The impact of School -Based Management on …...SBM is assumed to change the quality of school...
Transcript of The impact of School -Based Management on …...SBM is assumed to change the quality of school...
The impact of School-Based Management on school health
ADAM E. NIR
Policy and Administration in Education
School of Education
The Hebrew University of Jerusalem
Jerusalem 91905
Israel
Phone: 972-2-5882060
fax: 972-2-5882045
E-mail:[email protected]
The impact of School-Based Management on school health
ABSTRACT What are the influences of school-based management (SBM) on schools’ organizational
health? The following study attempts to assess the effects of SBM on schools operating
in a centralized system of education. A longitudinal study is performed and the health
qualities of 28 schools are measured in three sequential years, before introduction of
SBM in schools and in the two years that follow.
The results indicate no significant changes when comparing the integrated index for
school health between the three years. However, significant differences appear when
the various subsets of school health are compared. The results indicate that teachers
put more emphasis on children’s outcomes. Yet, at the same time, teachers report
having a lower morale and increased bureaucratic load in comparison to the
circumstances that existed in their school prior to the introduction of SBM. It is
suggested that a school-based managed school is not only a place to foster student
growth but also to foster the development of teachers. Therefore, emphasis should be
placed equally on all the components of school health if SBM is to increase the
professional autonomy of educators along with the effectiveness of the school.
Key words: School-Based Management; Organizational Health; Teachers;
Elementary schools; Autonomy; Decentralization.
Dr. Adam E. Nir is Head of Policy and Administration in Education program, The
School of Education, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Jerusalem 91905, Israel;
972-2-5882060; [email protected]
INTRODUCTION
Is school-based management (SBM) good for school health? Does SBM positively
affect the internal qualities of school atmosphere? Although SBM has become a central
theme of the restructuring efforts in many western centralized educational systems
(Devos et al., 1998; Robertson et al., 1995), little is known about its direct effects on the
quality of schooling and on school dynamics. Therefore, by employing a longitudinal
research design, the following study, which focuses on the Israeli educational system,
intends to evaluate the effects of SBM on school health and to determine if SBM
implemented in a centralized system of education by Ministry of Education officials is
considered beneficial by teachers at school level.
School-based management and school health
SBM is intended to increase authority at the school site (Clune & White, 1988) and to
maximize delegation of decision-making authority to schools within a centrally
coordinated framework (Boyd, 1990, p. 90). The growing public support for
decentralization is based on arguments claiming that schools will design and implement
programs that better correspond with the particular needs of children if their autonomy
is increased (Chubb & Moe, 1988; Wohlstetter et al., 1994). Furthermore, SBM is
assumed to have substantial merits, particularly in the flexibility that it offers to schools
(Brown, 1990), enabling them better and more quickly to meet local needs. Based on
the premise that those closest to a situation should make the decisions (David, 1989b, p.
46), SBM enables schools to tailor educational decisions to the needs of the local
community they serve (Fusarelli & Scribner, 1993, p. 1; Clune & White, 1988, p. 14)
and is assumed to enhance their performance and the quality of education provided for
children. Therefore, SBM is considered influential to school effectiveness (Brown,
1991; Brown, 1992).
However, the empirical research investigating the link between SBM and the quality of
school performance has been rather scarce (Summers & Johnson, 1994). The available
empirical evidence suggests that the impact of SBM on school effectiveness has been
fairly limited and that SBM does not guarantee school improvement (Malen et al.,
1990). It has been found that schools involved in SBM do not look much different from
schools that have not been involved with SBM (Glickman, 1990) and that school
effectiveness has not been contingent upon SBM. Rather, school personnel have
continued to behave as it did under the previous structure (Sackney & Dibski, 1994).
Although much ambiguity is associated with SBM (Jenni & Mauriel, 1990, p. 3) and its
impact on school effectiveness and internal dyna mics, there exists a large body of
literature arguing for the impacts of SBM on the organizational health of schools
(Johnes, 1995; Caldwell & Wood, 1992; Cross & Reitzug, 1996; Bernas, 1992; Frazer
& Rumbaut, 1993; Sagor, 1996).
Organizational health, a metaphor used to describe the climate of the school (Hoy &
Barnes, 1997), taps the technical, managerial and institutional levels of an organization.
The technical level refers to the degree of morale, bureaucratic load and academic press
that characterize s a school. The managerial level refers mainly to the principal’s
behavior and to the degree to which he/she is achievement oriented, supportive,
provides adequate resources for teachers and is able to influence his/her superiors. And
finally, the institutional level refers to school’s ability to cope successfully with outside
forces (Hoy & Feldman, 1987).
SBM is assumed to change the quality of school health since under SBM, schools gain
greater control and autonomy over their budget, their educational goals and processes,
their curriculum, the evaluation processes they conduct and their personnel. These
issues are the building bricks of school’s technical, managerial and institutional aspects
and, therefore, changing their quality is assumed to affect school’s organizational
health.
This assumption is strengthened by research findings that provide evidence for the
relation between SBM and variables typically used to describe the technical, managerial
and institutional levels of school’s health, although the empirical evidence is rather
mixed.
The managerial level: Many studies that focused on managerial variables have
demonstrated that the leadership style of the principal is a key factor in the success of
SBM (Yanitski, 1998; Delaney, 1997; Brouillette, 1997; Wholstetter, 1995).
The findings show that principals find it difficult to relinquish authority while retaining
responsibility (Lindelow & Heynderickx, 1989; Brown, 1990) and that SBM did not
lead to a significant change in principals’ leadership style nor in the traditional patterns
of influence in school (Daresh, 1992, p.115). The studies indicate that SBM affects
significantly principals’ job and workload (Cranston, 2000; Dempster, 2000, Epps,
1992; Duttweiler & Mutchler, 1990b; Murphy, 1994) yet at the same time, it challenges
current relationships between principals and teachers (Cross & Reitzug, 1996) and
improves these relationships only when teachers are empowered (Valente, 1999).
Findings suggest that SBM have little or no effect at all on the quality of relationships
between principals and their superiors (Malen et al., 1990, p.11; Murphy & Beck,
1995).
Moreover, empirical evidence supports the assumption that SBM provides schools
greater control over the allocation of resources (Young, 1995; Odden & Wohlstetter,
1995; Neal, 1994). However, although some schools provide teachers with all the
resources they request (White, 1992), teachers’ autonomy in general and in using the
resources in particular depends greatly upon the principal and therefore varies
significantly among schools.
The technical level: The evidence regarding the impacts of SBM on morale, on schools’
outcomes and on teachers’ bureaucratic load, which are among the technical aspects
assigned by Hoy & Feldman (1987) to school health, are rather mixed.
Some studies report that SBM positively affects morale (White, 1989; White, 1992;
Darling-Hammond & Wise, 1985; Levin, 1988; Smith, 1993, p.6; Lange, 1993; Neal,
1991; Weiss, 1992). Other studies report, however, that morale increased in the initial
levels of implementation of SBM but soon returned to depressed levels that existed in
schools prior to the introduction of SBM (Duttweiler & Mutchler, 1990a, p. 34; Carnoy
& MacDonnell, 1990; Collins & Hanson, 1991). This evidence corresponds with
findings showing that SBM promotes inter-school competition (Polansky, 1998) and
that schools where teachers are empowered are characterized by greater organizational
conflict and lowered school climate (Short & Rinehart, 1993). This finding may be
explained in considering that although the empowerment of teachers is viewed as a
means of making schools more professional and autonomous organizations (Nyberg &
Farber, 1986; Hill & Bonan, 1991; White, 1992), collaborative decision making in many
ways can be a burden (Boyd, 1992, p. 521).
Much controversy is also associated with the effect of SBM on school outcomes. While
some researchers present evidence indicating that SBM improves school outcomes
(Collins & Hanson, 1991; Hill & Bonan, 1991; Duttweiler & Mutchler, 1990a; Malen et
al., 1990), other researchers provide evidence showing mixed effects (Summers &
Johnson, 1995) or no effect at all (Dempster, 2000; Leithwood & Menzies, 1998;
Reitzug & Capper, 1996; Murphy & Beck, 1995, p. 131). The existing empirical
evidence suggests that the likelihood that SBM will lead to improved school outcomes
is extremely problematic (Murphy & Beck, 1995, p. 157). At the same time, other
studies show that the amount of workload and the number of bureaucratic missions that
teachers experience under SBM tend to increase (Leithwood et al., 1996; O’Connor &
Clark, 1990; Wylie, 1997; Campbell & Neill, 1992).
