High autonomy and low accountability: Case study of five Czech schools (original) (raw)
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Proceedings of the INTERNATIONAL MANAGEMENT CONFERENCE, 2014
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Balancing school autonomy and head teachers’ accountability for schools in Slovakia
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The paper presents an analysis of the changes which have been introduced into the legislation on education in Slovakia. The paper, in its first part, presents an analysis of the transformation process which the system of education in Slovakia has undergone during the period of the last three decades. Within this process a great number of responsibilities have passed from the central authorities to local municipalities and individual schools. The changed conditions and the increased autonomy of schools meant that schools had to face new tasks and challenges. The new demands required new professional competences and calls for the professionalization of school leaders became part of a wider movement for school reforms. How the professional development of the school leaders is currently solved in Slovakia, what kind of education primary and secondary school head teachers are obliged to undergo, who are the main providers of this education, how it is provided, and how it is structured as...
2000
This paper reports on a study of the changes that Czech education has undergone over the last decade. Many of these changes have been of a fundamental and significant nature, and have had an essential and relatively long-lasting influence on the form and behavior of the system. These changes have had their impact on the roles of people within the system as well. There have been a variety of reforms, and also a number of efforts to manage them. The study asks whether these changes have really been managed in a sophisticated way (supported by the theory of change and its management) or have been subject to improvisation by people, who usually have good intentions, but no appropriate knowledge, skills, or experience. The setting up and starting of the activities of school-governing bodies is used as an example in the study to look at whether the present situation in Czech schools is the result of qualified management or rather of improvisation. Findings indicate that the activities to launch school-governing bodies cannot be regarded as mere improvisation. However, generally speaking, these efforts do not reflect the theory and the practical experience of those who are experts in the management of organizational change. Consequently, 10 years after a fundamental socioeconomic breakthrough in Czech society, school-governing boards remain on the periphery of what schools, parents, and others are interested in. (Contains 10 references.) (DFR) ECER 2000, Edinburgh, Scotland Changes in Czech Education-Improvisation or a Controlled Process?
2001
This paper focuses on changes in school management, evaluation, and monitoring in Czech education. The major aim of the first reform wave involved removing the most evident dysfunctions of the earlier, closed and uniform educational system and transforming it into an open, pluralistic one. Subsequent reforms focused on enhancing the quality of results achieved, such as balancing and stabilizing the educational system, concentrating on quality and how to evaluate it, and creating clear rules without undermining initiative and creativity. Schools have been given greater autonomy. Challenges needing to be addressed include balancing power shared between state and schools and between schools and headteachers, redefining the role of the Ministry of Education, and creating structures and policies whereby the entities within the educational system can perform self-evaluation, improve systemic consistency and competency, and allow for professional development. The Czech Republic has become involved in several international organizations to obtain resources for practical educational reform. Implementation of many reform projects, however, has been slow, and degrees of success vary. Czech education will need to undergo another series of fundamental changes soon. The White Book, currently in draft, will address upcoming issues in school management, evaluation, and monitoring. (Contains 23 references.) (RT) Reproductions supplied by EDRS are the best that can be made from the original document.
2010
School autonomy and accountability are two components of School-Based Management (SBM) that complement each other to increase the operational and pedagogical efficiency of schools. If schools have enough operational autonomy to manage their financial and human resources, then they can become accountable to their clients, namely their students and their families and, as a result, increase the probability of improving student learning (Barrera, Fasih and Patrinos, 2009). Since SBM encompasses diverse practices and policies applied in different forms in many countries in the world, the World Bank has initiated the design of SBM indicators that could be of use to governments to identify and implement practices and policies that increase autonomy and accountability and, by inference, induce the education system to produce better learning outcomes (World Bank, 2007; Patrinos, 2010).
2020
In the last decades accountability reforms have become one of the main features of education systems across Europe. Accountability reforms have become a source of debate and division both in the political debate inside countries and in academic literature. In particular, the model of accountability connected with New Public Management ideas, market accountability, has become the centre of many controversies as it is thought to have severe negative side effects for equality in education. Through a case study analysis of accountability in the education systems of five European countries-Finland, Germany, England, Italy and Spain-this thesis tries to determine the extent to which standardized testing and school evaluation positively influence the level of performance of students, and weather these two policies implicate negative consequences for the level of equality.
Nordic Journal of Studies in Educational Policy, 2024
This special issue examines the policy model of School Autonomy with Accountability (SAWA) and its diverse configurations. The focus is on understanding how SAWA reforms shape governance practices and influence educational systems in different educational settings. Drawing on a range of theoretical perspectives, the issue explores how political factors, administrative traditions, and local professional frameworks shape the adoption and evolution of these policies. SAWA reforms promote school autonomy in decision-making while holding schools accountable for performance outcomes through various instruments such as standardized assessments, school improvement projects, and accountability arrangements. However, these policies often create tensions between autonomy and accountability, and their implementation produces varied outcomes depending on local contexts and institutions. The issue also highlights the growing role of data use in educational decision-making and examines the challenges associated with policy enactment at the school level. Taking stock of these discussions, in this introduction to the special issue, we delve into the complexities of SAWA reforms and their implications for educational equity, innovation, and governance. We also highlight the need for further research into the dynamic interaction between the formulation of SAWA policies and their local implementation, particularly in underexamined national contexts.
2006
Ever since the Macedonia's move towards independence and market economy, the educational process has undergone various phases in development either internally or externally. Many of the initial processes for modernization and improvement that have been introduced are now either non existent or have been appended with new projects. In the never ending race for implementation of the so called quasi market reforms and educational project reforms, the real accountability of the public educational system has been side railed and denounced for weekend seminars. Research data has shown that the quality of the public educational system in western European countries and the US has declined considerably. Does the national educational system of the Republic of Macedonia have a future at all, or is destined to fall into the hands of private companies that will provide private education with or without accountability. This paper will address issues such as accountability in the secondary edu...
2019
This note presents the methodological approach that guided the five case studies conducted in the context of REFORMED RS1. The case studies aimed at reconstructing and analyzing the adoption of school autonomy with accountability (SAWA) arrangements in different countries, and were informed by shared data-gathering procedures and a common analytic strategy. This note gives a detailed description of the main data-collection and data-analysis tools on which the case studies relied, and makes explicit the rationale and the theoretical premises that oriented the design of such instruments. Particular attention is given to the development of the interview guide and to the coding strategy that informed the analysis of the interview data.
What matters most for school autonomy and accountability : a framework paper
2015
This framework paper provides an overview of what matters most for school autonomy and accountability. The focus is on public schools at the primary and the secondary level. This paper begins by grounding School Autonomy and Accountability in its theoretical evidence base (impact evaluations, lessons learned from experience, and literature reviews) and then discusses guiding principles and tools for analyzing country policy choices. The goal of this paper is to provide a framework for classifying and analyzing education systems around the world according to the following five policy goals that are critical for enabling effective school autonomy and accountability: 1) level of autonomy in the planning and management of the school budget; 2) level of autonomy in personnel management; 3) role of school councils in school governance; 4) school and student assessment, and 5) accountability to stakeholders. This paper also discusses how country context matters to school autonomy and accou...