Power to the Principals: Decentralization in Three Large School Districts

William G. Ouchi ()
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William G. Ouchi: Anderson School of Management, University of California, Los Angeles, 110 Westwood Plaza, Suite B523, Los Angeles, California 90095-1481

Organization Science, 2006, vol. 17, issue 2, 298-307

Abstract: School districts have made several attempts at decentralizing. However, decentralization in school districts can mean so many different things that the term has nearly lost its meaning.This paper reports a study of three large urban school districts that, over almost 30 years, adopted nearly identical approaches to decentralizing, granting control to principals and expanding freedom of choice for families. In all three cases, the goal of improving student achievement was achieved, although with a very small sample.These three districts are compared to the three largest public districts in North America. The comparisons reveal that the three decentralized districts attained a high level of principal control over school budgets, staffing, schedule, and teaching methods.

Keywords: organization design; organization structure; organization theory; organizational control; decentralization; organizational economics; schools; K--12 school systems; school management (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2006
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (7)

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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:inm:ororsc:v:17:y:2006:i:2:p:298-307

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