Management of semi-public organizations in complex environments

Management activities in schools are unique compared to those of managers in other public organizations because of the character of schools as public service as well as publicly-funded organizations where high degrees of organizational autonomy and external penetration are both expected and required. There are rich discussions of various relationships between managerial activity and organizational context. And, while these discussions are not unique to the educational literature, special attention has been given to the association of managerial activities with organizational outputs of schools. There has, however, not been much attention to the effect the semi-public nature of schools has on school management In keeping with the theme of this symposium issue of Public Administration and Management: An Interactive Journal, this paper addresses school management and the nature or influence of the public context on management activities in schools.