Managing Change in Small Scottish Primary Schools

Abstract

This article reports the findings from a Scottish Office funded two-year study of the management of change in small primary schools undertaken by the Scottish Council for Research in Education. Although 38 percent of primary schools in Scotland are small, it is also an issue affecting numerous other countries with sparsely populated areas, such as Wales, Ireland, Norway, New Zealand and Australia. The objectives of the paper are twofold: first, to identify the management activities and strategies used by the 863 heads of small schools in Scotland to implement four major national initiatives (5–14 Curricular Guidelines, School Development Planning, Staff Development and Appraisal and Devolved School Management) launched by the Scottish Office during the past 10 years; and, second, to pose the question: is there a particular small school management style which is more than simply school management ‘writ small’?