| Summary: | 碩士 === 國立東華大學 === 教育行政與管理學系 === 100 === The purpose of this study was to investigate key success factors, specific actions, difficulties, coping strategies, and effectiveness regarding developing competitive advantages of an elementary school. The case research method was adopted, and the case was an elementary school with outstanding management performance. In addition to the school principal, five directors, one teacher, and one parent were selected based on purposive sampling for interview. Observation and document analysis methods were also used. The research period spanned from Sept 2011 to Mar 2012. The main findings of this study were as summarized as follows:
1. The key success factors for school management: Tangible assets: (1) seeking funds from multiple sources and using business management concepts; (2) professionalization of the organizational structure and using the right person for the right position; (3) integrated planning of the campus environment and effective implementation of each element of the plan; (4) a good learning environment with sufficient software and hardware facilities; (5) multi-faceted professional growth of teachers and development of learning organizations; Intangible assets: (1) delegation of authorities and high administrative efficiency; (2) a good school location that ensures sufficiency of students; (3) a good campus image; (4) having a focus on efficacy of teachers and pluralistic learning of student; (5) considering both school goals and individual goals and stressing performance-based accountability.
2. This school had eight specific actions for developing its competitive advantages: (1) analyze the internal and external environment and discuss with teachers about the school’s visions and strategies for realizing them; (2) have strong ambitions and sensitivity and implement the performance-based accountability system through leadership; (3) make use of interpersonal connections to seek funds for student learning; (4) increase the efficiency of administrative staff, use the right person for the right position, and develop school features to attract students; (5) facilitate development of learning organizations and teacher professional communities to create a positive learning atmosphere for teachers and students; (6) improve software and hardware facilities to meet student needs; (7) increase teachers’ abilities of course design and teaching innovation to lead students toward versatile development; (8) encourage parent participation in education depending on students’ family conditions.
3. The school adopted three coping strategies to solve difficulties in management: (1) seek funds for improvement of fences and teaching facilities to address problems associated with old campus buildings; (2) offer care and use management by wandering around to alleviate the pressure caused by school changes on teachers; (3) offer after-school education and after-school alternative programs to in response to the situation that most students in the area are underprivileged. Through continuous improvement, this school has not only created peak experiences for teachers and students but also showed stable development.
4. Effectiveness of management: (1) administrative: the school received outstanding marks for its performance in teaching affairs and student affairs; (2) teachers: teachers showed professional abilities in teaching and won awards in numerous competitions; (3) students: students demonstrated versatile abilities in sports, music, project research, and writing.
|
|---|
