-
tled to incremental pay raises. Instead these are awarded on the basis of
criteria, including a commitment to improve the quality of learning for their
students. The introduction of market forces means that school leaders can be
‘headhunted’ to work in other schools in return for higher pay to a much
greater extent than previously. In the 1990s the state opted out of direct
negotiations on salaries, which became individual with negotiations between
the teacher unions and the municipality association (OECD 2001c).
United Kingdom (England)

The United Kingdom, which has a population of around 60 million, is a
leading trade power and financial centre. Services, particularly banking,
insurance, and business services, account for by far the largest proportion
of GDP while industry continues to decline in importance. Agriculture is
intensive, highly mechanised, and efficient by European standards, produc-
ing about 60 per cent of food needs with only 1 per cent of the labour force.
The United Kingdom has large coal, natural gas, and oil reserves; primary
energy production accounts for 10 per cent of GDP, one of the highest
shares of any industrial nation.
Over the past two decades successive governments have greatly reduced
public ownership and contained the growth of social welfare programmes.
Appendix 151
However, 17 per cent of the population is estimated to be below the poverty
line. Unemployment was at 6 per cent in 1999. But some areas, particularly in
the north of England, had higher rates, while London experienced shortages
of skilled workers, particularly in high-tech areas. Economic growth slowed
in 1998 and 1999; however in 2000 growth exceeded potential, approaching
3 per cent. This recovery was based mainly on domestic demand.
The Blair Government, which made ‘education, education, education’ its
three priorities, has continued with and developed many of the education
policies it had inherited. During the 1980s, the then Conservative
Government had become increasingly frustrated as its own educational
policies were modified or delayed by local authorities which were fre-
quently not under its political control and often had fundamental
differences with them over policy direction. The mid-1980s had also been a
period of conflict with teacher unions, resulting in a series of ‘work-to-rule’
and strike actions by teachers, which caused great dissatisfaction to parents
and was making the government’s educational reforms generally unpopular.
Against this background of unrest and in the face of a lot of opposition,
the Conservative Government pushed through the most sweeping reforms
that the education system had seen in over a hundred years of public provi-
sion for schooling. These reforms aimed at creating a new balance of power
within the system, with a much stronger role for central government, a
more clearly defined set of management functions at the school level, and
restrictions on the role of the local education authorities (LEAs). The
reforms were promoted as offering a radical restructuring of management
roles and functions in the school system. A more efficiently and effectively
managed education service was promised, with a strengthening of the links
between schools and parents, and a greater responsiveness to the needs and
preferences of the school’s community (OECD 2001c).
United States
The federal republic of the United States of America has a population of 270
million of predominantly European heritage. It has the world’s strongest
economy, producing about 25 per cent of the global GDP. This is accom-
plished by only 5 per cent of the world’s population, occupying only 7 per
cent of the earth’s arable land. The 1990s have seen the longest peacetime
economic expansion in U.S. history, creating 18 million new jobs. Unem-
ployment has been the lowest in 41 years, reaching 4.3 per cent in 1999,
with the rate for African Americans declining to 7.8 per cent and Hispanic
unemployment reaching 6.6 per cent. Recovery of the construction and
manufacturing sectors, as well as continued growth in service employment,
has led the way.
Seventy-five per cent of Americans are urban dwellers and, in spite of the
booming economy, 30 per cent of workers earn poverty or near-poverty
wages. Low-wage workers are now the lowest paid in the industralised
152 Appendix
world, with more than 20 per cent of children in the United States living in
poverty. The number of U.S. citizens who work in more than one job has
increased 92 per cent between 1973 and 1997, with 43 per cent of workers
putting in more than 50 hours per week. Young entry-level workers without
a college education saw their real wages fall by 20 per cent between 1979
and 1997. On the other hand, the CEOs (chief executive officers) of major
corporations now earn 419 times more than the average salary of their
employees. The richest 1 per cent of the population now earns as much
wealth as the bottom 95 per cent.
In 1983, the National Commission on Excellence in Education (NCEE),
in its influential report A Nation at Risk, set the political tone for the clos-
ing years of the twentieth century by strongly criticising American schools
and setting an agenda for education reform. The eminent American educa-
tor John I. Goodlad, in his book What Schools are For, also defined the
nature of public schooling in the United States: ‘The fabric of our society
blends “the soft and tender” and “the hard and tough” with one tending to
dominate the other in successive cycles. With regard to schools, I once con-
jectured that each cycle had a life span of approximately 22 years, during
which either the soft and tender or the hard and tough rose and then faded
from dominance as the other began its ascendancy’ (Goodlad 1994).
According to the United States Constitution, the responsibility for public
education is divested to the states. Each of the 50 states has its own depart-
ment of education, which delegates the actual operation of schools, from
kindergarten to grade 12, to a number of local public school districts. One
approach to school reform has meant that virtually every state has set stan-
dards of accountability for curriculum content and academic performance
for students at each grade level and for each subject area. These results are
typically made public, with comparison data across districts, so that com-
munities can assess their district’s performance in relation to other districts.
A second approach to school improvement is known as ‘renewal’. This is
more of a ‘bottom-up’ process with the people in and around schools
improving their practice and developing the collaborative mechanisms nec-
essary to improve the quality of their schools relatively free of the linearity
of specified ends, means and outcomes. It addresses such fundamental
issues as social justice, racism, sexism, and economic inequality to equip cit-
izens for a productive life in a democratic society.
The corporate ‘top-down’ language of school reform is complemented by
a sense of ‘bottom-up’ renewal, which continues to exist among many edu-
cational theorists and practitioners. All agree, however, that American
schools need to improve in an age of ‘test-score Olympics’, where other
nations’ maths and science standardised test results (particularly in the East)
are seen to be consistently superior to those of the United States. Just as the
launch of Sputnik galvanised the American public to improve scientific out-
comes, the test-score deficit is seen to represent a threat to maintaining
international economic dominance in the new millennium (OECD 2001c).
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Index
accountability vii, 7, 11–13, 15, 22–3, 134, 138, 140; damaged by

