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With the introduction in 1988 of a system of site‐based management in England and Wales, schools are now operating in a radically altered planning context in which responsibility for strategic planning has been delegated from local education authorities (LEAs) to individual schools. Although school development planning has been widely adopted by LEAs in the UK as a rational approach to site‐based planning, indicative research suggests that strategic planning in a sample of schools operating in the newly decentralized environment has been slower to develop in practice than originally anticipated. Evidence of a lack of a coherent planning process in schools casts doubt on their ability to operate successfully in the strategic vacuum likely to be created if the gradual demise of LEAs continues. Suggests that if schools are to take full advantage of the opportunities offered by site‐based management to plan and sustain their own long‐term improvement and development, a thorough review may be needed by central government of their existing laissez faireattitudes towards site‐based planning, if there is not to be considerable long‐term damage to the national education service as a whole.

International schools are a growing class of educational institution. It has been suggested that few schools of this type have a marketing plan whilst research into development planning showed that few had a long‐range plan. This paper aims to investigate these issues.

This paper deals with a survey of 32 international schools in 22 different countries. The public relations practitioner in each was questioned as to the nature of the marketing planning process.

Half of the schools had a marketing plan. Few had a one‐year one, and few had a cyclical one with stages. Several had dispensed with such a plan. The major aim of marketing planning was to attract more students. There was little evidence of it being a strategic process. Few schools involved the whole school body.

This involved a small‐scale survey of international schools at a time when student numbers were high. This survey failed to take into account the growth of this type of school in mainland China.

It is suggested that perhaps some international schools might focus more on non‐rational planning and scenario‐building techniques. Making more contact with the local community might also be beneficial as a strategic marketing aim.

This paper furthers the understanding of the nature and organizational culture of international schools. It builds upon earlier research into development planning in this type of school.

School improvement planning has been a central part of school improvement initiatives for decades. Evidence suggests, however, that traditional planning processes are regularly superficial. In the USA, some principals have begun developing short-cycle planning designed to encourage school leadership teams and staff to develop, monitor and adjust plans throughout the academic year.

In this study of eight schools in one urban district, the authors analyzed multiple rounds of short-cycle improvement plans and principal interview data to assess the progress schools made implementing plans over the course of a semester, the ways in which plans were monitored and adjusted and the extent to which principals embraced short-cycle planning.

The authors found that many tasks from first semester plans were completed, which informed the development of plans for the second semester. Observational data were primarily used to monitor plan completion, although principals engaged in monitoring but relied on their leadership team to do so. Principals reported regular engagement with plans throughout semester, but plans were seldom adjusted within a semester.

The findings suggest that short-cycle planning is potentially a viable alternative to traditional annual planning as principals communicated being more engaged and adaptive. Still, the evidence also indicated that old habits might be hard to break as school leaders did not monitor and adjust plans frequently enough to guide improvement efforts in relative “real time.”

Strategic planning, in the form of school improvement planning, has become the dominant approach to school management in English schools. This has evolved from earlier forms of strategic planning and has significant inherent weaknesses that undermine the extent to which school improvement planning can contribute to the effective management of schools. The development of school improvement planning is examined in this article and its weaknesses analysed. Implied models of school management and leadership, the legacy of school effectiveness and improvement research and the role of the school principal are considered. Based on this analysis, an alternative approach to planning in schools and to school organisation and a more flexible approach to school organisation and leadership is proposed that is grounded in a shorter planning time scale and the development of structures that facilitate involvement, cooperation and collaboration.

School planning has developed significantly over the last ten years with the universal acceptance of school development planning formats and approaches. However, the move to school‐based management and greater autonomy has increased the need for schools to take on a wider planning role and responsibility. This paper considers three models of planning. It briefly outlines the original model of school development planning that the authors articulated in 1992 but then examines the need for schools to extend their planning from short‐term school development planning to longer‐term strategic planning and, most significantly, to incorporate “futures thinking”. It then develops a new model which the authors believe should be more responsive to the needs of school planning in the future.

