and the role of the school principal

Beginning in the 1980s, taxpayers and policy-makers began to pressure individual schools and school systems around the world to reform their policies and practices. Some of the loudest cries for reform of public education have arisen from the business sector. Because of the growing dissatisfaction with the literacy and computational skills of many high school graduates, the business community is threatening to reform the system or dismantle it completely (Pipho, 1999). Similarly, taxpayers continue to voice their concerns with the public school’s inability to assist students in learning how to read and write, master grammar and spelling, and develop discipline (Farkas, Johnson and Duffett, 1997). Fuelled by this growing disenchantment from the public and private sectors, ministries of education, state legislatures and local school boards and councils around the world are enacting policies and laws intended to hold schools more accountable for student learning. The stakes are getting much higher for improving student performance, leading to increased competition between schools. For example, financial incentives and continued employment are being attached to school performance. Educators in schools that reach certain standards are rewarded with additional resources and revenues; those that do not face punitive measures. As a result o