25, 28–9, 41, 43, 48, 52, 62–3, competition 120; networks 48–50;
68–71, 82–2, 118, 126–7, 131, 141 sharing information 48, 121
administrators vii, 15, 26, 30, 32–3, commercial sector partnerships 102,
43, 49, 52, 54, 58, 69, 73, 76, 82, 104, 106, 109, 111
102, 110, 115–118, 122, 127–8, community viii, 1, 15–16, 25–6, 28,
132, 134, 138, 140; procedures 17, 33–4, 39, 50, 55–7, 61, 63, 65, 68,
137 109, 114, 139–141; activities 58;
assault 9, 74, 78, 80, 84 associations 58, 76; care committees
assessment 17, 23, 25, 28, 30, 32–7, 61; community education 49–50,
40, 52–3, 64, 73, 79, 82, 116, 122, 56, 58, 62–6, 139; involvement viii,
127, 131–2, 140–1; appraisal 122, 39, 44, 49, 55–7, 60, 62, 70, 122;
127; external viii, 13, 34–5, 113, development 63, 68, 73, 114, 139;
118, 121; fair 30; personnel 13; focus 61, 67; joint use facilities 59;
self- viii, 52, 132; teacher school partnerships 39, 49, 55–7,
competence 82 59–60, 62–3, 76–79, 85, 114, 122,
autonomy 8, 14–15, 18, 19, 30, 32, 37, 127; schools 122, 139; sports clubs
43, 68, 72, 111–12, 118, 127, 129, 58; support 58, 60, 63
138 competition 10, 14–15, 19, 22, 26–8,
38, 40–6, 68–70, 76, 99–100, 114,
Belgium viii, 14, 43, 132–3; free choice 117, 120, 132, 134 ; between
policy 43 schools 119, 140; ‘successful’
bottom-up style viii, 11, 48–9, 55–6, schools 41–2, 114, 120, 127, 132
111, 114, 116, 122–3, 137 computers 4, 45, 61, 66, 83, 86, 93,
budget 1, 6, 13, 15–19, 21–2, 33, 36, 95, 97, 116–17; availability in
41–2, 44, 46–7, 51, 55, 65, 69–70, community centres 95; computer
74, 97, 115, 122, 140; balancing driven economy 10, 86; computer
82; controls 70, 82; cutting 70, 72, literacy 88, 91, 98; computer
74, 98, 106; delegation of 15; language 95–6; hardware/software
delegation to schools 119 upgrade 90, 97, 100, 117; home use
bullying 9, 28, 74, 76, 79–80; suicide 90, 96, 100; multimedia 100
rate 28, 76 conflict: management 9; regulation
conflict 18
catchment area 15, 21, 38, 70 culture 3, 39, 41–3, 48–9, 61, 65–6,
centralised bureaucracy 17, 19–21, 32, 74, 109, 114, 138; cultural centres
138 76; cultural environment 3, 8, 61,
child care viii, 5, 8–9, 56–7, 67, 139; 65; differences 97, 138;
development 58; pre-school 56–7, entrepreneurial 49, 63; minority
60; protection 56 cultures 30, 43, 58, 61, 74, 77;
classrooms 74–5, 79, 108, 112, 116–7; multicultural 78, 83, 139; school
practice 103, 105; subject based 75, culture 16, 28, 38, 110, 112, 123,
112; teacher-directed 126 127
collaboration 11–12, 24, 42, 48–50, curriculum vii, 2, 7, 9, 11, 14–20, 22,
52, 54, 58, 91–2, 106–9, 121, 129, 25–30, 34, 36, 45, 47, 49, 51–2,
164 Index
55–6, 59, 61, 65–71, 73, 76, 82, employment 2, 4, 31, 49, 56, 60, 62–3,
102, 105, 108, 114, 116–18, 122, 98, 116, 122; contracts 100;
127, 131, 139–40; arts 46, 54; cross- employability 136; patterns 100;
curricular themes 28, 76; curriculum qualifications 37; unemployment 49,
competencies 131; development 50, 60, 76, 82
113, 115, 127; enhancement 51; empowerment 69–72, 116, 126, 129,
extra-curricular activities 33, 51, 59, 139
109, 114; frame 19, 113; ICT enrolment 15–16, 18–19, 21, 26, 41–4,
88–90, 92, 97; local 20; 51, 53, 59–60, 63, 70, 79–80, 114;
multicultural 30; reform 82–3, 115; benefits to school 41; competition
see also national curriculum 120, 140
evaluation 10, 20, 25, 29, 37–40, 42,
decentralisation vii, viii, 6, 13–22, 37, 46, 51–2, 54, 75, 87, 111, 114–16,
43, 65, 68–9, 71, 112–15, 118–9, 118, 123, 127, 133, 140; external
122, 129, 140–41; danger of 52; progressive 52; self- viii, 14, 36,
