The impact of School-Based Management on school health

What are the influences of school-based management (SBM) on schools’ organizational health? The following study attempts to assess the effects of SBM on schools operating in a centralized system of education. A longitudinal study is performed and the health qualities of 28 schools are measured in three sequential years, before introduction of SBM in schools and in the two years that follow. The results indicate no significant changes when comparing the integrated index for school health between the three years. However, significant differences appear when the various subsets of school health are compared. The results indicate that teachers put more emphasis on children’s outcomes. Yet, at the same time, teachers report having a lower morale and increased bureaucratic load in comparison to the circumstances that existed in their school prior to the introduction of SBM. It is suggested that a school-based managed school is not only a place to foster student growth but also to foster the development of teachers. Therefore, emphasis should be placed equally on all the components of school health if SBM is to increase the professional autonomy of educators along with the effectiveness of the school.