Faculty of Education - Theses

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Subject: Adult education × Start date: 1946 × Type: Masters Coursework thesis × Author: Howells, Yvonne (1942-) ×

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    Participation and influence on policy decision-making by principals and senior administrators in the Adult Migrant Education Services
    Howells, Yvonne (1942-) ( 1987)
    From the late seventies to 1986 the Adult Migrant Education Services (AMES) in Victoria changed, from a simple organisation structure managed by direct supervision, to an extensive organisation with a complex organisation structure managed through delegated responsibility. The impetus for this study is the observation that policy decision-making processes are not generally understood by organisation members. The purpose of the study is to contribute to an increased understanding of decision-making processes in the Adult Migrant Education Services by examining the characteristics and determining conditions and outcomes of these decision-making processes. The objects of study are a number of principals of Adult Migrant Education Centres and senior AMES staff. Their participation and influence on two policy decisions at State level is examined with regard to past, present and future aspects of organisational development. The theoretical focus of the study concerns the location of the decision-making power within the organisation and the identification of the relative forms of participation in a policy decision. Two models for analysing the processes of decision-making were used, as presented in the works of Thomas Dye and Per Erik Ellström. A system devised to permit classification of forms of participation was used to identify the dimension of participation in policy decision-making. Data was collected through recorded and verbatim reports of interviews, minutes, internal organisational reports and government reports. As the study progressed, AMES management made the first steps towards corporate planning and program budgeting. The initial impact of such planning on the participation of principals and senior staff in policy decisions is described. As a result of the analysis of the data it is found that the lack of legitimate participative policy generating processes and structures at principal level was related to the lack of strategic planning. In conclusion, examples of the overall management function of the middle and senior level in a decentralized organisation is suggested.