inequalities 119 38, 42, 51–3, 102, 111, 113, 116,
decision making 5, 13–16, 20, 34, 38, 121, 131
43, 55, 63, 68–9, 71, 112–3, 115, examinations 14, 18, 20, 27–8, 68,
122–3, 129, 139; devolving 13; 75–6 ; results 14, 26–7, 33, 112
down loading 13; shared 71–2, 137, experience 10, 36, 42, 61, 75, 102,
139–40 108, 110, 130; experiential learning
delinquency 28, 58, 76; crime 60, 76, 61; expertise 129; life experience 28;
78, 80; graffiti 58–9, theft 58, 60, sharing 42, 108, 110; work
76, 80; vandalism 58, 74–5 experience 108–9
deregulation vii, viii, 6, 13–14, 18, 20–2, expulsion 9, 80–1, 83–5; excluded
43, 68, 113, 115; ‘loose/tight’ 18, 118 students 60, 78–9, 81; social
devolution 13, 35, 41; of responsibility inclusion unit 60, 79
20; of spending power 42; of targets
35 facilities management 13, 18, 36, 82;
digital divide 86–7, 91–2, 94–7, 141; building maintenance 46, 53, 58,
encouraging women 95; inequalities 82; integrated 56; mixed use
in access 94, low literacy groups 96 facilities 56, 58–60; refurbishment
disadvantaged populations 17, 60, 54; subject specialist spaces 59
74–5, 79–81, 85, 94, 96, 120, 122, financial responsibilities 13, 70, 82,
129, 137, 139; disabled 60, 79; lack 114, 123, 137; authority 43;
of access to ICT 94; migrants 58, downloading 13
60–1, 74–5, 81–2, 85, 96, 137; financial support 21–2, 43, 59, 65, 70,
students 29, 89, 109 77, 85, 90, 141
discipline 9, 11, 55, 75, 77–8, 84, 112, Flanders viii, 14, 36, 43, 51–2, 69,
127 74–5, 111, 133; Bree Educational
drugs 9, 58, 60, 74–6, 78–80, 84 Project 52, 112; ‘context’ analysis
dysfunctional families 9, 74, 78, 80 36; free schools network 44, 51;
migrants 74, 112; private schools
educational goals 24, 38–9, 55, 61, 112; ‘schools of choice’ 69; training
63–4, 136; achievement 39; programmes for principals 133
educational gate keepers 138; setting free market 5, 22, 40–1, 71, 113
63; standards 70, 136; values 38 fund raising 13, 51, 65, 75, 117
educational materials 17, 53, 59, 82, funding vii, 13–15, 17, 19–21, 26, 29,
115; donations 117; equipment 53, 41–6, 49, 51, 56, 58–9, 61, 63, 65,
59, 116; furniture 59; safe storage 70, 82–3, 85, 113, 119–20;
59, 75, 113; website 91 allocation 16, 19; incentive 122; per
employers 2, 5, 19, 56, 61–2, 68, 77, capita 42, 82; project funding 19,
109–10, 116–17; community 21, 59; public 58
initiatives 61–2
Index 165
governing body 8, 13–14, 18, 35, 43, report 34, 36, 40, 62, 120
52, 60, 62, 68, 70, 73, 117–20, 132; Internet 4, 10, 83, 86, 88–90, 94,
action plan 34; governors 15, 34, 96–7; access 88–90, 93–5;
42, 70 inequalities 94
government spending 6, 13, 15, 17,
21–2, 25, 41–3, 46, 58, 68, 70, 74, Japan viii, 21–2, 28, 37–8, 57–8, 76,
83, 123 88–9, 109, 114–15, 133; economic
grants 14, 18–19, 43–4, 49–50, 59–60, miracle 136; ‘freedom of choice’ 21;
68, 76, 90, 113; grant maintained high priority for ICT 89; Kawasaki
Schools 41–2, 120; per capita 14, Junior High School 76, 114;
19; special incentives 60 Monbusho 21, 28, 37–8, 76, 88;
Greece viii, 20–1, 36, 51, 58–9, 75–6, need for reform 21, 37; ombudsman
87, 112–3; Athens Laboratory system 57; ‘open schools’ 21, 38,
School 87; centralised public 57; salaries 115; school advisers 21,
education 20; Connect Project 87; 37–8, 114–15; training programmes
delegation 20; migrants 75; for principals 133
Reorganisation of School Premises job security 1, 4, 69, 100, 136; creation
Project 58–9, 75, 87, 112–13 99; description 8; insecurity 141;
protection 32; retraining 100;
high-income families 6; affluent areas satisfaction 72
26, 28