The institutional level: Much ambiguity characterizes the impact of SBM on school-
community relations. Some researchers claim that SBM improves the relationships
between school and parents (Ng, 1999) and eliminates destructive district-school
relationships (Cross & Reitzug, 1996). Others claim that SBM leads to increased
expectations and pressures that parents impose on school (Polansky, 1998; Farber &
Ascher, 1991) that promote conflict between school and its social community.
Hence, the theoretical claims and empirical evidence presented so far show that SBM
affects the technical, managerial and institutional levels of school and foster the
assumption that schools implementing SBM will be characterized by a different quality
of organizational health and culture (Cheng, 1996a; Robertson & Briggs, 1998;
Reynolds & Cuttance, 1993; Caldwell & Wood, 1992). However, in considering that the
evidence is rather mixed, it is difficult to establish a solid theoretical foundation and
therefore to anticipate how SBM will affect school health in terms of cause and effect.
The introduction of SBM in the Israeli educational system
Traditionally, the Israeli educational system featured a high degree of central control to
ensure maximum equality within the educational system, which has been a main
concern since Israel became independent in 1948. This means that Israel’s 1,800
elementary (grades 1-6) and junior high schools (grades 7-9) are managed by a
centralized bureaucracy located in Jerusalem around the Ministry of Education, headed
by a Minister and run by a Director-General. Based on the assumption that
centralization best ensures equity, the Ministry of Education is responsible for
educational policy and national goals, the budget, the curriculum and for monitoring
schools through a central control supervisory and superintendency network. In addition,
it controls the recruitment of teachers, teachers’ salaries and curriculum development
and the outputs through national minimum tests and matriculation exams.
In the last decade, however, the Israeli educational system has decentralized rather than
centralized its control patterns. This trend was initiated by the Ministry of Education
although the country is small and therefore relatively easy to control (Inbar, 1986). The
move towards decentralization was initiated for two main reasons: firstly, central
officials turned to decentralization as a last resort after realizing that all the other control
mechanisms have failed (Gaziel & Romm, 1988). Secondly, educators in Israel have
long recognized the negative pedagogical effect of strong centralization, curriculum
uniformity and the fragmented nature of the system (Vollansky & Bar-Elli, 1995).
Hence, in 1992 the Minister of Education commissioned a steering committee to
explore the possibility of extending the scope of school autonomy and local level
accountability and introducing SBM in Israel. This was done after a number of central
initiatives to decentralize the educational system, carried out during the 70s and the 80s,
ended with no significant changes in schools’ autonomy and authority.
The committee recommended introducing SBM to the Israeli Educational system, based
on a set of guidelines:
1. Schools will develop a clear definition of focused goals; 2. Schools will develop a
clear work plan that corresponds with their defined goals and present the plan at the
beginning of the school year to the superintendent to the district and to community
members; 3. Schools will use and implement extensive monitoring and assessment
methods; 4. Schools will be granted full independence in using their budget; 5. Schools’
authority with respect to personnel matters will be broadened; and 6. There will be a
governing body for each school (Recommendations 5 and 6 were postponed). The
authority delegated to schools is followed by a set of binding regulations: SBM schools
have to operate in accordance with the education laws and regulations of the General
Director and with the national curriculum. They have to keep collective labor
agreements, they are not allowed to decrease weekly class hours and they have to
comply with the financial guidelines determined by the local authority on the basis of
the guidelines defined by the Ministry of Education (The Minister of Education, 1993).
Although SBM intends to increase schools’ autonomy, it is interesting to note that
schools cannot introduce SBM unless a contract is signed between the municipality
within which they operate and the central office. In some instances, schools are forced
by the municipality to introduce SBM after a contract has been signed in order to create
unity and facilitate city-level administration. The Municipality of Jerusalem was the
first to sign a contract in 1997. This led to a gradual introduction of SBM to 60 of the 74
elementary school in the city over a period of four years. Schools were tempted to
follow this initiative since they received a significant and immediate increase of their
financial resources. Principals who introduced SBM had to participate in a one -year
training program initiated and carried out by the Ministry of Education officials before
introducing SBM in their school. During their training principals were given guidelines
regarding the expected featur es of school’s annual plan focusing mainly on the quality
of school’s tasks and evaluation processes and discussed issues related to budget
management and to the accountability of local-level educators. One immediate outcome
of this training process is the uniform pattern that characterizes the implementation of
SBM in Israeli elementary schools.
Implications for research
In considering the multifarious effects that SBM is assumed to have on schools, two
implications for research arise. Firstly, while the compelling logic of decentralizing
school systems has created a wave of highlighted expectations of significant
improvement in school performance, these changes have so far failed to materialize
(Davies & Hentschke, 1994). Moreover, existing evidence on the impacts of SBM on
school processes and internal dynamics is diverse. Therefore, it is difficult to establish a
directional hypothesis regarding SBM and school level factors. Secondly, in considering
the slow pace characterizing change processes in education (Inbar, 1975) and the
relatively long period of time needed before SBM effects may be evident (David,
1989a), it is argued that studies attempting to evaluate the impacts of SBM on schools
should utilize a longitudinal design. Although efforts to adopt SBM have been
widespread, there has been surprisingly little empirical research oriented towards
gaining a better understanding of the process and outcomes of these reform efforts using
longitudinal research designs (David, 1989a). Although single shot studies may provide
useful circumstantial evidence, such research designs cannot account for the effects of
SBM, especially when change processes are in progress.
These implications suggest that a pre/post-research design is required if the effects of
SBM on school internal dynamics are to be assessed. Therefore, using a three-year
followup, the present study is designed to evaluate if, and to what extent, the
introduction of SBM in schools has substantial effects on the organizational health of
schools operating in a centralized system of education.
METHOD
Data collection: Since the purpose of this study is to evaluate the impact of SBM on
school health, a three-year study of 28 elementary schools located in Jerusalem was
conducted. These schools were chosen because, at the time the study was conducted,
these were the only schools in the country that planned to implement SBM in the
following year. Ten schools belong to the Orthodox stream of the Israeli national
educational system and 18 schools belong to the national non-Orthodox stream. The
first measurement took place in May 1998, a few months before these schools
implemented school-based management. The second and the third measurements were
performed in May 1999 (the schools’ first year of SBM) and in May 2000 (the second
year of SBM).
Within each school, a minimum of 10 teachers were randomly selected and asked to
complete the measuring instrument. A total of 934 teachers were studied over a period
of three years: 92.2% of the teachers of the sample are women; 84.4% have a teaching
certificate and a bachelor’s degree and 15.6% have a teaching certificate and a masters
degree. Ages range between 25 and 60 years, although the age of the majority of
teachers in the sample (62.1%) does not exceed 40. And, 41.8% of the teachers in the
sample are religious and belong to the Orthodox stream in the Israeli society, while
58.2% belong to the secular stream and define themselves as non-religious. The same
teachers completed the measuring instrument in all three measurements in
approximately 87% of the cases.
The introduction of SBM is assumed to induce change in schooling by affecting
primarily the organizational features of those particular schools. Therefore, the school is
used as the unit of analysis. This is done also because health and climate studies center
on organizational properties rather than on the personal qualities of individuals
(Sirotnik, 1980; Hoy & Barnes, 1997). Therefore, teachers’ responses were averaged so
that all individual-level data were aggregated to the school level (e.g., mean score for all
teachers in a school for each health subset). Since the subsets of the health index vary in
number of items, teachers’ scores for the items of each subset were averaged rather than
added (Hoy et al., 1991, p. 164) to enable standardization. In considering that the
purpose of this study was to determine whether SBM causes significant changes in
school health, the scores of the subsets were averaged each year for the entire group of
schools studied.
In addition, we controlled for personal characteristics of teachers that have been shown
to be important in other studies. These variables are important additions to our model
but are treated as exogenous. Figure 1 presents the research model employed in this
study.
________________________________
INSERT FIGURE 1 ABOUT HERE
_________________________________
Measures:
Teachers’ personal characteristics: The ana lysis involved controls for teachers’
personal characteristics. The variables studied were: teachers’ age, gender, level of
education, length of teaching service in general and in current school in particular,
marital status and religiousness.
School organizational health was studied using the Organizational Climate Description
Questionnaire (OCDQ-RE) developed by Hoy & Clover (1986) for elementary schools.
