This study uses Henry Mintzberg's structural observation method to examine British primary school head teachers' work patterns and determine the nature of their role. Head teachers' days were characterized by brevity, variety, and fragmentation similar to those discussed in findings of other empirical managerial studies. Leadership roles stressed…

A former primary headteacher examines problems inherent in the doubly loaded teaching head's role in small (British) primary schools. The demands posed by recent changes have been exacerbated by the headteacher's lack of real freedom to determine an appropriate balance between teaching and managerial responsibilities. Headteachers' special…

The provision for schools to waive local education authority control and become self-governing was the most radical element of Britain's 1988 Education Reform Act. A survey of five opted-out primary schools shows that larger schools succeed better at self-governance because of economies of scale; clustering smaller schools into groups with single…

Britain's 1992 Education Bill closely follows the 1992 "Choice and Diversity" White Paper's advocacy of "grant-maintained" (self-governing) status for schools. These decentralization measures may prove simplistic and ineffective, because the White Paper identifies no school evaluation criteria other than popularity with parents…