human capital vii, 11, 24, 110, 141 knowledge 10, 16, 19, 26, 34, 99,
Hungary viii, 19–20, 38–9, 46, 70–1, 107–8, 125, 129, 131, 134, 136,
88, 113–4; centralised system 114; 139; capital 109–10; challenging
Comenius 2000; 38–9, 70–1; 118; learning networks 100;
curriculum policies 19–20, 113; managerial 16; personal 105;
demography 19; educational practical 104; prescribing 119;
financing 19, 113; industrial technical 16
concepts 114; pilot schools 39; knowledge economy viii, 10–12, 89,
recession 19, 113; School Network 99–103, 136
Programme 88; Soros Foundation knowledge management viii, 10,
ICT programmes 88; total quality 99–104, 107, 109–10, 140;
management (TQM) 39 integrating with existing knowledge
103–5; knowledge creation 101–9;
industrial age vii, viii, 1–11, 23, 31, 39, projected needs for
67, 99, 126, 135–6, 139–41;
industrial economy 10 leadership viii, 3, 8, 10, 37–8, 49–50,
information 16, 33, 37, 63, 105; 53–4, 56, 61–4, 72, 110–11,
dissemination 105, 107, 110; 116–18, 124, 130–31, 137, 139
information age 31, 126, 128, 136; 141; affective 137; instructional
information management skills 96; 140; leadership training 50;
interchange 105 participatory 112; qualities 112,
information and communication 127, 130; school leaders viii, 1, 8,
technology (ICT) vii, viii, 4, 10, 59, 12, 33, 38, 48, 52, 56, 58, 73, 96,
83, 86–8, 97–100, 105, 110, 117, 111–12, 117–18, 123, 127, 129–31,
123, 125, 127, 136; access 103; cost 135, 137–41; skills 50, 77; strategic
benefit analysis 97; 117, 131; styles 127–9, 139
innovation viii, 7, 10–11, 19, 32, 37, learning 6, 10–11, 25, 28–31, 34–5,
45–6, 49, 51, 53, 55–6, 59, 61, 38–9, 53–6, 64, 75, 102–3, 107,
64–5, 106, 109–117, 121–4, 127 116, 118, 128, 131–2, 138, 140;
inspectors 13, 18, 34–7, 40, 42, 51–2, abstract and concrete 61; adult
120; confidentiality 35, 120; learners 59; co-operative 30, 51–2,
inspectoral visit 13, 34, 62, 113, 118; experiences 12, 38, 61, 118;
118, 121; manual of inspection 34; group 118; how to learn 11, 52,
166 Index
103–4, 128; independent 54, 96–99, mentors 2, 50, 53–4, 64–5 104, 109,
103–4, 117, 126–27, 139; 115; ‘pilot schools’ 53;
individualised 51; instructional 126; tutor/mentors 53
interactive 126; learning needs/assets Mexico viii, 17–18, 39–40, 52–3, 62,
61, 63–4, 104, 116, 139, 141; 89, 115–16; building programme
opportunities 63; partnerships 63; 17, 53, 115; Colima Project School
process-oriented learning 57; 89; Educational Development
resource need 16, 76; skills 23, 99; Programme 115; Escuela Industrial
student-centred 62 Monterrey 62; ICT 96; increased
learning organisation viii, 11–12, 36, spending 17, 115; indigenous and
57, 63, 110, 112, 124–5, 128, 134, migrant programme 115;
136, 140; distance learning 100; modernisation of education system
environment 20, 47, 57–8, 61–3; 17, 39–40, 89, 115–16; Pilot Project
learning society 62–3; ‘learning for Relevant Education 89, 116;
through experience’ 117; self poverty 89, 115; School
directed 89, 96–7; strategies 102 Management Project 52–3, 116;
libraries 18, 54, 59, 62, 75, 88, 94, teacher education 89
115–17; arts 61–2, 79; galleries 62,
117; ICT 91, 94; museums 61–2, national curriculum 13, 15, 19–20, 27,
76, 117; science centres 62; theatres 30, 60, 79, 113, 119–21; ICT 91
117 neo-conservative policies viii, 5–7,
life-long learning vii, 10, 12, 49, 57–8, 11–13, 22, 32, 40, 45–6, 55, 67,
62, 64, 66, 76, 92–3, 99–100, 72, 74, 81, 84–5, 97, 123, 135–9,
103–4, 107, 109, 125, 127, 134, 141
136, 140–41; assessing needs and Netherlands viii, 18, 27, 37, 42–3,
