Strategic Management in Schools: A New Role for the Principal
Abstract
Human Resource PracticeStrategic Management in Schools: A New Role for the Principal SAGE Publications, Inc.1994DOI: 10.1177/103841119403200109 Neil Cranston Review and Evaluation Unit of the Queensland Department of Education (Metropolitan East Region) Department of Education, Queensland INTRODUCTION Much has been written about the role of the school principal, with 'a plethora of post-graduate courses offered by tertiary institutions in educational administration to help skill potential and existing personnel. Until recently, a good deal of the disciplined study in the area has considered schools as somewhat closed and insulated institutions such that the role of principal was essentially static. However, now as never before, wider political, social and economic pressures are contributing to significant change processes across all aspects of the education enterprise: the face of schools is changing, rapidly, discontinuously and in complex ways. And it is the school principal who is at the vanguard of these changes. Macdonald (1992:1) describes the situation thus: 'In the current context of dramatic change and the continuing devolution of responsibilities to the local level, there has never been a more critical time for principals to display their skills.' This paper explores some of these issues by: · outlining some of the major