Autonomy in School Management -A Policy Perspective

Abstract

School management reforms, being practiced in many countries, are challenging the conventional education governance structures by aiming at increasing school autonomy and empowering localized decision making. In India also, efforts are underway to encourage autonomy in management of schools. This paper is an integral part of the doctoral dissertation in management area - 'A study of Management Practices of Secondary Schools'. The objective of this paper is to explore the present status of autonomy in school management and to study the need for more autonomy among the major categories of school managements. A sample of 188 secondary schools was selected through stratified sampling technique. The primary data was collected through self designed questionnaire and interview schedules. Chi-Square Test and simple percentages were used to analyze the data with the help of SPSS-19. The findings reveal that administrative and financial autonomy was not prevalent while partial autonomy was experienced in academic aspect. A majority of respondents from all categories of school managements opted for autonomy in all aspects - administrative, academic, and financial. However, a strong voice for complete autonomy emerges from the unaided schools.