strategies 103 60–2, 76–7, 90, 116–18, 130–31;
literacy 1–3, 17, 22–5, 33, 39, 44, 53, advisory boards 60; central
66, 79, 83, 85, 91, 101, 123; adult achievement test 27; community
56, 66 schools 116–17; Hans Brinker
Local Education Authority (LEA) 15, College 60, 76–7, 90; ICT 90, 96,
35, 41–2, 70, 119–20; funding 42; 117; immigrants 76; Islamic schools
privatisation of services 119; 43, 60; league tables 37; ‘learning
support services 41, 120 contracts’ 62; Made Primary School
low-income families 6, 28, 45, 49; 61–2, 117; monitoring policies 18,
inner-city areas 44, 60; migrants 58, 37; ‘right of choice’ policy 18, 42;
60–1; poor areas 26; poverty 60; school autonomy 18; ‘schools of
rural areas 49 choice’ 43, 69, 116; training for
principals 130–31
management models 7, 111, 113, 118, new age vii, 5; new age management
129, 137–41; by expedience 137; by 136; new economy 4, 10, 136,
results 136; controls 70; external 140–41; new technology 136
advisers 35; goals 119; integrated New Paradigm Partners Inc. (NPP)
56; of people 111, 131; systems 12, 49–50, 63, 65; cultural preservation
16, 69 50; environmental restoration 50;
managers vii, 1, 6, 8, 10, 20, 106, 138, goals 63; intergenerational learning
140–41; school 6, 8, 10–11, 16, 35, 50; journalism 49–50; student-run
46, 51, 68–70, 79, 82, 98, 110–12, businesses 50
115, 117, 123, 127–30, 135, 140 numeracy 1, 3, 17, 33, 39, 44, 53, 66,
market-driven economy vii, 14, 19, 79, 83, 101, 123
41, 69–70, 114; competition 38,
68; market forces 14, 38–9, 68, Office for Standards in Education
114 (OFSTED) 34–5, 42, 120–21, 137
media vii, 13, 15, 20, 23, 26, 30, 37, Ontario case study 81–5; adult
49–50, 65, 77–8, 83, 120 education 82; certification 82; code
Index 167
of conduct 84; damage to services problem solving 1–2, 5, 17, 46, 55, 65,
83–5; draconian cuts 82–5; ‘teach to 75, 102–3, 108, 117–19, 123, 127,
the test’ 83 130–32, 136, 141; collaborative
Organisation for Economic Co- 137; skills 77, 97
operation and Development professionalism 26, 35, 60, 102, 116;
(OECD) viii, 36, 38–9, 99, 125, development days 105; knowledge
135–8; studies viii, 22, 26, 45, 56, 104–5; organisations 61;
74, 79, 86–9, 97, 101, 111, 123, professional development 33–4, 45,
127, 130 55, 72, 106, 108–11, 115–16, 121,
123, 129–132; standards 34, 40;
parents 2, 9, 14–17, 20, 22, 25–8, 31, status 72, 129
33–4, 36–7, 42–5, 50–3, 55–7, public education vii, viii, 1–2, 8, 15,
59–62, 65, 68–9, 73, 75, 109, 114, 18–19, 21–2, 24–5, 29, 32, 38,
128, 132, 134; choice 36–8, 45, 40–1, 44–6, 52, 56, 65–66, 80–1,
114; immigrant 112; involvement 84, 100, 111, 115, 126, 136
113, 116–119, 122, 127, 138; public services 1, 7, 13, 20, 41, 45–6,
parent teacher association (PTA) 56, 60, 65, 117, 141; administration
57–8, 62, 65, 76; parenting 4, 9, 67, 20; law enforcement 60, 77;
78, 129, 139; working 8–9, 139 reduction 13, 84; social 79
performance viii, 3, 7, 10, 13–16, 23,
25–8, 33–7, 39, 44, 68, 70, 80, 83, quality control 18, 23–6, 35, 37–40,
97, 109, 121, 136, 140–41; 43, 46, 53, 55–6, 70–1, 91, 108,
improvement 16; management 111, 113–14, 117, 120, 122, 132,
scheme 35, 121; objective setting 140; consultants 39, 71; ‘quality
121; plan 33, 35; performance- movement’ 136; quality of life 139,
related pay 35, 37, 121; school 44, 141; total quality management
120; student 28–9, 44, 80; teacher (TQM) 71
28–9, 39
political environment viii, 7–8, 15, 17, reform viii, 6, 11, 16, 21, 24–5, 30,
24–5, 68, 73, 109, 111; micro 32–7, 40–1, 45, 55, 57, 71, 80–2,