This instrument focuses mainly on the principal’s behavior and on the degree to which it
is supportive, directive or restrictive and on teachers’ behavior and on the degree to
which it is collegial, intimate or disengaged. Since this instrument is not designed to
address qualities of school’s institutional level or other aspects significant to SBM and
to school’s organizational health (such as resources available for teachers, the
principal’s influence on superiors and teachers’ belief in students’ ability to succeed), an
additional four sub-scales adopted from the Organizational Health Inventory (OHI)
developed by Hoy & Feldman (1987) were employed. In considering that this
instrument was originally designed to address the organizational health of secondary
schools, 20 elementary school principals were asked to appraise, based on the items’
face validity, the relevance of these items for elementary schools. They all agreed that
the items are relevant for elementary schools especially after introducing SBM.
In order to confirm the validity and stability of all the subsets employed, a principle -
component factor analysis with Varimax rotation was performed for the entire sample.
After omitting items with item loading lower than .50 and those loaded in more than one
factor, 37 four -point Likert type items were left forming a seven factor solution, with
item loading above .50 (see appendix A). The seven sub-scales are:
1. Consideration, referring to a principal’s behavior as friendly, supportive, open and
collegial (Cronbach a coefficient = .91); 2. Morale, referring to a collective sense of
friendliness (Cronbac h a coefficient = .88); 3. Institutional integrity, referring to a
school’s ability to cope with the demands and external pressures inherent in schools’
environment (Cronbach a coefficient = .87); 4. Bureaucratic load, referring to the
number of tasks that teachers have to perform in addition to teaching (Cronbach a
coefficient = .90); 5. Principal influence, referring to a principal’s ability to influence
the actions of superiors (Cronbach a coefficient = .87); 6. Academic emphasis, referring
to teachers’ belief in their pupils’ ability to succeed (Cronbach a coefficient = .87); and
7. Resource support, referring to the supplies and instructional materials available for
teachers in school (Cronbach a coefficient = .88). A 4-point Likert type scale is used
throughout the questionnaire. Sub-scales 1,5 and 7 were used to assess schools’
managerial level whereas sub-scales 2,4 and 6 were employed to evaluate schools’
technical level.
Data analysis: The data are analyzed in two sequential stages: In the first sta ge, the
results of each sub-scale are aggregated for each school and a repeated-measure
procedure is used to assess whether differences exist between the scores before and after
the introduction of SBM in schools. In each of these analyses, teachers’ personal
background data is controlled and used as a covariate. In the second stage, the results
for each health sub-set are aggregated across the entire sample, and paired-sample t-
tests are used to determine the source for the differences found using the repeated-
measure procedure. Although in the process of aggregation individual school data is
lost, the standard deviations for each of the sub-scales obtained for the distribution
across 28 schools range between .20 and .32, indicating that the variance among
schools’ individual scores is relatively low.
To avoid inflation of the confidence level and a type II error when performing three
sequential t-tests for each of the organizational health variables, a Bonferroni
confidence level is used for each of the comparisons (for a review on Bonferroni critical
value procedure: Harris, 1995, p. 316). This means that for each comparison, a 98.34%
confidence level is used so that the total confidence level used for the set of three
comparisons will not exceed 95%.
Interviews: Since the current literature on SBM lacks a solid theoretical foundation that
may be used when attempting to interpret research data, interviews with 10 teachers
were additionally conducted to better enable the interpretation of the quantitative
findings. Teachers were randomly chosen from 10 schools of the 28 schools studied,
with a single teacher from each school.
At the beginning of each interview, the teachers were presented with a general question:
“Do you feel that the introduction of SBM in your school led to significant changes?”
Next, the evidence from the quantitative analysis regarding the seven health variables
was presented and teachers were asked to offer their interpretation for the results based
on their experiences.
RESULTS
The results reveal that changes have occurred in some aspects of schools’ organizational
health over a period of three years during which SBM was introduced in these schools.
However, these changes are diverse in terms of their implications for organizational
health, and may indicate influences other than the introduction of SBM that schools
experienced during this period of time. Moreover, although a longitudinal research
design was employed and three sequential measurements were performed over a period
of the three years, it may still be difficult to identify the effects of SBM in considering
the slow pace characterizing change processes in schools.
These limitations suggest that the findings reported here should be treated with caution
and that no single comprehensive conclusion regarding the impacts of SBM on school
health may be established (see Appendix B for descriptive statistics).
Consideration : Consideration refers to a principal’s friendly, supportive, open and
collegial behavior. A repeated-measure procedure, used to assess the extent to which
teachers perceive their principal’s consideration to be different before and after the
introduction of SBM in schools, reveals no statistically significant differences (Wilks’
Lambda = .909; F = 1.208; for a review on Wilks’ Lambda criterion: Marriot, 1990, pp.
462-5). The results reflect that teachers perceive their principals as relatively
considerate both before the introduction of SBM (mean = 3.06) and in the two years that
followed the implementation of SBM (means = 3.08 and 3.19).
In considering that under SBM, schools are expected to increase the quality of their
performance, it is rather surprising that the introduction of SBM in schools did not
encourage principals to become more friendly, supportive, open and collegial as means
for increasing teachers’ efforts and school outcomes. One possible explanation is that in
the first two years SBM does not lead to changes in school principals’ leadership style
which may be evident in their attitude towards subordinates. This explanation is in line
with findings showing that SBM does not change significantly principals’ leadership
style (Daresh, 1992, p. 115). Therefore, it may be argued that principals continue to
behave as they used to before implementing SBM, and they tend to maintain similar
interactions with their subordinates, based on their previous leadership assumptions.
Morale: Morale refers to a collective sense of friendliness that exists among school
members. A repeated-measure procedure reveals statistically significant differences in
the morale of teachers before and after the introduction of SBM in schools (Wilks’
Lambda = .474; F = 13.335; p< .001). Paired t-test comparisons used to determine the
source for these differences reveal that morale has deteriorated over the three years. As
Graph 1 shows, morale was high in the year prior to the introduction of SBM and in the
following year. However, in the second year of SBM, the results reflect a sharp and
statistically significant drop in teachers’ morale in comparison to the year before SBM
was introduced in their school (t = 5.398; df. 26; p< .001).
__________________________
INSERT GRAPH 1 ABOUT HERE
__________________________
A possible explanation for these results is that the introduction of SBM increases
internal pressures and the struggle for resources among teachers. This explanation is
supported by earlier studies reporting that SBM promotes int er-school competition
(Polansky, 1998) and increases organizational conflict (Short & Rinehart, 1993).
Moreover, according to our findings, teachers’ morale significantly decreased only in
the second year to SBM. This pattern corresponds with other research findings
(Duttweiler & Mutchler, 1990a, p. 34; Carnoy & MacDonnell, 1990; Collins & Hanson,
1991) showing that morale increased with the initial levels of implementation of SBM,
but soon returned to depressed levels that existed in school prior to the introduction of
SBM. This pattern may be a result of a gap that exists between teachers’ initial
expectations of SBM and their actual experience.
Institutional integrity refers to the school’s ability to cope with the demands and
external pressures of parents and other members of the school’s community. A
repeated-measure procedure reveals statistically significant differences in institutional
integrity before and after the introduction of SBM (Wilks’ Lambda = .571; F = 9.029;
p< .001). The paired t-test comparisons reveal that prior to the introduction of SBM,
teachers perceived schools’ ability to cope with external pressures to be the lowest in
comparison with the following years. Statistically significant differences are obtained
when comparisons are performed between the year prior to the introduction of SBM and
the second year of SBM (t = -4.031; df. 26; p< .001), and between the first and second
year of SBM (t = -4.001; df. 25; p< .001). As Graph 2 shows, there exists a steady
increase in the perceived ability of schools to cope with parental demands and other
external pressures after the introduction of SBM.
___________________________
INSERT GRAPH 2 ABOUT HERE
____________________________
Following research findings, showing that SBM improves school-parents relationships
(Ng, 1999) and eliminates destructive district-school relationships (Cross & Reitzug,
1996), SBM seems, according to our findings, to improve schools’ ability to cope with
external pressures and parental demands.
This finding may be explained in considering that under SBM, schools are more flexible
and better able to meet local needs and demands and to produce educational plans that
correspond with parental’ expectations. Such circumstances decrease the potential for
conflicts between school and parents. At the same time, SBM grants schools increased
formal authority they can exert in their interactions with parents and increases their
legitimacy in using it, both highly influential to the perceived ability of school-level
educators to confront external pressures.
Bureaucratic load: This variable refers to the number of tasks that teachers must
perform in addition to teaching. A repeated-measure procedure reveals statistically
significant differences in the bureaucratic load perceived by teachers before and after
the introduction of SBM (Wilks’ Lambda = .483; F = 12.858; p< .001). Paired t-test
comparisons revealed that teachers perceive an increase in the amount of paperwork
they have to perform in addition to teaching, when comparisons are made between the
circumstances that existed in schools prior to the introduction of SBM and the first (t = -
2.795; df. 25; p< .01) and second year of SBM (t = -4.697; df. 26; p< .001). As Graph 3
shows, a significant increase in the perceived bureaucratic load occurs immediately after
SBM is introduced in schools and it continues to increase steadily.
