Bellwether scanned the country for ideas and resources that leaders can use to address staffing challenges in their schools. This curated set of tools is intended to support school leaders who have the autonomy to manage the talent life cycle in their school community and are looking for practical ideas to strengthen their ability to recruit,…

Over the course of the twentieth century, Ontario teacher education underwent substantial transformations in terms of policy, jurisdiction and design, which shifted authority from provincially controlled normal schools to more semi-autonomous teachers' colleges and finally to faculties within university campuses. In looking at these top-level…

This paper explores issues of social justice in relation to the practice of two principals from two Australian public schools. The stories of these principals are set against a policy backdrop in Australia that has seen renewed emphasis on school autonomy reform, on the one hand, and heightened external accountability and compliance, on the other.…

The South African education system has been perceived as a decentralised and democratized education system and the National Development Plan proposes that greater management autonomy should be granted to public school principals by recommending that principals should gradually be given more powers as the quality of their leadership improves. This…

Using the stories of two autonomous public schools in Australia, this paper demonstrates how commercialisation can simultaneously position schools as both consumer and for-profit producer. Drawing on Foucault's articulation of discourse as that which constitutes and makes available what is possible to be said, done and imagined, the paper…

Increased school autonomy and a greater focus on achieving school effectiveness and improvement has made it essential to reconsider the role of school leaders (OECD 2009, "Creating Effective Teaching and Learning Environments: First Results from TALIS." Paris: OECD Publishing). This recommends that leadership development in this rapidly…

Over the past 25 years, a small but growing number of school districts have implemented weighted student funding (WSF) systems as a way to increase school-level autonomy and more equitably distribute resources among schools. In these districts, which are predominantly large urban school systems, education leaders have implemented policies that…

Some of the most promising reforms are happening where school leaders are thinking differently about how to get the strongest student outcomes from the limited resources available. But even principals who use their autonomy to aggressively reallocate resources say that persistent district, state, and federal barriers prohibit them from doing more.…

In the most recent Programme for International Student Assessment of science learning, the equivalent of six school years separate the achievement of 15-year-olds in Finland, the best-performing country, from their counterparts in Kyrgyzstan, a former Soviet republic. Still more than a school year lies between the neighboring countries Canada,…

"The Autonomy Gap," a recent study by the American Institute for Research and the Thomas B. Fordham Institute, found that many public elementary school principals feel constrained by a bureaucracy that impedes their ability to raise student achievement. Unfortunately, those principals are still held accountable for their school's results--even…

The future of Greece's well-being will depend on improving educational performance to boost productivity and improve social outcomes. In the current economic context, with the need to get best value for spending, Greece must and can address inefficiencies in its education system. The challenges are significant. For example, Greece lags behind many…

Describes the plan to decentralize all public schools in Chicago (Illinois). The following unique features are discussed: (1) local school councils governing each school; (2) principals' responsibilities; (3) central school board's role; (4) specific school and system goals. (FMW)

Recommends the implementation of school-based management systems as one way to meet government demands for educational reform. Describes the functions of principals, school advisory councils, school-site budgeting and accounting, and annual planning and performance reports in successful school-based management systems. Presents examples of…