School-Based Management (SBM) Practices in Malaysia: A Systematic Literature Review

Abstract

School-Based Management (SBM) has been practised in Malaysia over the past two decades. However, SBM studies still found little attention among social science researchers in Malaysia. The details in the success of SBM implementation are still unclear. Thus, the researcher has emphasized the need to conduct a systematic review of existing studies to collect information on SBM in Malaysia. Four questions have been established in this review which are; (1) How SBM is implemented in Malaysia? (2) What is the classification level of SBM implementation strength in Malaysia? ( 3) To what extent are principals, teachers, parents and communities involved in SBM in Malaysia? and lastly, (4) What are the issues and challenges faced in schools related to SBM? The results of a decadelong literature review on SBM in Malaysia showed that SBM implementation in Malaysia was at a moderate level and had used a combination of two models, administrative-control SBM and professional-control SBM. Two critical issues identified from this review were on the role of the school leader and teacher competency. The researcher proposed the need for a standard instrument to evaluate SBM, highlighting the roles of district and state education officers in promoting empowerment among school leaders and teachers, as well as the involvement of the Parent-Teachers Association (PTA). Empowerment among school leaders encompasses leadership capacity while empowerment among teachers includes increasing motivation and professional guidance in various aspects such as pedagogy, professional development, accountability, and integrity.

Road Mapping Towards a Successful School-Based Management System

“…It is none recognized as SBM. It is an approach to give school independence, decision-making power, and accountability (Bandur, 2012;Isa et al, 2020). School-Based Management is also acknowledged as sitebased management and site-based decision making.…”

“…School-Based Management is also acknowledged as sitebased management and site-based decision making. It can also be referred to as school-based decision-making and shared decision-making (Bandur, 2012;World Bank, 2013;Isa et al, 2020). School-Based Management aids as a new model in the educational organization of power between the government and the school as a body are able to make the center of its own decisions (Arar & Nasra, 2018;Bandur, 2017;Tansiri & Bong, 2018;Isa et al 2020).…”

“…It can also be referred to as school-based decision-making and shared decision-making (Bandur, 2012;World Bank, 2013;Isa et al, 2020). School-Based Management aids as a new model in the educational organization of power between the government and the school as a body are able to make the center of its own decisions (Arar & Nasra, 2018;Bandur, 2017;Tansiri & Bong, 2018;Isa et al 2020). One way to measure the school's level of decision-making in our education system is by measuring the scope of its autonomy to decide solely with regard to its education program, its staff, and the planning of strategies (Alyami & Floyd, 2019;Isa et al 2020).…”

“…School-Based Management aids as a new model in the educational organization of power between the government and the school as a body are able to make the center of its own decisions (Arar & Nasra, 2018;Bandur, 2017;Tansiri & Bong, 2018;Isa et al 2020). One way to measure the school's level of decision-making in our education system is by measuring the scope of its autonomy to decide solely with regard to its education program, its staff, and the planning of strategies (Alyami & Floyd, 2019;Isa et al 2020). Therefore, School-based Management can be demarcated as the school head's ability to exercise his or her power in making decisions about school matters.…”

“…It is the approach to give school independence, decisionmaking power, and accountability. (Isa et al, 2020) Empowerment of the school's community can help in the success of the SBM implementation. Empowered leadership encourages involvement, and involvement solicits the support of promising programs and accomplishments of big projects.…”