Micropolitics in managing bi-sessional primary schools: A case study of the interactions between partner school heads

Bi-sessional schooling was a temporary administrative measure launched to relieve the acute need for more primary school places some thirty years ago (Cheng & Cheung. 1994) . Despite the prominence of bisessional primary schooling in Hong Kong, very little study has been conducted to investigate their management and operations (Chiu, 1990) . Responding to this, the present study explored the interactions between the heads of a bi sessional primary school in the context of their work in managing the school within stringent resource realities to achieve the school mission and a sense of school unity. Results of the investigation suggested that the micropolitical dynamics between the heads were different at two stages starting from the day when the afternoon head joined the school. The two stages of micropolitics identified were the Assimilation Stage and the Partnership Stage. In the Assimilation Stage, the heads worked in a "master-apprentice" dependence relationship. Transition to the Partnership Stage was a bitter experience for the heads, yet healthy for the school as a whole. Copyright © 1995 New Horizons in Education.