World Yearbook of Education 1986 THE MANAGEMENT OF SCHOOLS

• Other Authors: Hoyle, Eric (Editor), McMahon, Agnes (Editor)
• Format: Book
• Language: English
• Published: New York Kogan Page 1986
• Subjects: Education > Periodicals
• Online Access: Click Here to View Status and Holdings.

 Summary: Practitioners in school management have potential access to theories of education, educational policy, curriculum, innovation, manage ment and organization. The chapter is concerned with the last three of these areas. Although organization theory and management theory have different intellectual origins and different orientations the former essentially con cerned with understanding, the latter with guiding practice there has been much common ground. However, recent trends in organization theory have enhanced our understanding of schools as organizations but have diverged considerably from management practice. The relationship between the two remains strongest with the link between the concept of organizations as loosely coupled systems and contingency theories of management. This nexus has important implications for practice but the impact of theory on practice remains relatively weak because we have not yet explored fully the ways in which knowledge is generated, negotiated and utilized in professional practice and in professional training. The most promising approach in recent years has come specifically through approaches to the management of change which have created contexts in which head teachers and principals have engaged with substantive problems in collaboration with colleagues and professional peers, backed by various forms of professional support. Chapters in the World Yearbook of Education 1986 describe some of the most promising develop ments in this area.