__________________________
INSERT GRAPH 3 ABOUT HERE
__________________________
This finding allows for the conclusion that an opposite relation between the bureaucratic
burden that teachers perceive on the job and the declared increase in school autonomy
exists. The assumed increase in school autonomy seems to produce a larger workload
and amount of paperwork that teachers must process and has been recognized as an
undesirable consequence of SBM (Leithwood et al., 1996; O’Connor & Clark, 1990;
Wylie, 1997; Campbell & Neill, 1992). This finding may be explained in considering
that SBM is basically a change-oriented initiative implemented in public schools which
have long been identified as loosely coupled systems where the various components,
while responsive to one another, preserve their own identity through some degree of
separateness (Weick, 1976). Alignment of strategic activities that schools implementing
SBM need to conduct requires coordination among staff accustomed to a high degree of
independence (Timperley & Robinson, 2000). Since coordination is made possible
through documentation of the various activities performed by teachers, teachers
experience an increase in their workload and in non-teaching assignments.
Principal influence: A key element in assessing the impact of SBM on the image of
school principals’ authority as perceived by teachers refers to the extent to which
teachers perceive their principals as capable of influencing the actions of superiors.
A repeated-measure procedure used to assess the extent to which teachers perceive their
principals’ influence on superiors to be different before and after the introduction of
SBM to schools reveals no statistically significant differences (Wilks’ Lambda = .885; F
= 1.558). The results reflect that teachers perceive their principals to have had a steady
and moderate influence on superiors before the introduction of SBM (mean = 3.15) and
in the two years that followed the implementation of SBM in their schools (means =
3.17 and 3.06).
In line with previously reported evidence (Malen et al., 1990, p.11), our findings
suggest that teachers do not regard the introduction of SBM in the school as an increase
in principals’ influence on superiors. This may be explained in considering that in
centralized systems of education, the authority that is delegated to the school level may
be taken back by senior officials since powers still rest with the central authority (Bray,
1985). Therefore, SBM is not considered to significantly change the extent to which
principals may influence superiors.
Academic emphasis: This variable is used to assess the extent to which teachers’ believe
in children’s ability to succeed. A repeated-measure procedure reveals statistically
significant differences in teachers’ academic emphases before and after the introduction
of SBM (Wilks’ Lambda = .453; F = 14.508; p< .001). Although paired t-test
comparisons revealed no statistically significant differences between teachers’
perceptions before SBM is introduced (mean = 2.98) and the first year of SBM (mean =
3.03), there is a sharp increase when comparing teachers’ academic emphases before
SBM is introduced and the second year of SBM (t = -5.713; df. 26; p< .001).
____________________________
INSERT GRAPH 4 ABOUT HERE
____________________________
Since teachers’ beliefs in students’ ability to succeed are in many cases a self-fulfilling
prophecy, the results suggest that the introduction of SBM in schools have the potential
to encourage teachers to increase their efforts while teaching. This finding is hardly
surprising considering SBM schools are assumed to better adjust educational processes
to students’ needs, and are therefore, expected to increase their effectiveness.
However, it is important to note that the evidence reported in earlier studies regarding
the effect of SBM on student’s outcomes is mixed. Moreover, the present research
studied schools that had experienced SBM for only two years and focused on teachers’
perceptions regarding students’ performance rather than on actual behaviors and
outcomes. For these reasons it is difficult to determine, based on our data, whether in
the Israeli educational context this prophecy will eventually be fulfilled and a different
and more effic ient culture of learning and teaching will eventually be created.
Resource support: SBM grants Israeli schools increased resources along with the
authority to decide how to use these resources and enables them to invest their budget in
activities they consider most important. One basic premise for SBM is that it enables
schools to become more efficient and to better direct supplies for instructional activities.
A repeated-measure procedure reveals statistically significant differences in the amount
of resources available for teachers before and after the introduction of SBM (Wilks’
Lambda = .741; F = 4.199; p< .05).
When a set of paired t-test comparisons is used to determine the source for these
differences, a sharp increase is evident in the amount of resources available for teachers
in the first year of SBM in comparison with the year before SBM was introduced (t = -
2.376; df. 25; p< .01). However, in the second year of SBM there is a sharp decrease in
the amount of resources available for instructional purposes, to the same level that
existed prior to the introduction of SBM in schools.
__________________________
INSERT GRAPH 5 ABOUT HERE
__________________________
Since the amount of resources granted schools in the Israeli educational system changed
dramatically before and after the introduction of SBM, but not between the first and
second year of SBM, the results reflect a cha nge in school strategy related to the
distribution of resources.
Based on the assertion that self managing school are most likely to develop a school-
wide vision and practices consistent with that vision (Fullan, 1996; Siskin, 1997;
Hannay & Ross, 1997), it is possible that in the second year of SBM, principals prefer
to concentrate resources and devote them to vision-driven purposes rather than allow
their use for various activities teachers wish to conduct. Therefore, at the teachers’ level,
the introduc tion of SBM to schools does not significantly change the amount of
resources available for their disposal, although the amount of resources available at the
school level is actually increased.
Interviews: To better enable the interpretation of the findings discussed above, ten
randomly chosen teachers working in SBM schools were interviewed. All the teachers
interviewed share the notion that, so far, the introduction of SBM in their school did not
lead to dramatic changes. When asked to assess why, different explanations emerge:
“Our school is constantly introducing new ideas and new change initiatives. SBM is just
one initiative among many.” “We have had SBM for two years. Although this is a
substantial amount of time, it is possible that more time is required before its impacts
will be identified.” “In one of the meetings we had just before the school year started,
we were told that our school is among the schools that will introduce SBM. Nobody
asked for our opinion about this initiative, not then and not now. We are expected to
become involved in the implementation of SBM in our school and not in planning and
designing the process.” Hence, the large number of initiatives that schools introduce, the
lack of teacher influence and the lack of time are considered among the factors that
moderate the perceived impacts of SBM.
Next, teachers were asked to offer their interpretation to the findings obtained in the
quantitative study for the organizational health variables.
Principal’s consideration: Teachers tend to agree with the findings showing that SBM
did not lead to a significant change in principals’ consideration. Some interviewees
relate this to the fact that most of the change initiatives are directed toward teachers
rather than toward the principals: “Our school is constantly bombarded with various
programs and initiatives. However, they are all directed towards the teachers and
therefore are less likely to significantly affect the principal’s attitude and behavior.”
Other interviewees provide a different explanation: “Our principal has always been and
remained a nice person. However, she is task oriented and a dominant person, and now
she continues to run the school as she used to run it in the past.”
Principal’s influence on superiors: Most of the interviewees agreed that it is difficult
for them to assess if their principals’ influence on superiors has changed since SBM was
introduced in their school, as they are not fully aware of all the interactions between
principals and superiors. However, based on teachers’ interactions with school
superintendents, they conclude that their principal’s influence on the superintendent did
not change significantly: “The superintendent continues to monitor our teaching and to
write her reports as she did before.” “Eventually, my career and tenure are determined
mostly by the superintendent. My principal is asked for her recommendations, but she is
not the one who actually decides.” The limited influence on superiors that principals are
considered to ha ve corresponds with the notion that SBM did not increase principals’
authority regarding central policy issues: “Decisions that refer to the most important
issues in schooling, such as curriculum and personnel, are still made by the Director
General.”
Morale: When teachers are asked to explain why SBM seems to negatively affect their
morale they offer a range of explanations. They all point out the increased demand for
accountability and for students’ outcomes as the main factor: “We are not yet sure what
we as teachers are going to gain from SBM. However, it was made very clear to us by
our principal that under SBM, we cannot blame anyone for low achievements and lack
of efficiency but ourselves.” The increased emphasis on the need to improve outcomes
seems to have additional negative side effects on teachers’ morale: “Now we have to
struggle for resources. In some cases, this produces tensions among the teachers and
negatively affects their willingness to cooperate with each other.” Another teacher said:
“SBM is among a the number of large-scale projects that were introduced to our school
in the last years. However, no efforts are made to cultivate the teachers who become
more and more fatigued over the years.”
Academic emphasis: Teachers say that SBM is translated at the school level as an
immediate demand to increase efforts and to express increased accountability for
students’ outcomes. However, “some teachers in our school talk the talk but fail to walk
the walk and, therefor e, I don’t expect that our school’s effectiveness will dramatically
change in the future.”
