Autonomous Decision Making: A Contested Practice in Schools in Finland, Australia, and Jamaica

• In Event: 25.048 - Social Justice Tensions in the Principalship and Other School Leadership Roles

Abstract

School autonomy is an increasing concern for educational systems. However, there are complex links between autonomy, accountability and enhanced school outcomes; and its underlying justification remains deeply contested. Employing a narrative research approach using reflective interviews; the paper reports on the findings from a multi-site case study, which explored the site-based conditions that enable and constrain principals’ autonomous decision-making practices in Finland, Australia and Jamaica. The paper examines the different traditions and discourses of autonomous decision-making across the three study sites and suggests that principals’ autonomous decision-making practices manifest in three different orientations: a neoliberal market orientation, a professional practice orientation and an educational praxis orientation.

Authors

• Laurette Maria Stacy Bristol, UWI School of Business & Applied Studies Ltd (UWI-ROYTEC)

• Jane Wilkinson, Monash University

• Hannu L.T. Heikkinen, University of Jyvaskyla