Reconceptualizing the Self-managing School

Contrary to the claims of its critics, the introduction of self-managing schools under the ERA and its counterpart in other countries did not lead to the privatization of public education. Self-managing schools have been one manifestation of a general trend to decentralization in public education in many countries since the late 1960s. The practice was introduced for a range of reasons but much of the heat from often contentious debates about its efficacy was dissipated in the early years of the 21st century as most governments and system authorities settled on the enhancement of learning as its primary purpose. A realistic assessment of impact suggests that the self-management of schools is an appropriate strategy given that each school contains a unique mix of needs, aptitudes and aspirations of students. A system-wide framework for self-management is important. Leaders in self-managing schools will need to be adept at drawing on all of the resources of the community to meet expectations, and these include intellectual capital, social capital, spiritual capital (broadly defined) as well as financial capital. The concept of self-management will continue to change as schools will continue to change.