School Based Management : An Analysis of the Planning Framework and Community Participation

There is an increasing awareness around the world for incorporating professional management into traditional public services to achieve resulted pro rata to the investments. Similar trend has been encompassing the school education sector. Many countries have been initiating reforms to facilitate school based management. It would be appropriate to analyze the prevailing practices of school management in the context of similar reforms being initiated in India. This paper is an integral part of the doctoral dissertation in management – ‘A study of Management Practices of Secondary Schools'. The main objective of this paper is to explore the prevailing situation of the planning framework and community participation in school management. A sample of 188 secondary schools – about 34% of the population was selected through stratified sampling technique. The primary data was collected through self designed questionnaire and interview schedules. Chi-Square Test and simple percentages were used to analyze the data with the help of SPSS-17. The findings reveal that the planning framework is weak in public schools while it is well-built in privately-run schools. But, despite the established planning framework in private schools, parents or community are not involved. The parent/community participation is true to the spirit in the small chunk of public schools where the planning framework is ascertained. The study suggests the policy makers to stress on conductive framework for micro planning in public schools and thrust upon parent/community participation in the private set-up to strengthen the planning activity for achieving efficiency and accountability of the system