Investigating Autonomy, Accountability And Educational Management Priorities In Romanian High Schools; Preliminary Results

In Romania, decentralization of education has been for more than 10 years a declared priority of the educational policies and starting with the Education Act of 2011 should have become a reality of the system. Recent researches indicate that increased school autonomy, when accompanied by accountability measures and supported by a good economic development level of the country, could lead to better students’ achievement in mathematics, sciences and reading. However, the Romanian students’ results at national exams and standardized tests applied in international studies have constantly been well below expectations. One of the many justified questions arising from this situation is whether the decentralization has indeed become a reality of the Romanian education system and furthermore if decentralization can lead to better educational performances in our case. This study presents the preliminary results of a questionnaire-based investigation conducted in order to assess the actual level of autonomy and the existing accountability measures in Romanian high schools. Considering the increased responsibility of the school principals in a decentralized system, the investigation also included questions regarding the educational management priorities. Preliminary results indicate that school autonomy appears to be still at an emerging level in Romanian high schools, while in most cases principals declare that significant accountability measures exist in their schools. Regarding the educational management, although there is a rather large diversity of priorities and opinions, a number of common themes can be identified: prioritize strategic development, strengthen control, increase the quality and efficiency of the management, accent on rules and regulations, etc