Resources: As mentioned earlier, schools were tempted to follow the SBM initiative
since they received a significant and immediate increase of their financial resources.
And indeed, teachers tie SBM to a sudden prosperity in the amount of resources that
was made available for their disposal after SBM was introduced in their school. “We
always got what we needed. When SBM was introduced, our school got much more
money and we were encouraged to request anything that might be useful for teaching
and learning. However, this only happened once and stopped in the second year. It is not
clear to me how the money is spent this year.” Another teacher said: “This year our
principal decided that all the extra money will be used to renovate the computer
laboratory, leaving little money to support teachers’ initiatives. I wonder what will be
next year’s excuse for not distributing more money to the teachers.”
Bureaucratic load: Teachers express a view that supports the quantitative evidence
showing that SBM increases the amount of paperwork they have to process. Several
explanations are offered: “One way to save energy and to increase efficiency is by
distributing teaching materials among teachers. Every teacher is expected to document
new ideas and activities and distribute his work among the rest of the teachers.” “Our
principal wants us to document almost everything we do. I know that she reads and files
everything. I assume that this is done so that she may better monitor our work.” “Since
SBM was introduced to our school, we are expected to constantly update the parents.”
Institutional integrity: Increasing parents’ awareness regarding the internal processes
conducted by school seems to be related to schools’ institutional integrity: “Parents are
involved and have a good idea about the various activities that our school conducts.
Parents are familiar with our school’s policy and are aware that our policy is not
negotiable.” The majority of the teachers who were interviewed confirmed that schools
are better able to cope with external pressures after introducing SBM: “Now our school
initiates many more programs designed to better meet the specific needs of our
children.”
DISCUSSION
According to Hoy & Feldman (1987), the seven aspects of health fit together to form a
general health index for schools. The higher the score, the healthier the organizational
dynamics in the school.
The aggregated scores computed for the school health in dex reflect that the schools
studied are characterized by moderate organizational health. Comparisons of the
integrated health scores between the three measurements performed reveal no
statistically significant differences.
However, in spite of arguments claiming that the impacts of SBM may be evident only
after a relatively long period of time (Wissler & Ortiz, 1986; Casner-Lotto, 1988;
Sickler, 1988; David, 1989b), significant differences do appear when comparisons are
made on the organizational health subsets investigated. Some of the changes seem to be
related in some sense to the tendency toward increased effectiveness that SBM is
assumed to foster. The most prominent expression of this tendency is teachers’
perceptions reflecting higher expectations for children’s achievements, which
undoubtedly is an important although insufficient component of school effectiveness.
Nevertheless, the picture from the teachers’ perspective after the second year of SBM is
not encouraging. It seems that teachers feel that the quality of their work atmosphere
has deteriorated significantly. Teachers report having a lower morale and increased
bureaucratic load in comparison to the circumstances that existed in their school prior to
the introduction of SBM, being both attributes of the technical level of school health. At
the same time, they don’t perceive their principals to be more considerate, nor do they
have an increased amount of resources that they can use in their teaching.
From the teachers’ point of view, SBM seems to create a burden rather than an
opportunity to increase their professional and personal autonomy and to improve the
quality of the social interactions they experience in school.
Since teachers operate on the front lines and are responsible for the quality of schools’
educational processes and outcomes, their contentment is highly important. Therefore,
emphasizing school outcomes should not be treated as the only worthwhile goal,
assuming that SBM is expected to increase school effectiveness by inducing change in
the professional perceptions of teachers and in the culture of teaching and learning. The
flexibility granted to schools by SBM should also be used to conduct various activities
intended to improve the quality of the school’s climate so as to enable teachers to
realize their ambitions and needs. In this sense, organizational effectiveness is more
likely to be achieved if teachers experience a school atmosphere that increases their
commitment to their colleagues and to the school rather than if the y are obliged to
comply with some formal constraints imposed by the introduction of SBM in their
school.
Much depends on the internal dynamics of the school and on the supportive conditions
(Robertson et al., 1995) that exist in the school context. A number of studies have
demonstrated that school performance often depends on whether the school’s internal
processes can motivate its members (see Cheng, 1996b, p. 48). According to our
findings, more attention should be paid to the technical level of school health and to
improving teachers’ morale. Moreover, efforts should be made to limit to a minimum
the bureaucratic load on teachers. In considering the significance of the principal in
motivating teachers, principals’ consideration for teachers is a highly important means
for the improvement of the school atmosphere.
It should be acknowledged that a school-based managed school is not only a place to
foster student growth but also a place to foster the development of teachers (Cheng,
1996b, p. 53). Emphasis should be placed equally on all the components that affect the
quality of the school’s health if SBM is expected to increase the professional autonomy
of educators along with the effectiveness of the school. It is, therefore, argued that
neglecting teachers’ psychosocial and professional needs while introducing SBM in
schools will most likely create the illusion of personal and organizational autonomy,
which will dissolve in time.
REFERENCES
Bernas, T.G. (1992). Documenting the implementation of school based
management/shared decision making in a non-chapter 1 Elementary school.
Paper presented at the Annual Meeting of the American Educational Research
Association, San Francisco, CA, April, 20-24.
Boyd, W.L. (1990). Balancing control and autonomy in school reform: The politics of
Perestroika. In: J. Murphy (Ed.), The educational reform movement of the
1980’s, Berkeley, CA: McCutchan Pub. Co
Boyd, W.L. (1992).The power of paradigms: Reconceptualising educational policy and
management, Educational Administration Quarterly, 28: 504-528.
Bray, M. (1985). Education and decentralization in less developed countries : A
comment on general trends, issues and problems, with particular reference to
Papua New Guinea, Comparative Education, 21 (2): 183-195.
Brouillette, L. (1997). Who defines democratic leadership?: Three high school
principals respond to site-based reforms. Journal of School Leadership ,
7 (6): 569-591.
Brown, D.J. (1990). Decentralization and school-based management, New York:
Falmer Press.
Brown, D.J. (1991). Decentralization, California: Crowin Press, Inc.
Brown, D.J. (1992). The recentralization of school districts. Educational Policy,
6 (3): 289-297.
Caldwell, S.D. & Wood, F.H. (1992). Breaking ground in restructuring, Educational
Leadership , 50 (1): 41-44.
Campbell, R.J. & Neill, S.R. (1992). The use and management of secondary teachers’
time after the Education Reform Act 1988. Warwick: Warwick University.
Carnoy, M. & MacDonnell, J. (1990). School district restructuring in Santa Fe, New
Mexico. Educational Policy, 4 (1): 49-64.
Casner -Lotto, J. (1988). Expanding the teachers’ role: Hammond’s school
improvement process, Phi Delta Kappan , 69: 349-353.
Cheng, Y.C. (1996a). School based management mechanism for school effectiveness
and development, School Effectiveness and School Improvement,
7 (1): 35-61.
Cheng, Y.C. (1996b). School effectiveness and school-based management,
London: Falmer Press.
Chubb, J.E. & Moe, T.M. (1988). Politics, markets and the organization of schools.
American Political Science Review, 82: 1065-1087.
Clune, W.H. & White, P.A. (1988). School-based management: Institutional variation,
implementation and issues for further research, Center for Policy
Research in Education, New Brunswick, NJ: Rutgers University.
Collins R.A. & Hanson, M.K. (1991). School based management /shared decision
making project. Miami, FL: Dade County Publich Schools, Office of
Educational Accountability.
Cranston, N. (2000). The impact of school based management on primary school
principals: An Australian perspective. Journal of School Leadership,
10 (3): 214-232.
Cross, B.E. & Reitzug, U.C. (1996). How to build ownership in city schools,
Educational Leadership , 53 (4): 16-19.
Darling-Hammond, L. & Wise, A.E. (1985). Beyond standardization: State standards
and school improvement, Elementary School Journal, 85: 315-335.
Daresh, J.C. (1992). Impressions of school based management: The Cincinnati story.
In J.J. Lane & E.G. Epps (Eds.), Restructuring the schools: problems and
prospects (pp. 109-121). Berkeley, CA: McCatchan.
David, J. L. (1989a). Synthesis of research on school-based management, Educational
Leadership , 46 (8): 45-53.
David, J. L. (1989b). Restructuring in progress: Lessons from pioneering districts,
Washington, DC: National Governors’ Association.
Davies, B. & Hentschke, G.C. (1994). Locating US and English schools in the context
of organizational autonomy. Paper presented at the annual meeting of the
American Educational Research Association, New Orleans.
