A decision support method for poorly structured problems in school management

Purpose – This paper aims to propose and present a decision-making support method for poorly structured problems in schools, using the example of one of the most important and difficult decisions that principals face: terminating a teacher's employment. Design/methodology/approach – A literature review was conducted, along with observations and interviews with 30 experienced principals, in order to identify decisions made by Polish principals. In order to sort non-programmable decisions according to their importance and difficulty, data were collected from 377 principals. Opinions from two groups, consisting of 22 and 25 experts, respectively, were collected in order to identify and order a set of criteria for making a specified non-programmable decision. Findings – The four following areas of school activities were distinguished: finances, teaching and care, internal processes, and development of organisation. Within these categories, 126 decisions made by principals were identified, 96 of which were non-programmable. One of the most difficult and important non-programmable decisions was related to the termination of a teacher's employment. In order to support decisions regarding a teacher's dismissal, 44 criteria with different importance levels were identified. Practical implications – Principals can use the method proposed in this paper, as it increases the rationality and objectivity of making a dismissal decision. The method can also be adapted for other difficult non-programmable decisions. Originality/value – The expert opinion method might be useful for solving poorly structured problems in the management of educational institutions. As far as it can be ascertained, no previous empirical studies have identified and ranked the most important and difficult non-programmable decisions facing principals.