politics 68; stability 136; trends 126 109, 115, 122–3, 129, 134–8, 141 ;
post-industrial age 4–7, 99, 112, 123, educational reform movement 7, 11,
128, 135; society 12 23–4, 26, 29, 37, 45, 55, 127, 138,
principal viii, 1–2, 8, 11, 13–18, 21–2, 140; ‘school reform’ movement 11,
25, 33–9, 42–3, 46–7, 50–3, 56–7, 14–15, 21, 25, 30, 45, 49, 73, 96,
59, 62, 68–72, 75, 77–8, 82, 86, 122, 127–8, 136–7
105, 109–118, 120, 122, 127–30, remedial teaching 22, 28, 46, 62, 74,
134–141; change agent 48, 112, 85
123, 137; facilitator 71, 110, renewal viii, 11–12, 48–9, 55–6, 135,
118–19, 127, 129, 134, 140; 137; educational renewal 11–2,
isolation 112; manager 105; quality 48–9, 51, 53, 56; ‘self renewal’ 12,
candidates 111; political awareness 55; school renewal 12, 48, 50, 122,
68–9, 73; principal/manager 11; 140
public perception of 13–14; research 26, 37, 45, 65, 107, 116, 123;
qualifications 21, 34, 36–7; and development 102–3, 106–10;
supervisory role 51; team cohesion trial and error 102–3
129; training programmes 130–33 resources viii, 16, 39, 43, 57, 63, 102,
welfare role 129 110, 115–16, 134, 139–41;
private: schools 14, 18–19, 40, 45, 51, accessing 102, 134; allocation 29,
69, 80–1; enterprise 111; funding 51; 131; cultural 117; financial 13, 19,
instructional centres 28; sector 19, 26,43, 49, 81, 115, 140; human 8,
32, 39, 41–2, 46, 100, 113–14, 120 69, 114, 117, 123, 130, 140;
privatisation viii, 6, 13, 15, 41–2, inadequate 29, 72; project resources
45–6, 66, 119–20, 137, 141 59
168 Index
revenue generation 13, 16, 19, 41, 51, 122, 131–2, 140–41; of achievement
120; ‘less successful’ schools 41–2, 132; of performance 136, 140–41
120; ‘successful’ schools 41, 120 stress vii, 35–6, 40; teacher suicide 35
student achievement 11, 16, 18, 25–30,
safety and security viii, 2–3, 8–9, 11, 35, 40, 44–5, 49, 71, 72, 76, 79–81,
60, 67, 74–77, 80–84, 137, 140 ; 101, 108–9, 115, 118, 121; effects
alarm systems 59, 75–6; locks 75–6; of education cuts 22, 73; political
security patrols 9, 77, 80, 85; TV pressure 101; student-led enterprises
monitors 60 63–4, 106
school-based management (SBM) 15, student behaviour 25, 36, 74, 76–81,
16, 57, 69, 122, 129, 132–3, 115; code 77; dissent 73; problems
137–40 41, 58, 61, 75, 77, 80, 84–5;
school closures 13, 19, 33, 44, 82 students’ union 75; welfare services
school management viii, 6, 8, 10–11, 60
15, 18, 20, 34, 37, 39, 52–3, 56–7, Sweden viii, 20, 38, 53–7, 71, 77–8,
71, 83, 97, 111, 114–16, 120, 123, 90–1, 109, 118–19, 133; goal-based
130, 135, 138; annual development result management 20; Helsinborg
plan 51; mismanagement 44; School project 53–5; ICT 90;
policies, programmes and practices immigrants 77; multimedia bureau
63; programme planning 51 91; shared decision making 71;
scientific management 2–3, 6–7, 10–11, Stockholm Upper Secondary School
25, 28, 31–2, 39–40, 55, 71, 134, 77–8; Swedish Schoolnet 91;
137 teachers’ teams 54–5; training
second language teaching 22, 46, 55, programmes for principals 133;
60, 74, 82, 96 working plan 20
single parent family 4, 8, 59, 79, 139
skills 5, 12, 16, 18, 23, 26, 31, 34, 48, teacher training 2, 17–18, 27, 40, 48,
50, 62, 64, 72, 82, 108, 118, 123, 51, 86, 100, 104, 107–8, 112; ICT
131–34, 136, 139; entrepreneurial training 86–91, 96, 98;
136; interpersonal 16, 112, 118 qualifications 29; school managers’
social environment viii, 3, 5, 7–8, 24, training 130
118; needs 75; stability 136; trends technological environment 8, 24; age
126; well being 141 116; revolution 123; skills 53;
social skills viii, 2, 8–9, 112, 118, 139; trends 126
