Models of self‐governance in schools: Australia and the United Kingdom

Abstract

The final decade of the twentieth century saw a major shift to self‐governance for schools in many countries, including the UK and Australia. This trend is underpinned by the assumption that greater autonomy will lead to improved educational outcomes. The impact of self‐management on principals and schools is now well documented but much less attention has been given to the implications for governance, a significant omission as the process of decentralisation transfers responsibilities to governing bodies rather than school principals. Reviews the main issues of governance and illustrates them from the research in England and Wales and in Australia. It joins the debate about the appropriate balance between governance and management for governing bodies and examines the lay/professional interface in school governance. It assesses governors’ role as representatives of school interest groups and concludes by setting out a research agenda for governance in self‐managing schools.

Parents as Governors and Partners in Schools

“…The functions of the SGB and the structure of management and governance in schools are in line with worldwide trends of a more decentralized management system (Bryk & Easton, 1994;Bush & Gamage, 2001). The South African school management system is similar to the British system (Department for Education and Skills, 2001) and other systems such as those in Chicago (Adrian, 1995) because parents and other role players such as teachers play a major function in the management and governance of local schools.…”

School Governing Bodies in South Africa

“…The first SGBs were elected in 1997, so this form of democratic management is still in its development phase and the participants are still evolving an appropriate set of working relationships. This management structure of a more decentralized system is in line with what Bush and Gamage (2001) indicate as a worldwide trend. The SGBs have to function within the framework of legislation and policies at national and provincial levels of government.…”

Kwaliteit als sleutel tot overheidsinterventie: een reflectie op de beleidsassumpties van autonomievergroting in het primair onderwijs

“…Deze gedachte zien we ook terug in het onderwijs-beleid in Nieuw-Zeeland, Spanje en Portugal (Karsten, 1999;Higham & Earley, 2013). Om scholen aan te kunnen spreken en controle te houden op de onderwijskwaliteit werd ingezet op het uitbouwen van de relaties van scholen met actoren en belanghebbenden zoals de Inspectie van het Onderwijs, de sectorraad, ouders, besturenorganisaties, koepelorganisaties, belanghebbenden en de media (Bush & Gamage, 2001, zie ook Bekkers, 2009Wet goed onderwijs, goed bestuur, 2010). Hierdoor ontstond, zo was de gedachte, een gemeenschappelijke zorg voor onderwijskwaliteit en een systeem van checks and balances in de controle op en verantwoording over onderwijskwaliteit.…”