Delaney, J.G. (1997). Principal leadership: A primary factor in school based
management and school improvement. NASSP Bulletin, 81 (586): 107-111.
Dempster, N. (2000). Guilty or not: The impact and effects of site-based management
on schools. Journal of Educational Administration, 38 (1): 47-63.
Devos, G., Van den Broeck, H., & Vanderheyden, K. (1998). The concept and practice
of a school-based management contest: Integration of leadership
development and organizational learning, Educational Administration
Quarterly, 34 (Supplemental): 700-717.
Duttweiler, P.C. & Mutchler, S.E. (1990a). Organizing the educational system for
excellence: Harnessing the energy of people. Austin, TX: Southwest
Educational Development Laboratory.
Duttweiler, P.C. & Mutchler, S.E. (1990b). Recommendations for implementing school
based management / shared decision-making. Insights on Educational
Policy and Practice, 21: 1-4.
Epps, E.G. (1992). School based management: Implications for minority parents. In: J.J.
Lane & E.G. Epps (Eds.), Restructuring the schools: problems and
prospects (pp. 143-163). Berkeley, CA: McCtchan.
Farber, B. & Ascher, C. (1991). Urban school restructuring and teacher burnout.
ERIC/CUE Digest, Number 75, ERIC Clearinghouse on Urba n
Education, New York, NY.
Frazer, L.H. & Rumbaut, M. (1993). School based improvement: What is needed for
successful implementation? Paper presented at the Annual Meeting of the
American Educational Research Association, Atlanta, GA, April 12-16.
Fullan, M. (1996). Turning systematic thinking on its head. Phi Delta Kappan,
77: 420-423.
Fusarelli, L.D. & Scribner, J.D. (1993). Site -based management and critical
democratic pluralism: An analysis of promises, problems and probabilities.
Paper presented at the annual conference of the University Council for
Educational Administration, Houston, TX.
Gaziel, H.H. & Romm T. (1988). From centralization to decentralization: The case of
Israel as a unique pattern of control in education. European
Journal of Education , 23 (4): 345-352.
Glickman, C. (1990). Pushing school reform to a new edge: The seven ironies of school
empowerment, Phi Delta Kappan , 72 (1): 68-75.
Hannay, L.M. & Ross, J.A. (1997). Initiating secondary school reform: The dynamic
relationship between restructuring, reculturing and retiming. Educational
Administration Quarterly, 33 (suppl. Dec.: 576-603).
Harris, M.B. (1995). Basic statistics for behavioral science research. Boston:
Allyn & Bacon.
Hill, P. & Bonan, J. (1991). Decentralization and accountability in public education .
Santa Monica, CA. Rand.
Hoy, W.K, Tarter, C.J. & Kottkamp, R.B. (1991). Open schools / Healthy schools.
London: Sage.
Hoy, W.K., & Barnes, K.M. (1997). The organizational health of middle schools: The
concept and its measure. Paper presented at the Annual Meeting of the
American Educational Research Association, Chicago.
Hoy, W.K., & Clover S.I.R. (1986). Elementary school climate: A revision of the
OCDQ. Educational Administration Quarterly , 22 (1): 93-110.
Hoy, W.K., & Feldman. J.A. (1987). Organizational health: The concept and its
measure, Journal of Research and Development in Education , 20 (4): 30-37.
Inbar, D. (1975). The educational planning system: Change and tension. Futures,
7 (2): 119-128.
Inbar, D.E. (1986). Educational policy making and planning in a small centralized
democracy. Comparative Education, 22:271-281.
Jenni. R.W. & Mauriel, J.J. (1990). An examination of the factors affecting
stakeholders assessment of school decentralization . Paper presented at the
Annual Meeting of the American Educational Research Association, Boston.
Johnes, G. (1995). School Management: How much local autonomy should there be?
Educational Management and Administration, 23 (3): 162-167.
Lange, J.T. (1993). Site-based decision making: A resource for restructuring,
NASSP Bulletin, 77 (549): 98-107.
Leithwood, K., Menzies, T., Jantzi, D. & Leithwood, J. (1996). School restructuring,
transformational leadership and amelioration of teacher burnout. Anxiety
Stress and Coping: An international Journal, 9: 199-215.
Leithwood, K. & Menzies, T. (1998). A review of research concerning the
implementation of site-based management, School Effectiveness and School
Improvement, 9 (3): 233-285.
Levin, H. (1988). Accelerated schools for at risk students. New Brunswick, NJ: Center
Research in Education, Rutgers University.
Lindelow, J. & Heynderickx, J. (1989). School based management. In: S.C.Smith &
P.K. Piele (Eds.) School leadership: handbook for excellence (2nd Ed.),
University of Oregon, ERIC Clearing house on Educational Management,
Eugene, pp. 109-134.
Malen, B., Ogawa, R.T., & Kranz, J. (1990). What do we know about school based
management? A case study of the literature – a call for research. In: W.H.
Clune & J.F. Witte (Eds.), Choice and control in American Education:
Vol. 2. The practice of choice, decentralization and school restructuring.
London: Falmer Press.
Marriot, F.H.L. (1990). A dictionary of statistical terms. 5th edition. N.Y.: Wiley.
Murphy, J. (1994). Transformational change and the evolving role of the principalship:
Early empirical evidence. In: J. Murphy & K.S. Louis (Eds.), Reshaping
the principalship: Insights from transformational reform efforts (pp. 20-53).
Thousand Oaks, CA: Crowin.
Murphy, J. & Beck, L.G. (1995): School-based management as school reform,
California: Corwin Press Inc.
Ng, S.W. (1999). Home -school relations in Hong Kong: Separation or partnership.
School Effectiveness and School Improvement, 10 (4): 551-560.
Neal, R.G. (1991). School based management: A detailed guide for successful
implementation. National Educational Service, Bloomington, IN.
Neal, R.G. (1994). School based management: The advantage of lump-sum transfers.
School Business Affairs, 60 (6): 34-38.
Nyberg, D. & Farber, P. (1986). Authorit y in education, Teachers College Record ,
88: 4-14.
O’Connor, P.R. & Clark, V.A. (1990). Determinants of teacher stress. Australian
Journal of Education, 34: 41-51
Odden, E.R. & Wholstetter, P. (1995). Making school based management work.
Educational Leadership , 52 (5): 32-36.
Polansky, H.B. (1998). Equity and school based management: It can be done.
School Business Affairs, 64 (4): 36-37.
Reitzug, U.C. & Capper, C.A. (1996). Deconstructing site-based management:
Possibilities for emancipation and alternative means of control. International
Journal of Educational Reform, 5 (1): 56-59.
Reynolds, D. & Cuttance, P. (1993). School Effectiveness. London: Cassell.
Robertson, P.J. & Briggs, K.L. (1998). Improving schools through school based
management: An examination of the process of change, School
Effectiveness and School Improvement, 9 (1): 28-57.
Robertson, P.J., Wohlstetter, P., & Mohrman, S.A. (1995). Generating curriculum and
instructional innovations through school-based management, Educational
Administration Quarterly, 31 (3): 375-404.
Sackney, L.E. & Dibski, D.J. (1994). School-based management: A critical
perspective, Educational Management and Administration,
22 (2): 104-112.
Sagor, R. (1996). Local control and accountability: How to get it, keep it and improve
school performance, CA: Corwin Press Inc.
Short, P.M. & Rinehart, J.S. (1993). Teacher empowerment and school climate.
Education (Washington D.C.), 113 (4): 592-597.
Sickler, J.I. (1988). Teacher in charge: Empowering the professionals,
Phi Delta Kappan, 69, p. 354-358.
Sirotnik, K.A. (1980). Psychometric implications of the unit of analysis problem (with
examples from the measurement of organizational climate), Journal of
Educational Measurement, 17 (Winter): 245-282.
Siskin, L.S. (1997). The challenge of leadership in comprehensive high schools: School
vision and departmental divisions. Educational Administration Quarterly,
33: 604-623.
Smith, W.E. (1993). Teachers’ perceptions of role change through shared decision
making: A two-year case study. Paper presented at the annual meeting of the
American Educational Research Association, Atlanta, GA.
Summers, A.A. & Johnson, A.W. (1995). Doubts about decentralized decisions. School
Administrator 52 (3): 24-26, 28, 30, 32.
Summers, A.A. & Johnson, A.W. (1994). A review of the evidence on the effects of
school-based management plans. Paper presented at the conference on
Improving the Performance of American Schools: Economic Choices.
National Research Council, National Academy of Sciences, Washington, DC.