classes 129; influence 129 test scores vii, 11, 14, 23, 25–30, 33,
socio-economic system 26, 59, 64–5; 40, 44, 67, 83, 98, 120, 136–7, 141;
68–9; inequalities 6, 64, 83, 97; courses sacrificed 30, 55, 83; league
problems 136; reform 21; status tables 40, 83, 120;
26–8, 59, 73, 79, 120 reward/punishment 30
special needs children 17, 60, 85; top-down style viii, 7–11, 16–17, 20,
special learning needs 43 23, 29–30, 32, 35, 40, 51, 55,
spending cuts 6, 13, 22, 46, 58, 67, 74, 69–73, 106, 111, 114–16, 121–3,
82, 85, 97; damage to services 82–5 127, 135, 137; empowerment 69
staffing levels 15, 20, 22, 26, 35–6, 40, training 17–18, 27, 35–6, 41–2, 46, 50,
45, 69–70, 114, 119, 122; 100, 107, 110–14, 123, 131–2;
allocation 18, 60; deployment 15, agencies 42, 46, 120; competencies
120, 131; recruitment difficulties 131–4; content 130–1; examiners’
122–3; support staff 47, 120; 27; focus 130; in-service (INSET)
teacher shortages 35, 40 17, 40–1, 46, 51–2, 69, 71, 73, 86,
standardised testing 13, 23, 25–6, 90, 111–120, 122–3, 127, 130, 132,
28–30, 32, 40, 61, 68, 80–83, 119, 135; needs assessment 131–2; pre-
122; test administration 30 service 17, 46, 69, 71, 73, 82,
standards 2, 7, 18, 25, 27, 29–30, 32, 111–15, 119, 122–3, 130, 135;
35, 37, 39–40, 43, 45, 92, 98, 118, programmes for principals 130–4;
Index 169
school librarians 88; school 80–1, 116, 122; ‘choice’ students
managers’ 130–32; style 130 45; Excel Tech programme 93;
truancy 28, 61, 74, 76–8, 80 external review teams 33; ICT 92–4;
Green Forest School 63–4; New
unions 1, 6, 17–18, 20, 32, 35–8, 41, Paradigm Partners Inc. (NPP)
44, 57, 68, 78, 82–3, 122, 137–8; 49–50, 63–66, 133; remote sensing
merit payment 35, 121, 136; 93; school redesign teams 33–4, 81;
National Union of Teachers 9, 35–6 shared decision making 71; Stanford
United Kingdom viii, 1–7, 14–15, 23, Industrial Park 106; state governors’
26–7, 34–6, 41–2, 59–60, 66, 70–1, summits 24–5; students outstrip
78–9, 91–2, 119–21, 127, 129, teachers in ICT 92; Technology
131–2, 137; alternative service Literacy Challenge 92, 94; training
providers 42, 120; ‘Beacon Schools’ programmes for principals 133–4;
42, 121; contract tenders 42; Tupelo Southern Middle School 93;
Education Reform Act 1988 41, vouchers 45, 69, 80–1
119; ‘Fair Funding’ initiative 42; urban environment 2, 10, 74, 76, 83,
Francis Drake School 79; grant 89, 139; race relations 83
maintained (GM) schools 41–2, 69,
116, 120; ICT 91–2, 96; improving vocational training 2, 60, 75, 79, 91,
access 91–2, 95; National Grid for 100; careers guidance 60, 100;
Learning 91; networking 91; pre-vocational students 27, 74;
National Professional Qualification studies 60; vocational guidance 59;
for Headship 131; OFSTED 34–5, vocational learning centre 61
42, 120–21; Qualifications and volunteers 43, 52, 56, 62, 64–5, 117;
Curriculum authority (QCA) 27; voluntary associations 109
school league tables 26, 40–41, 120;
shared decision making 71; special weapons 9, 74, 79–81, 83–4;
needs register 79; Thatcherism 41; Colombine High School 9, 81, 84
training programmes for principals work experience programmes 58, 64,
131–2 117; on-the-job learning 62
United States of America viii, 1–7, 9, working conditions 32, 46, 57;
15–16, 23–6, 32–4, 44–5, 49–51, incentives 34, 42; merit pay 35, 37,
59, 62–66, 70–1, 80, 92–4, 109, 40; rewards 35; retirement 40;
122–23, 127, 133–34; African salaries 34–9, 42, 115, 141
American students 25, 81, 95;
Alderwood School 64–5; buddy zero tolerance 9, 74, 80, 84
project 96; charter schools 44–5, 68,

