Four types of school environment: Multilevel self-management and educational quality

How school-based management in the form of multilevel self-management is related to educational quality is a crucial issue in current educational reforms. An empirical study was conducted to explore this issue in a sample of 68 primary schools in Hong Kong. It was found that the school environment of sampled schools could be classified into 4 types: Bottom-level Self-Managing (BSM), Top-level Self-Managing (TSM), Mediocre Self-Managing (MSM), and Poor Self-Managing (PSM). The performances of the school, groups, and individual teachers among these 4 types were significantly different. Some implications were drawn for practice and policy formulation. Copyright © 2004 Taylor & Francis Group, an informa business.