School autonomy: Necessary but not sufficient

Abstract

School autonomy has become increasingly significant in the politics of education, as well as a central feature of education systems' reform policies in Australia and globally. This review examines the spectrum of evidence on the impact of school autonomy on student academic achievement, and the features of autonomy that improve or constrain achievement, and discusses the implications of these findings for future policy. There is no definitive or simple conclusion from assessing the impact of autonomy on student achievement, but neither does the evidence reject the contribution of autonomy. Rather, the evidence points to autonomy as a key and necessary component of a mature and high-performing system, as it is in other areas of public administration. However, the wider institutional context matters, and parallel policies like accountability and leadership development need to be in place. Crucially, and counter to popular conception, more rather than less systemic support is needed for the potential of school autonomy to be realised.The policy to assign more autonomy to government or public schools is internationally pervasive, intensely political, and contested. Even though there is a research history of over two decades, and the number of education systems embracing school autonomy is growing, including in Australia (Arcia et al. 2011; Eurydice European Unit 2007; OECD 2013;OECD 2015; The World Bank 2007), its value continues to be debated both in ideological terms and empirically. One might have expected a settlement on a theoretical model and set of common understandings by now. This paper focuses on the core question of whether school autonomy advantages learning. It considers a range of research into the impact of school autonomy on student achievement, and school and system performance. Other similar issues are important but beyond the scope of this review, such as school autonomy leading to the privatisation of government schooling; the introduction of for-profit schools; the contraction of government funding; the implications of expanding choice in public education; and the impact of school autonomy on equity. The more specific focus on learning outcomes responds to the persistent policy questions about evidence-based strategies to improve school performance and takes into account the more recent quantitative research on the impact of autonomy. 1 Other reviews have found there is no definitive conclusion from assessing the impact of autonomy on student achievement, but neither does the evidence reject the contribution of autonomy. Rather, the evidence discussed in this paper points to autonomy as a key component of a mature and high performing system and that more rather than less systemic support is needed for its potential to be realised. The momentum for establishing local autonomy, flexibility, collaboration and customised services is pervasive across all public 1 The perspective on student achievement has been advocated by Brian Caldwell, Professor Emeritus and prior Dean of Education Univer...