Examines whether the technicist-rational approach to school development planning, advocated in England's Office for Standards in Education guidelines, is appropriate for primary schools, based on case studies of nine schools. School staff remain unconvinced that technicist-rational planning is key to implementing change. (Contains 39 references.)…

Analyzes to what extent 120 British primary schools' practice matched criteria for national management and development outlined in official guidelines. Primary schools have been slower than secondary schools to embrace the principles of strategic and long-term development planning. Inspectors' application of criteria in resource-management matters…