CONTRACTUAL OR RESPONSIVE ACCOUNTABILITY - NEO-CENTRALIST SELF-MANAGEMENT OR SYSTEMIC SUBSIDIARITY - TASMANIAN PARENTS AND OTHER STAKEHOLDERS POLICY PREFERENCES

WHEN state governments decentralised many administrative responsibilit ies to schools in the late 1980s and early 1990s, it was assumed that they would develop better capacities to manage, develop and govern the mselves. In general. such decentralisation attempted to replace bureau cracies with corporate management, focus school evaluation onto the au diting of performance indicators, cut ex-school support structures in favour of locally contracted expertise, and displace hierarchy with co llegial networks. The principle of public accountability in public edu cation was redefined as a local obligation to be discharged through ma nagerial, market and political mechanisms. The research reported here shows that Tasmanian parents actually prefer a far more educative and communitarian approach to accountability, and that this view is broadl y shared with other key stakeholders: teachers, principals and state g overnment officials. The empirical findings reported contradict orthod ox structures, practices and theory and have substantial implications for policy making.