Organizing For Successful School-Based Management

Organizing For Successful School-Based Management by Wohlstetter, Van Kirk, Robertson, and Mohrman (1997), offers a summary of findings from interviews and data collected from over 400 people and 40 schools that had been operating under school-based management (SBM) for at least three years (vii). The authors identify schools as actively restructuring or struggling. Actively restructuring schools were found to employ two or more teaching and learning innovations (use of technology, educating all students, and integrated services) and were using SBM to improve school performance; struggling schools had one or none of the innovations. Actively restructuring schools had more conditions that support organizational learning and integrating processes which enabled more innovative teaching practices directly and indirectly. This book discussed findings related to organizational conditions and related learning processes and teaching practices (vii-xiii).

Actively restructuring schools differed from struggling schools regarding organizational conditions and learning processes. Findings showed that decentralized management worked best when schools had power to make or influence decisions, knowledge and skills to perform effectively, information for good decisions, and rewards for performance. The authors further hypothesized that an instructional guidance mechanism with vision and guidelines focu

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al teams and committees participate in decision-making, everyone is encouraged to participate (teachers, parents). Surveys and reports to staff, students, and parents provide informational data for decisions. Informal communication includes the principal's effort to talk with constituents regularly. Learning about new innovative practices is also important for making effective decisions. Struggling schools rely on more limited information for making decisions, and many people are not included in the process. Communication is less effective and a defensive position results in unwillingness to consider outsiders or new information. Struggling schools tend to lack clear priorities and do not gather information comprehensively or effectively (17-22). Rewards, monetary and nonmonetary, were a key element of successful schools. Time was spent in developing a school vision, principles, and instructional objectives. Successful schools received money that teachers determined what to do with and this served as a reward that motivated behavior to attain standards for receiving the money. Nonmonetary rewards included regular recognition of individual work. Struggling schools received very few extrinsic or formal rewards; merit-bas
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Approximate Word count = 1324
Approximate Pages = 5 (250 words per page)

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