Independent Public Schools: A Move to Increased Autonomy and Devolution of Decision-making in Western Australian Public Schools

Abstract

With the increasing diversity in schools and the call for addressing specific regional needs, decentralized regulation of the education system is often proposed as an alternative approach to achieve school improvement. Researchers have often associated experimentation and risk-taking as key aspects of effective educational leadership while engaging in discussions about authority among local leadership in schools. An Independent Public Schools initiative in Western Australia emerged with the objective to provide for greater autonomy, flexibility, and accountability as a means for improving student achievement over time. Karen Trimmer's article speaks to the uncertain nature of the changes brought into the role of local leadership through the independent, charter, and academy school reform initiatives across the world that propose to deliver efficiency and quality in educational achievement and administration. The study can contribute to evidence-based dialogues around effective, context-specific shifts of authority in education.