ERIC Number: ED283264
Record Type: Non-Journal
Publication Date: 1986
Pages: 123
Abstractor: N/A
ISBN: ISBN-0-7300-0378-7
ISSN: N/A
EISSN: N/A
Policy Formation and Resource Allocation.
Caldwell, Brian; Spinks, Jim
This monograph, part of a series that critically challenges conventional definitions of school management and school resources, takes the view that the major resources in schools are culture and knowledge. What counts as culture and knowledge in the school is the subject of continuing debate by individuals and groups who articulate different desires, needs, and demands. Guidelines for the management of resources must deal with negotiations among these various groups. The purpose of this monograph is to describe an approach to the management of resources which has the following characteristics in the school setting: (1) resources are managed in a continuous cycle of activity which integrates goal setting, need identification, policy making, planning, budgeting, and evaluating; (2) each phase in the cycle is organized around the major resource of knowledge, with patterns of activity designated as programs which support learning; and (3) a framework is provided within which negotiation about resources may occur, securing appropriate involvement of staff, students, and community. An introductory essay describes a progress account of this approach in government schools in Victoria, Australia, and includes a detailed description of each phase of the cycle. It provides guidelines for two phases, policy making and resource allocation, illustrating the manner in which negotiation may be managed, and lists the benefits of the approach to principals, teachers, parents, and students. Three supplementary readings follow the introductory essay. In the first, tensions among three central values (liberty, equality, and efficiency) of school governance in Western democracies are analyzed by William L. Boyd in "Competing Values in Educational Policy and Governance: Australian and American Developments." In the second, Peter Watkins discusses changed administrative concepts during collective action in Victoria, in "Collective Strategies: Collaborative Approaches towards the Administration of Education." In the third, Walter I. Garms, James W. Guthrie, and Lawrence C. Pierce demonstrate how school districts fail to reflect clientele's interests, in "Reforming Public School Management and Budgeting." Each entry provides references; an annotated bibliography is appended. (CJH)
Descriptors: Comparative Analysis, Cooperative Planning, Cooperative Programs, Educational Administration, Educational Assessment, Educational Economics, Educational Planning, Elementary Secondary Education, Foreign Countries, Governance, Governing Boards, Government School Relationship, Organizational Theories, Participative Decision Making, Policy Formation, Politics of Education, Resource Allocation, School District Autonomy, Values
Publication Sales, Deakin University Press, Deakin University, Victoria 3217, Australia ($12.50 Australian; quantity discounts).
Publication Type: Books; Reports - Research
Education Level: N/A
Audience: Researchers; Administrators; Policymakers; Practitioners
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: Deakin Univ., Victoria (Australia).
Identifiers - Location: Australia
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A