Under Pressure: Why School Managements Use Garbage Can Model of Decision?

Year 2018, , 1 - 28, 27.07.2018

Emanuel Tamir Mirit K. Grabarski

https://doi.org/10.30828/real/2018.1.1

Cited By: 5

Abstract

This qualitative study identified and analyzed the
occurrences of the Garbage-Can decision making model in public schools.  The study was based on semi-structured
interviews with 34 teachers from elementary and middle schools in Israel. Data
analysis showed three major decision areas in which the Garbage-Can model was
employed, and the conditions under which these decisions were made.
Specifically, salient occurrences of Garbage-Can decisions making were found
regarding pedagogical decisions, opportunities to obtain additional resources,
and change management. The main conditions that evoke the use of the model are
administrative limitations which create pressure and ambiguity, and time limits
which do not allow systematic decision making. Results of this study may inform
school principals and policy-makers when making decisions in schools.

Keywords

Garbage can decision model, School management, Public schools

References

• Arar, K., Haj, I., Abramovitz, R., & Oplatka, I. (2016). Ethical leadership in education and its relation to ethical decision-making: The case of Arab school leaders in Israel. Journal of Educational Administration, 54(6), 647-660.‏ Arar, K., & Oplatka, I. (2011). Perceptions and applications of teachers’ evaluation among elementary school principals in the Arab education system in Israel. Studies in Educational Evaluation, 37(2), 162-169.‏ Baglibel, M., Samancioglu, M., Ozmantar, Z. K and Hall, G.E. (2014), "The relationship between school principal’s perceived change facilitator styles and teachers’ attitudes towards change", International Studies in Educational Administration, 42(3), 55-67. Baker, B. D (2012). Revisiting the old question: Does money matter in education? Albert Shanker Institute. ERIC Number: ED563793. Retrieved from: http://www.shankerinstitute.org/images/doesmoneymatter_final.pdf Ball, S. J., Maguire, M., & Braun, A. (2012), How schools do policy: Policy enactment in secondary schools. London: Routledge. Ben David-Hadar, I., & Ziderman, A. (2011). A new model for equitable and efficient resource allocation to schools: The Israeli case. Education Economics, 19(4), 341-362. Blass, N. & Tsur, S.&Zusman N. (2012) What did you learn in school today, dear little boy of mine? The use of teacher hours in primary school. Jerusalem: Research Department, Bank of Israel. Bryk, A. S., Sebring, P. B., Allensworth, E., Luppescu, S., & Easton, J. Q. (2010), Organizing schools for improvement: Lessons from Chicago, University of Chicago Press, Chicago, IL. Calabrese, R. L., & Zepeda, S. J. (1999). Decision-making assessment: improving principal performance. International Journal of Educational Management, 13(1), 6-13.‏ Caldwell, B., & Spinks, J. M. (1992). Leading the self-managing school. London: Falmer. Christensen, S. (1976). Decision-making and socialization. In J. G. March and J. P. Olsen, (eds.), Ambiguity and choice in organizations. (pp. 351-385) Bergen: Universitetsforlaget. Cohen, M. D., March, J. G., & Olsen, J. P. (1972). A garbage can model of organizational choice. Administrative Science Quarterly, 17(1), 1-25. Cohen, M. D., March, J. G., & Olsen, J. P. (2012). “A garbage can model” at forty: A solution that still attracts problems. In A. Lomi and J. R. Harrison (eds.) The garbage can model of organizational choice: Looking forward at forty. Research in the Sociology of Organizations, 36, 19-30. Cohen, S., & Karatzimas, S. (2016). Modernizing government accounting standards in Greece: a case of ‘garbage can’ decision-making. Public Money & Management, 36(3), 173-180. Creswell, J.W. (2014). Educational research: Planning, conducting, and evaluating quantitative and qualitative research (4th ed.), Harlow, Essex: Pearson, Elliott, J. (2005). Using narrative in social research. London: SAGE Fullan, M. (2014), The principal: Three keys to maximizing impact. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass. Gawlik, M.A. (2015). Shared sense-making: how charter school leaders ascribe meaning to accountability. Journal of Educational Administration, 53(3), 393-415. Gur-Ze'ev, I. (1997). Critical Theory and Education. Studies in Education 2(2), 9-51 (In Hebrew). Gutek, G. L. (2013). Philosophical, ideological, and theoretical perspectives on education. Pearson Higher Education. Hargreaves, A. (1998). Pushing the boundaries of educational change. In A. Hargreaves et al. (eds.), International handbook of educational change. 1, 281-294. Dordrecht: Kluwer. Hoy, W. K & Tarter, C. J. (2008). Administrators solving the problems of practice: Decision-making cases, concepts, and consequence. 3rd ed. Boston, MA: Pearson. Inbar, D. (2009). Developing autonomy: The case of the Israeli school system. In A. Nir (Ed). Centralization and school empowerment from rhetoric to practice. (pp. 59-78). New York: Nova Science. Janis, I. L., & Mann, L. (1977). Decision making: A psychological analysis of conflict, choice, and commitment. New York: Free Press. Eisenhardt, K. M., & Zbaracki, M. J. (1992). Strategic decision making. Strategic Management Journal, 13(S2), 17-37. Kalenze, E. (2014). Education is upside-down: Reframing reform to focus on the right problems. London, UK: Rowman & Littlefield Kellner D (2005). Critical Theory and education: Historical and metatheoretical perspectives In Gur‐ZeʹEv, I., (Ed.). Critical Theory and Critical Pedagogy Today. Toward a New Critical Language in Education. Haifa, University of Haifa Press. Klein, J. (2012). The open-door policy: Transparency minimizes conflicts between school principals and staff. International Journal of Educational Management, 26(6), 550-564.