In recent years, there has been an increasing interest in Australia in
structures which allow community participation in the governance of
schools. The introduction of a new Education Authority in the Australian
Capital Territory, beginning in 1974, brought with it a substantial
commitment to such structures as school boards, a relatively new phenomenon
in Australian school systems.
However, there has been substantial experience of lay or community
participation in governing bodies of post-secondary institutions in
Australia. This study examines both the general experience of lay
participation in such governing bodies and the specific experience of
lay members of the governing bodies of three institutions in the Australian
Capital Territory, the Australian National University, the Canberra College
of Advanced Education and the Canberra College of Technical and Further
Education.
The principal collection of data was from structured interviews
with lay or community members of the councils of these three institutions,
designed to produce a picture of their attitudes towards participation
in governance. It was found that lay members are most commonly "middleaged,
middle-class, males", although women are more frequently found in
college councils. Lay members believe that they are chosen because of
their successful backgrounds, their administrative skills, and their
ability to reflect general community values. They do not believe they
are constrained in their participation by specific community interests.
They act as independent critical, individuals.
Some areas of difficulty were identified, particularly the
problem of finding sufficient time to learn thoroughly the nature of
complex institutions, and to participate on an equal footing with staff
members of councils.
It is asserted that the assumptions underlying lay participation
remain broadly unquestioned, even at a time of significant change in
the wide process of planning and control of post-secondary education.
The relevance of this to the innovations in the A.C.T. school system is
suggested.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:ADTP/219278 |
| Date | January 1978 |
| Creators | Rawling, S. J., n/a |
| Publisher | University of Canberra. Teacher Education |
| Source Sets | Australiasian Digital Theses Program |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Rights | ), Copyright S. J. Rawling |
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