Devolution from central authority to the schools

Abstract

In recent years, and particularly with the enactment of the Education Act of 1988, the Maltese education system has undergone various changes with the aim of offering quality education to our students which will prepare them for life in the third millennium. An important outcome from these changes was the start of the devolution process of state schools from central authority. These developments in Maltese education had their effects on the administration and management of our schools as they brought about additional responsibilities and increased pressure on school administrators which could limit their proper educational role. These changes coming from the centre had their benefits too. It is with this objective in mind that we set about on this study, based on research conducted among Primary, Secondary and Secondary Technical Schools heads, who helped us obtain first-hand information on the subject, and to whom we are so grateful. We analysed these additional responsibilities and attempted to find out the extent of their effects on the administration and management of state schools. Finally, we offered some suggestions which might prove worthwhile in the future. This study, which forms part of the work required by the University of Malta as part of our studies for the Diploma in Educational Administration and Management, was conducted under the professional direction and expertise of our tutor, Mr. Joseph Muscat, to whom we owe our thanks and appreciation. We hope that this study will not only be of help to us in our current studies but may prove useful to others who may want to delve further into this subject.