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School Management in Transition examines the impact of the neo-

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1 Crisis in the classroom 1

As industrial societies struggle with the demands of the twenty-first century,

I wish to express my appreciation to Jarl Bengtsson, David Istance and

A provocative series by Louise Brown in the Toronto Star newspaper dealt

Schooling for an industrial age

The duty of democratic education, in addition to preparing a whole lit-

Schooling for a new economy

● mastery of basic skills;

Today’s social and economic environment argues for a different model of

● mastery of basic skills;

In fact, U.S. inequality is so severe that low-income families in the United

As discussed in the previous chapter, the nature of public education is

Safety and security

Reform versus renewal

Reform is about whatever is politically fashionable, pendulum-like in

1 recognise and break out of ruts or patterns;

1 to establish a shared mission;

School renewal appears to be a process which complements the ideals of the

Decentralisation involves the downloading of decision-making tasks,

● power to make decisions that influence school practices, policies and

Traditionally, centralised administration has been strong in Japan. In recent

The educational reform movement has gained considerable political

After ten years of increased investment and political posturing, the

1 Who should go to school?

While there is no consensus on these issues a politically oriented cast of char-

A sampling of national performance testing experience is also to be found in

● Is the school selective in the admission process?

A study undertaken by Dylan William of King’s College London for the

● lowering pupil/teacher ratios, which translates into smaller class sizes;

Our results certainly challenge the traditional view of public education

● programmes in the arts;

To quote Alfie Kohn:

Most of us have pet projects, favourite causes, practices and policies

As previously stated, most countries have a standardised testing procedure

A concern has been raised that the restructure/reform movement is not

A Nation at Risk advocated a major effort on the part of local school

accompanied by equally challenging national (and international) tests

It made no matter that respected researchers questioned the interpretations

1 School improvement – the school staff, leadership facilitator and

In 1986 the Carnegie Corporation’s Task Force on Teaching as a Profession

● co-ordinating various activities in the school;

● to enhance emotional education from infancy;

In order to create a risk-taking entrepreneurial society in the U.K.,

A different approach to school improvement is known as ‘renewal’. This is

● What does it mean for us to en-culture the young in a democracy?

● Journalism – Youth Press is a community-based media project where

● a definition of educational priorities such as learning how to learn, co-

A governing board includes representatives from the religious congregation

● the transformation of traditional schools into ‘new self-evaluating pub-

The concept of community education is very much a local bottom-up

● reaching a consensus on child rearing and lifelong learning in the region

The approximately 40 members of each regional education council include:

At the heart of the learning society are education opportunities extend-

In a community school, youth, families and community residents work as

● to empower people, especially students, to become more effective,