An explication of agency theory with theoretical and practical considerations for school-based management

Agency theory is a relatively new theoretical approach to the study of control loss and delegation in organizations. Several educational researchers have applied agency theory to an analysis of school-based management, however they have reached inconsistent conclusions.School-based management has become one of the most widespread school reform efforts in the United States. Boards of education have decentralized much of the decision making authority to the school site, however there is now a growing concern that governance issues relative to accountability, coordination, and control have not been considered. Several educational researchers have applied an agency theory analysis to these issues in school-based management models.This study addresses the following questions: (1) What is the legal and historical development of agency theory? (2) How do agency researchers describe agency theory, and how is it applied by educational researchers to school-based management models? (3) To what extent are agency applications to school-based management consistent with the historical and contemporary agency interpretations, and how instructive are these models to understanding school-based management?The theoretical frame for this study is agency theory, which identifies issues relative to the loss of control associated with principal agent relationships. Principal agent relationships occur when one party, the agent, acts on behalf of the other party, the principal.The research design involves legal analysis and historical methods, two complementary qualitative research methodologies. Data analysis involves reviewing the law of agency, determining the history of agency theory, describing the modern conceptual framework of agency theory, analyzing the extent to which the current educational interpretations of agency theory are consistent with its legal and historical traditions, and analyzing the appropriateness of applying agency theory to school-based management.Three products result from this study. First, a thorough understanding of agency theory and its legal and historical background is presented. Second, a description of how agency theory has been interpreted and applied to school-based management models is produced. Third, the agency theory concepts are analyzed to determine how instructive agency theory may be to understanding school-based management models.U of I OnlyETDs are only available to UIUC Users without author permissio