Teachers’ involvement in the management of schools: example of France and French-speaking Belgium

This research analyses change management practices in schools in France and French-speaking Belgium following public education policy (PEP) reforms. With the implementation of a “shared management” system – both centralised and local – school principals are now required to involve teachers in school management. We first present diagrams showing the decentralisation of relations between public authorities and school principals to meet this objective. We then draw on a theoretical framework of change management, emphasising organisational and relational dimensions that encourage staff involvement in school management. We present our qualitative and inductive methodological approach applied to data collected through participant observation and semi-structured interviews with school principals, and from reports and laws. The results highlight several obstacles to overcome, relating to the need to rethink human relations at local level. Principals must question their own capacity to manage change and share the priorities required by the PEPs in an adhocratic approach, as public managers with strategic responsibility for human resource management. To move toward effective management and avoid resistance to change, a new stance as a unifying, considerate, and communicative HR manager is needed.