The Minister of Education, (1993). The introduction of School-Based management to
schools: Recommendations of steering committee. The State of Israel:
The Ministry of Education, Jerusalem (Hebrew).
Timperley, H. & Robinson, V. (2000). Workload and the professional culture of
teachers. Educational Management and Administration, 28 (1): 47-62.
Valente, M. E. (1999). The relationship of organizational health, leadership and
teacher empowerment. Paper presented at the annual Meeting of the American
Educational Research Association, Montreal, Canada, April 19-23.
Vollansky, A. & Bar-Elli, D. (1995). Moving toward equitable school-based
management. Educational Leadership , 53 (4): 60-62.
Weick, K. E. (1976). Educational organizations as loosely coupled systems.
Administrative Science Quarterly, 21, 1-19.
Weiss, C.H. (1992). Shared decision making about what? A comparison of schools with
and without teacher participation. Occasional Paper No. 5. National Center
for Educational Leadership, Cambridge, MA.
White, P.A. (1989). An overview of school based management: What does the research
say? NASSP Bulletin, 73 (518): 1-8.
White, P.A. (1992). Teacher empowerment under ‘ideal’ school-site autonomy,
Educational Evaluation and Policy Analysis , 14: 69-82.
Wissler, D.F. & Ortiz, F.I. (1986). The decentralization process of school systems: A
review of the literature, Urban Education, 21: 280-294.
Wohlstetter, P. (1995). Getting school-based management right: What works and what
doesn’t. Phi-Delta -Kappan, 77 (1): 22-24.
Wohlstetter, P., Wenning, R., & Briggs, K. (1994). Charter schools in the United
States: The question of autonomy, Educational Policy, 9 (4): 331-358.
Wylie, C. (1997). Self managing school seven years on: What have we learnt?
Wellington: New Zealand Council for Educational Research.
Yanitski, N.W. (1998). Site-based decision making in schools. Paper presented at the
Annual Meeting of the American Educational Research Association,
San Diego, CA, April 13-17.
Young, R.L. (1995). What is the most effective structure? Site-based budgeting is best.
School Business Affairs, 61 (6): 38-42.
Figure 1: The research model
Year 1998 Year 1999 Year 2000 First Measurement Second Measurement Third Measurement Prior to implementing Schools’ first year Schools’ second year SBM in schools with SBM with SBM N = 28 schools N = 28 schools N = 28 schools
Personal Background Data
School’s Organizational Health
Personal Background Data
School’s Organizational Health
Personal Background Data
School’s Organizational Health
Figure 2 : Teachers Morale (N= 28 Schools)
3.063.1
2.64
2.5
2.75
3
3.25
3.5
1998 1999 2000
Years
Figure 3 : Institutional Integrity (N= 28 Schools)
2.642.71
3.03
2.5
2.75
3
3.25
3.5
1998 1999 2000
Years
Figure 4 : Bureaucractic Load (N= 28 Schools)
2.86
3.023.18
2.5
2.75
3
3.25
3.5
1998 1999 2000
Years
Figure 5 : Academic Emphasis (N= 28 Schools)
2.943.03
3.32
2.5
2.75
3
3.25
3.5
1998 1999 2000
Years
Figure 6 : Resource Support (N= 28 Schools)
3.1
3.253.09
2.5
2.75
3
3.25
3.5
1998 1999 2000
Years
Appendix A: Seven-Factor solution for the 37 organizational health items of elementary schools
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________ Item 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 The principal goes out of his or her way to show appreciation for teachers .81 The principal compliments teachers .80 The principal treats teachers as equals .77 The principal listens and accepts teachers’ suggestions .76 The principal goes out of his or her way to help teachers .75 The principals uses constructive criticism .68 The principal looks out for the personal welfare of teachers .67 The principal accepts questions without appearing to snub or quash the teacher .64 The principal discusses classroom issues with teachers .53 Teachers help and support each other .81 Teachers exhibit friendliness to each other .78 Teachers have fun socializing together during school time .74 There is a feeling of trust and confidence among the staff .70 New teachers are readily accepted by colleagues .64 Teachers help and support each other .59 Teachers are proud of their school .56 Teacher accomplish their work with vim, vigor and pleasure .56 Teachers invite faculty to visit them at home .55 The school is vulnerable to outside pressures .82 A few vocal parents can change the school policy .77 Community demands are accepted even when are not consistent with the educational program .72 The school is open to the whims of the public .68 Teachers feel pressure from the community .62 Administrative paperwork is burdensome at this school .82 Clerical support reduces teachers’ paper work .80 Teachers are burdened with busy work .71 Routine duties interfere with the job of teaching .67 The principal is able to influence the actions of his or her superiors .67 The principal’s recommendations are given serious consideration by his or her superiors .66 The principal gets what he or she asks for from superiors .65 Students are co operative during classroom instruction .72 Student seek extra work so they can get good grades .69 Students neglect to complete homework .68 Students try hard to improve on previous work .66 Teachers are provided with adequate materials for their classrooms .81 Teacher receive necessary classroom supplies .80 Supplementary materials are available for classroom use .74
Appendix B: Descriptive statistics: Means, Standard deviations for the three data points (N = 28 schools) School factor 1 factor 2 factor 3 factor 4 factor 5 factor 6 factor 7
N M sd M sd M sd M sd M sd M sd M sd
1 t1 10 2.74 .33 2.51 .35 2.63 .45 2.60 .57 2.53 .57 2.54 .49 3.00 .51
t2 10 3.08 .38 3.10 .41 2.71 .42 3.02 .48 3.17 .48 3.03 .50 3.25 .44 t3 10 3.19 .42 2.64 .48 3.03 .41 3.18 .37 3.06 .38 3.32 .46 3.09 .49 2 t1 10 3.08 .50 3.07 .39 3.09 .64 2.86 .62 2.96 .65 3.25 .60 2.76 .52
