Our educational infrastructure is currently subjected to the same pressures from globalization that corporations, governments, and other institutions face. Increased competition, cost-cutting, and increasing consumer demands lead the call for enhanced answerability from management. Quality, results, and competitive standards as the goals of enhanced education have led to the restructuring of many aspects of the educational infrastructure, including administration and management. One such attempt at such a restructuring is known as site-based management or school-based management, a concept which “Attempts to raise the level of involvement of stakeholders in the governance and management of schools” (Brown and Cooper 78). Stakeholders include school administrators, teachers, students, parents, and community participants who have a stake in the deployment of education. This research will provide a review of the literature on school-based management (SBM) in order to reveal both positive and negative aspects of its implementation. A conclusion will address the future of SBM and what variables are needed to ensure its effective use in the educational environment.
When looking at the literature on SBM, we immediately recognize that proponents of more localized control and participation in educational decision-making are prepared to list a host of benefits that arise from this form of management of education. Yet, Cooper and Brown (78) argue, that, in order for SBM to have a chance for success, the following two criterions must be met: The primary power for decisions in the areas of budget, curriculum, and personnel must be transferred to the local site; The decisions shifted to the local site must be shared among the stakeholders at the site so all stakeholder groups are active and empowered.
The SBM movement is educationally oriented but its underlying premise appears to be the corporate model of management that evolved i...