SCHOOL AUTONOMY

ARLEY F. DIGNENENG

School autonomy is not a well-defined concept; it is used loosely in the literature with wide variations in meaning. Increasing school autonomy as manifested in Australian public school systems and many other jurisdictions is best seen as a complicated mixture of centralizing and de-centralizing tendencies happening together. Decentralization of decision-making is among the most intriguing recent school reforms, in part because countries went in opposite directions over the past decade and because prior evidence is inconclusive. In a centralized school system, principals typically exercise administrative duties with minimal control over basic school resources.

One of the concerns relates to the contradiction involved when governments on one hand promote school autonomy while at the same time, increase their control over schools. Allowing decisions to be made as far as practicable by those most affected empowers school communities and helps to engender a sense of collaboration and responsibility.

Promoting school autonomy is more cost effective, transparent and efficient as proven by the fact that Catholic and independent schools, compared to government controlled schools, were able to deliver more with less, and on time.

From a school improvement perspective, the ideal is when principals have autonomy, an empowered mindset and the capacity to use their autonomy to produce benefits for students. This is more complex than simply shifting decision making from central to school level but potentially more powerful in terms of influencing schools for the better.

— oOo—

The author is Teacher II at San Nicolas Elementary School, San Nicolas, Arayat, Pampanga