School leaders perception of the school autonomy and control and the impact on pupil achievement

School Leaders Perception of the School Autonomy and Control and the Impact on Pupil Achievement PISA studies that show that Lithuania's pupil achievement are poor in comparison with other countries (PISA, 2012). That means, that school is not as effective as it could be and we need to search for a reasons why. OECD surveys show that higher school achievement is characterized by countries with more autonomous schools. This work assumes that the level of autonomy in schools varies due to the different perception of principals, how this autonomy and control can be used. In this paper, the results of pupils' achievement (school effectiveness) are analyzed through the school prism of control and autonomy, based on the basic principles of public administration paradigms (traditional administration and new public management) and leadership in education. Research object is school leaders perception of the school autonomy and control. The research aim is to find out if there can be striking differences between schools with low achievements, and schools with high achievements, based on the perceived autonomy of school leaders. Three hypotheses are raised: 1. Leaders in low school achievement schools are less autonomous and less accountable; 2. Leaders of high school achievement use greater autonomy and accountability; 3. Greater autonomy is linked with stronger leadership of the director. Tasks: a) to identify the autonomy and control conditions in legal acts; b) to compare schools with low student achievement and schools with high achievements according to their perceived level of autonomy and control in various fields; c) to determine if perceived autonomy and control relates to student achievement; d) identify whether the autonomy and control is linked to leadership in the school; In this paper, we will concentrate on analyzing three areas: resource management, personnel management, organization of educational process. The study was carried out using qualitative research methods. The experience of school leaders is analyzed in a narrative way. Two schools of different groups were compared: medium-high school achievement achievements and schools with moderately low achievement. The school list is based on the years 2013-2017 of matematics test. In order to compare similar schools, schools from municipalities were selected. The results of the narrative analysis revealed that schools with low achievements have a lower perception of autonomy in all areas, with the exception of the organization of education, in which this perception is low by the leaders of both groups of schools. In this area, autonomy is not exploited, although the law allows for wider action. Meanwhile, schools with high achievements have a wider sense of autonomy in personnel management, resource management and control. Thus, the first and second hypotheses have been partly upheld, as it is possible to notice that leaders of low school achievements are less aware of their autonomy, but the accountability is the same as those of high-level executives who enjoy a greater perceived autonomy. Different types of leadership vary in different areas of autonomy. It can be noted that school leaders whose pupils achievement are good are more likely to be characterized by transformational and shared leadership. Meanwhile, in all areas of autonomy, transactional leadership was identified in low achievements group, although in the area of resource management, it was possible to identify shared features of leadership and staff management was transformational. According to research data, these types of leadership are better than transactional leadership. So, the third hypothesis is accepted, and leadership is associated with higher autonomy and better student achievement