‏ Kreiner, K. (1976). Ideology and management in a garbage can situation. In J. G. March and J. P. Olsen, (eds.). Ambiguity and choice in organizations. (pp. 156-173) Bergen: Universitetsforlaget. Krueger, A. B., & Whitmore, D. M. (2001). The effect of attending a small class in the early grades on college‐test taking and middle school test results: Evidence from Project STAR. The Economic Journal, 111(468), 1-28. Levitt, B., & Nass, C. (1989). The lid on the garbage can: Institutional constraints on decision making in the technical core of college-text publishers. Administrative Science Quarterly, 2, 190–207. Merriam, S. B. (2009). Qualitative research: A guide to design and implementation. Jossey-Bass, San Francisco, CA. Mertens, D.M. (2005). Research methods in education and psychology: Integrating diversity with quantitative and qualitative approaches. 2nd ed. Thousand Oaks: Sage., Moos, L., Krejsler, J., Kasper Kofod, K., & Brandt Jensen, B. (2005). Successful school principalship in Danish schools. Journal of Educational Administration, 43(6), 563-572.‏ Murphy, J., Vriesenga, M., & Storey, V. (2007). Educational Administration Quarterly, 1979-2003: An analysis of types of work, methods of investigation, and influences. Educational Administration Quarterly, 43(5), 612-628. Naveh, E. (2011). Configuration of knowledge, identity and politics through the current history curriculum in Israel. In Lyn Yates & Madeleine Grumet (eds.) Curriculum in today’s world: Configuring knowledge, identities, work and politics, (pp. 210-222). London: Routlege. Nir, A.E (2000). Strategic plans and principals' need for control. Journal of School Leadership, 10, 332-343. Nir, A. E., Ben-David, A., Bogler, R., Inbar, D., Zohar, A. (2016). School autonomy and 21st century skills in the Israeli educational system: Discrepancies between the declarative and operational levels. International Journal of Educational Management, 30, 1231-1246. Noppe, R., Yager, S., Webb, C., & Sheng, B. (2013). Decision-making and problem-solving practices of superintendents confronted by district dilemmas. International Journal of Educational Leadership Preparation, 8(1), 103-120.‏ Oplatka, I. (2007). The principal's role in marketing the school: Subjective interpretations and potential influences. Planning & Changing, 38(3&4), 209-221. Oplatka, I. (2010). The legacy of educational administration: A historical analysis of an academic field. Frankfurt: Peter Lang.‏ Padgett, J. F. (1980). Managing garbage can hierarchies. Administrative Science Quarterly, 25, 583–604. Patton, M.Q. (2002). Qualitative research and evaluating methods. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage. Polka, W., Litchka, P., Mete, R., & Ayaga, A. (2016). Catholic school principals' decision-making and problem-solving practices during times of change and uncertainty: A North American analysis. Journal of Catholic Education, 20(1), 220-243.‏ Pinfield, L. T. (1986). A field evaluation of perspectives on organizational decision making. Administrative Science Quarterly, 31, 365-388.‏ Sager, F., & Rielle, Y. (2013). Sorting through the garbage can: Under what conditions do governments adopt policy programs? Policy Sciences, 46(1), 1–21. Saxonberg, S., & Sirovátka, T. (2014). From a garbage can to a compost model of decision‐making? Social policy reform and the Czech government's reaction to the international financial crisis. Social Policy & Administration, 48(4), 450-467. Schechter, C. & Shaked, H. (2017). Leaving fingerprints: principals’ considerations while implementing education reforms. Journal of Educational Administration, 55(3), 242-260.‏ Seashore Louis, K., & Robinson, V.M. (2012). External mandates and instructional leadership: school leaders as mediating agents. Journal of Educational Administration, 50(5), 629-665. Shores, K., & Loeb, S. (2016). Distributive decisions in education: Goals, trade-offs, and feasibility constraints. Theory and Research in Education, 14(1), 107-124. Tamir, E., & Shaked, L. (2016). What to do with the bounty? Organizational patterns for the implementation of resources allocated by the Courage to Change (Oz Letmura) Reform. Leadership and Policy in Schools, 15(4), 567-597. Taylor, S. J., Bogdan, R., & DeVault, M. (2016). Introduction to qualitative research methods: A guidebook and resource. John Wiley & Sons.‏ Tracy, S.J. (2013), Qualitative research methods: Collecting evidence, crafting analysis, communicating impact. Chichester, UK: Wiley-Blackwell. Volansky, A. (2003) From experiment to educational policy: The transition to school-based management in Israeli schools. In A. Volansky and I. Friedman (eds) School-based Management: An International Perspective. Jerusalem: Ministry of Education, pp. 207–220 Wang, L. H., Gurr, D., & Drysdale, L. (2016). Successful school leadership: case studies of four Singapore primary schools. Journal of Educational Administration, 54(3), 270-287.‏ Weiner, S. S. (1976). Participation, deadlines, and choice. In James G. March and Johan P. Olsen, (eds.), Ambiguity and choice in organizations. (pp. 225-250). Bergen: Universitetsforlaget. Zahariadis, N. (2007). The multiple streams framework: Structure, limitation, prospects. In P. A. Sabatier (Ed.), Theories of the policy process. 2nd ed. (pp. 65–92). Boulder: Westview. Zhu, Y. Q., & Kindarto, A. (2016). A garbage can model of government IT project failures in developing countries: The effects of leadership, decision structure and team competence. Government Information Quarterly, 33(4), 629-637.‏