t2 12 3.14 .56 3.11 .42 2.60 .65 3.09 .61 3.22 .48 3.28 .39 3.31 .34 t3 11 3.04 .62 3.20 .52 2.94 .68 3.21 .61 3.40 .59 3.53 .26 3.54 .47 3 t1 10 2.68 .51 3.07 .39 3.43 .43 2.80 .51 2.75 .34 2.85 .33 2.89 .16
t2 10 2.90 .55 2.63 .45 3.00 .66 2.89 .33 3.04 .50 3.08 .40 3.13 .25 t3 10 3.24 .49 2.68 .40 2.81 .61 3.25 .38 3.13 .52 3.56 .36 3.37 .23 4 t1 25 2.76 .24 2.89 .56 3.09 .60 2.79 .68 3.38 .68 2.92 .38 3.38 .43
t2 25 2.35 .37 2.44 .50 3.01 .43 2.81 .56 2.50 .64 2.73 .42 2.88 .44 t3 25 3.23 .49 2.90 .46 2.97 .52 3.23 .51 2.90 .59 3.28 .40 2.70 .40 5 t1 10 3.00 .63 3.05 .41 2.53 .24 2.94 .88 3.04 .25 2.58 .55 2.76 .45
t2 10 2.39 .59 3.13 .39 2.75 .28 3.57 .72 2.86 .32 2.63 .56 2.94 .38 t3 10 2.60 .55 2.95 .36 3.50 .30 2.73 .56 2.75 .29 3.06 .47 2.78 .40 6 t1 11 3.17 .65 3.32 .39 2.70 .39 2.75 .52 3.30 .56 2.61 .54 3.10 .41
t2 11 3.10 .32 3.29 .42 2.42 .42 2.75 .37 2.89 .45 2.75 .37 3.15 .45 t3 11 3.48 .36 2.23 .44 2.75 .45 3.33 .36 3.14 .40 3.37 .32 3.30 .39 7 t1 10 2.60 .48 2.98 .52 3.23 .63 2.43 .50 3.35 .63 2.96 .49 2.70 .46
t2 10 2.98 .45 2.41 .49 3.08 .55 2.95 .48 2.81 .55 3.36 .46 2.74 .43 t3 10 3.07 .41 3.03 .46 3.11 .43 2.75 .52 3.08 .51 3.29 .43 2.75 .40 8 t1 11 3.12 .51 3.13 .43 2.95 .47 3.31 .41 3.36 .50 3.22 .37 3.37 .35
t2 11 2.73 .47 3.22 .43 3.15 .45 3.19 .45 3.40 .37 2.94 .23 3.33 .42 t3 11 3.23 .40 2.98 .50 3.16 .61 3.40 .40 3.20 .40 3.36 .24 3.31 .47 9 t1 11 3.13 .28 2.78 .45 2.58 .69 2.84 .66 2.86 .42 2.56 .54 2.85 .35
t2 11 3.08 .42 3.10 .37 2.71 .70 3.02 .26 3.17 .24 3.03 .72 3.25 .68 t3 11 3.55 .41 2.43 .54 3.33 .61 3.25 .61 3.08 .61 3.10 .55 3.04 .51 10 t1 13 3.69 .35 3.27 .35 2.23 .64 3.08 .63 3.40 .70 2.92 .29 3.67 .58
t2 13 3.29 .51 3.14 .46 2.68 .24 2.96 .53 3.31 .71 2.85 .52 3.54 .56 t3 13 3.35 .63 2.70 .56 3.25 .45 3.28 .49 2.53 .62 3.26 .43 2.46 .55 11 t1 12 3.57 .67 3.42 .66 2.35 .49 2.97 .46 3.45 .53 3.11 .59 3.26 .71
t2 12 2.96 .72 3.13 .71 2.51 .44 3.49 .65 3.13 .46 2.92 .36 3.25 .75 t3 12 3.14 .68 2.70 .51 3.54 .38 3.23 .61 2.96 .54 3.23 .23 2.92 .53 12 t1 10 3.04 .48 3.10 .73 2.51 .73 3.00 .62 3.25 .48 3.06 .50 3.37 .63
t2 10 3.04 .54 3.19 .41 2.92 .58 3.13 .56 3.00 .58 3.03 .52 3.60 .77 t3 9 2.88 .32 2.77 .28 2.96 .28 3.31 .38 3.04 .47 3.61 .52 2.77 .43 13 t1 9 3.22 .68 3.22 .25 2.34 .36 2.46 .56 3.25 .38 2.91 .69 3.38 .60
t2 10 3.35 .52 3.59 .54 1.97 .47 2.59 .68 3.59 .53 3.18 .62 3.43 .71 t3 11 3.32 .46 2.28 .37 2.72 .16 3.11 .38 3.25 .45 3.67 .41 3.21 .50 14 t1 10 2.38 .22 2.84 .25 2.05 .26 2.50 .64 2.54 .51 3.14 .23 2.58 .19
t2 10 2.90 .22 3.22 .44 2.71 .11 2.53 .45 2.94 .38 3.25 .50 2.52 .27 t3 10 2.89 .35 2.42 .31 2.53 .37 3.00 .51 2.97 .39 2.83 .19 2.86 .30 15 t1 10 3.67 .57 3.39 .37 2.10 .60 2.79 .51 3.25 .65 3.33 .62 3.67 .62
t2 11 3.46 .30 3.31 .22 2.07 .61 2.68 .25 3.25 .44 3.16 .23 3.67 .61 t3 10 3.64 .29 2.06 .33 2.94 .31 3.25 .51 3.13 .45 3.79 .28 3.41 .35 16 t1 11 2.76 .58 3.03 .40 2.71 .46 2.50 .60 2.96 .65 2.96 .35 3.29 .72
t2 11 2.96 .44 2.77 .34 2.68 .30 2.70 .53 2.94 .60 3.00 .25 3.52 .35 t3 11 2.56 .22 2.90 .27 3.18 .27 2.81 .48 3.08 .70 3.47 .42 3.20 .39 17 t1 10 3.34 .81 3.22 .34 2.66 .48 2.77 .82 3.50 .55 3.23 .53 345 .70
t2 10 3.71 .72 3.52 .79 2.20 .63 2.78 .61 3.81 .80 3.33 .42 3.44 .58 t3 10 3.60 .29 1.91 .36 2.30 .37 3.73 .49 3.43 .55 3.52 .57 3.38 .52 Table 1 continued School factor 1 factor 2 factor 3 factor 4 factor 5 factor 6 factor 7
N M sd M sd M sd M sd M sd M sd M sd
18 t1 10 3.07 .54 2.82 .41 2.17 .45 2.75 .34 2.97 .54 2.78 .37 2.89 .37
t2 11 2.81 .23 2.71 .35 2.93 .36 2.75 .50 2.38 .38 2.81 .43 2.43 .29 t3 12 3.40 .45 2.50 .37 2.86 .56 2.47 .40 3.14 .53 3.22 .44 2.76 .46 19 t1 10 2.17 .38 3.16 .31 2.66 .39 3.07 .39 2.79 .47 3.00 .53 2.96 .53
t2 10 2.54 .79 3.31 .47 3.48 .72 3.65 .53 3.67 .72 2.85 .33 3.67 .72 t3 10 2.38 .52 3.29 .27 3.43 .67 3.25 .21 2.84 .54 2.95 .23 3.01 .53 20 t1 10 2.93 .48 3.16 .54 2.80 .44 3.56 .58 3.19 .44 3.17 .46 3.17 .77
t2 10 3.03 .46 2.94 .44 2.93 .46 3.63 .33 3.44 .42 3.31 .50 3.25 .59 t3 10 3.03 .40 2.60 .40 3.69 .49 3.36 .27 3.27 .73 3.19 .33 3.07 .31 21 t1 9 3.44 .42 3.14 .34 3.20 .22 2.75 .55 3.44 .41 3.03 .50 3.22 .41
t2 9 3.32 .36 3.09 .32 2.67 .34 2.88 .48 2.96 .57 2.78 .43 3.17 .36 t3 9 2.57 .46 2.91 .49 3.06 .73 3.09 .48 2.71 .77 3.30 .59 3.11 .76 22 t1 10 2.69 .62 2.43 .46 2.86 .61 2.64 .62 3.11 .52 2.69 .48 2.71 .62
t2 10 3.25 .45 3.14 .44 2.83 .61 3.25 .65 3.56 .46 3.00 .38 3.33 .41 t3 10 3.58 .22 2.64 .56 2.38 .50 2.96 .56 2.83 .10 2.30 .56 2.93 .35 23 t1 10 3.19 .76 3.03 .59 2.47 .78 3.36 .57 3.44 .64 2.89 .40 3.44 .68
t2 10 3.40 .72 3.16 .50 2.67 .71 3.25 .59 3.66 .53 3.10 .45 3.79 .58 t3 10 3.86 .45 2.16 .46 3.17 .60 3.47 .69 3.15 .43 4.00 .00 3.69 .51 24 t1 11 3.04 .71 3.29 .31 3.03 .72 2.75 .55 3.46 .79 3.00 .81 3.21 .77
t2 10 3.24 .53 3.40 .37 3.18 .71 3.23 .45 3.44 .49 3.08 .35 3.61 .46 t3 11 3.28 .33 3.02 .11 3.10 .46 3.38 .46 3.05 .33 3.56 .51 3.20 .33 25 t1 9 3.38 .36 3.26 .33 2.17 .16 2.35 .76 2.67 .26 2.80 .19 2.63 .32
t2 10 3.33 .39 3.41 .36 1.90 .81 2.39 .59 3.18 .49 3.03 .19 3.00 .42 t3 10 3.70 .46 2.24 .40 2.59 .42 3.23 .61 3.13 .47 2.97 .45 3.48 .33 26 t1 10 3.41 .38 3.05 .49 2.04 .40 2.71 .38 3.31 .59 3.18 .45 3.19 .67
t2 10 3.58 .31 3.11 .46 2.85 .51 3.05 .61 3.33 .44 3.35 .54 3.28 .44 t3 10 3.44 .35 2.45 .41 3.07 .71 3.44 .59 3.31 .43 3.55 .39 3.35 .69 27 t1 13 3.08 .37 2.96 .35 2.63 .55 3.28 .45 3.09 .62 2.98 .55 3.20 .51
t2 13 3.14 .35 3.13 .26 2.42 .42 2.91 .15 3.35 .42 3.06 .40 3.33 .46 t3 13 3.45 .63 2.50 .40 2.95 .55 3.58 .45 3.45 .62 3.67 .55 3.28 .51 28 t1 13 3.51 .81 3.38 .34 2.78 .48 3.58 .82 3.11 .55 2.94 .53 2.93 .70
t2 13 3.21 .72 3.16 .79 3.02 .63 3.45 .61 2.93 .80 3.10 .42 3.30 .58 t3 13 2.84 .29 2.91 .36 3.53 .37 2.97 .49 2.85 .55 3.11 .37 2.65 .52 factor 1= Consideration; factor 2 = Morale; factor 3 = Institutional integrity; factor 4 = Bureaucratic load; factor 5 = Principal’s influence; factor 6 = Academic emphasis; factor 7 = Resource support. t1 = before implementing SBM; t2 = schools’ first year in SBM; t3 = schools’ second year in SBM.