Implementation of management reforms : the case of Sri Lanka

The reforms were characterized by several common themes. They viewed the school as the primary locus of educational change, and each was designed, in its own way, to provide schools with better support. Relations within the bureaucracy and among schools were restructured to provide greater communication. Isolated schools were brought into greater contact with the system. The leadership role of principals was enhanced through broad bureaucratic support and training. Communities were mobilized to provide additional moral and material support. The success of the reforms depended on the nature of the change required, the ways in which the reforms were introduced, and the extent to which support for the reform was maintained. Reforms with sustained support from the bureaucracy and those requiring relatively simple changes with few actors were most successful. The reforms had different impacts on different types of schools. Small, isolated rural schools benefitted most from the increased communication brought about by clustering and by locating bureaucratic offices closer to the schools. Larger, ambitious schools benefitted most from closer ties with the central bureaucracy. Principals" management training seems to have fostered a more active role for principals in terms of improving relationships within schools, among schools, and within communities. However, in relation to the central bureaucracy, the reforms appear to have reduced school-level autonomy. Communities were willing to provide schools with financial or in- kind support, especially when led by strong principals who were committed to visible improvements. Reforms that increases the principals" instructional leadership role were found to have the greatest impact on student achievement and grade repetition. Students achieved the most and repeated less in schools where principals took an active role in developing instructional goals and working with teachers to improve instructional quality. Perhaps the most hopeful general finding of this study is that educational improvement is possible, even in the context of severely constrained budgets and political conflict. The study suggests that increased autonomy generally benefits schools. The Sri lanka reforms trained school principals and then required them to develop their own plans for school improvement. The result was more emphasis on instruction, greater teacher involvement in curriculum development, and higher standards for school performance. (Author abstract, modified)