Explores the essence of strategic planning and the urgency for its implementation in the public school setting. Examines some critical elements for successful implementation of this relatively new field for education. Specific caveats are addressed that may lead to unsuccessful implementation. Also presents a brief review and critique of the strategic planning efforts of a Mid‐Western City School District in Texas so that the reader can see firsthand what some public schools in the United States are currently undertaking. Includes (in an Appendix) some of the parameters of the strategic plan that this school district wrote as a guide for itself.

Due to increasing interest in school development planning, improvement and effectiveness, more schools are gaining greater control over their own school management. Argues that school development plans should provide an operational structure with a clearly identified direction and priorities. Focuses on the problem of planning within the international school context and investigates specific objectives via a survey. Results confirmed that long‐term planning is valued by heads of international schools and that staff development is integral to planning and implementing strategies.

“Rational planning models” emerged in the early 1970's as a means by which to plan more effectively and efficiently in educational organizations. One of the most well known and widely distributed of these models was developed by Phi Delta Kappa, the educational fraternity. This paper describes a field study conducted in five Vermont schools that were “early users” of the Phi Delta Kappa material. The outcomes reveal many discrepancies between the theory and the reality of planning in public schools. In addition to the Vermont research, other research is cited that supports many of the findings and relates them to planning in schools in general. The article concludes by linking the study outcomes to recent works by other authors on the emerging concepts of loosely coupled systems, garbage can organizations, and organized anarchies and implications these concepts hold for alternative approaches to planning in educational settings.

The purpose of this study is to examine principal succession planning and management by analyzing current practices of handling school leader succession in four Georgia school systems.

Looking through the lens of organizational leadership succession theory, the practices of school systems as they experienced changes in school leadership were examined. Participants included superintendents, assistant superintendents, other central office leaders, and principals. A multiple‐case approach was selected with semi‐structured interviews providing the major source of data.

Findings suggest the following: there is a difference in the sense of urgency for the planning and management of the succession of principals; the development of aspiring leaders was identified as a critical component of planning and management of succession; mentoring was an essential practice through the succession process; and reliance on collaborative partnerships with outside organizations was highly valued.

The implications of the study include a call for further research to determine the differences in leader succession planning and management needs related to the varying contexts. In addition, the study implies that building collaborative partnerships with university preparation programs and other external professional development organizations may assist systems in the planning and management of principal succession.

The originality of this study stems from the lack of literature that directly examines the experiences and practices of principal succession. The findings can inform school system leaders of succession planning and management issues and practices that exist in the four systems studied. As leadership becomes more recognized for its impact on student achievement and school performance, it is imperative that succession is managed and planned to ensure sustainability and effectiveness.

Limited research on root cause analysis exists in educational leadership. Accurately diagnosing and detailing root causes—the why—of organizational failure, as is relatively common in other fields, could improve principals' ability to devise situationally- and contextually-responsive solutions in their improvement plans. In this study, the authors analyze school improvement plans to provide insight into how principals use root cause analysis to identify their and their school's failures as a way to respond strategically with goals and action steps.

In this exploratory qualitative study, the authors develop coding schemes and leverage an existing rubric of school improvement plan quality to assess what principals identify as root causes for 216 priorities across 111 school improvement plans.

The overall quality of root causes submitted by principals was low, typically between “beginning” and “developing” stages. The majority of root causes aligned with priorities and desired outcomes, but fewer than one-third had a systems focus. Moreover, less than half of root causes suggested that school leaders played a part in the organizational failures. The vast majority of plans instead identified teachers as the root cause, foundational fault or “why” of the problem.

An increased understanding of root cause analysis conceptualization and development seems necessary if improvement planning is to be a strategic response to a school's most serious organizational challenges. The predominant approach to school improvement planning has focused almost exclusively on how to succeed or become better with little investment in identifying root causes of organizational decline or failure. This initial study of root cause quality in school improvement planning is a key first step in critically thinking about how improvement is to be achieved when failure is unconceived.