Management control systems and student performance in Norwegian primary education: an exploratory case study

Abstract

The management control literature has devoted limited attention to the design and use of management control systems (MCSs) in schools and by local school authorities (LEAs) and to their role with respect to student performance. This study aimed to narrow this knowledge gap by exploring the design and use of MCSs in schools and by LEAs and the relationships between the design and use of MCSs and student performance. A case study approach was applied, building on interviews with headmasters and other employees in six schools and three LEAs, in addition to plans, reports, student performance measures and other types of public information. The case studies provide insight into the design and use of MCSs on the school and LEA levels and how MCSs might substitute for and complement each other. The findings suggest that learning-focused design and use of MCSs and flexible organization of students and teaching are factors that are positively related to student performance. This study also suggests that clan control based in a learning focus instilled in teachers during their professional education and training, and facilitated by a flexible and transparent school organization, may moderate or substitute for the role of learning-focused MCSs. Finally, it proposes that a learning focus on the LEA level in small and unified LEAs might substitute for a school-level learning focus.