DECISION-MAKING AS A SIGNIFICANT MANAGEMENT FUNCTION OF THE SCHOOL DIRECTOR

Abstract

In the process of managing the school curriculum and the school’s development, the school directors and their management teams face numerous problems, which have to be solved in an effective and efficient way. In this respect, they have to make a number of strategic, operative and administrative decisions. Decisions are made regarding defining and choice of strategy for school development, defining a choice for a development policy of the school, defining and adopting a long-term and medium-term plan for school development, defining and adopting individual development plans, selecting and choosing development projects, preparing and evaluating pre-investment projects, developing and evaluation of investment programs, preparation and adoption of investment-technical documentation, final decision-making for the realization of a particular investment, and the like. Starting from the fact that effective decision-making can be slow, quick, and immediate, and that a precondition for it is a blend of knowledge, experience and training, directors as managers of their school in the future will have to increasingly use the support systems in the decision-making, especially in making important strategic decisions for the school. All school directors must understand the importance of decision-making on the basis of data recorded by those who collected the data, who looked at data, how often data is collected, how the data informs about classroom teaching practices and how the data informs about professional development. Additionally, most directors need to know that joint decision-making, through teamwork and collaboration, will contribute to the improvement of the school.