Strategic planning in primary schools (Bursa province Canaydın Elementary school case)

Division of Educational Sciences (Educational Administration, Supervision,Planning and Economics) Anadolu University Graduate School of Educational Sciences, May, 2004 Supervisor: Assoc. Prof. Dr. Esmahan A?AO?LU Education requires long-term planning. As strategic planning is based on long-term planning, it suits the nature of the education organizations as well. It is necessary to start a thorough educational reconstruction immediately in order for Turkey to survive in this rapid change process stemming from globalization and technology and to take the place she deserves in the new world order. In order to complete this mission successfully, decision-makers in education are to estimate the future trends and issues the best they can by reducing the uncertainities as much as possible. Thus, strategic planning of education should be completed and put into practise immediately. Strategic planning process has a dynamism that provides continuous quality development in educational organizations, unifies and moves all the workers around a common quality belief. Strategic planning process of the educational organizations is an activity that should be carried out parallely in both micro and macro levels; thus, these activities should be realized in both school and state level. In order to be able to make macro strategic planning in the state level, particularly every school should prepare its own strategic planning. It is important that school plans are in harmony with the macro aims of the Ministry of Education and the strategies to achieve them and that reliability is provided. In this study which was designed according to the case study model with the aim of presenting the current status of the strategic planning in educational organizations and stating the opinions of the administrators, teachers and parents, and suggesting analternative application by assessing the determined status, Canaydin Primary School was chosen as the working field. In the first stage of the research, a satisfaction questionnaire was given to the students, parents, teachers and administrators in this school with the aim of detenrdning their opinions regarding the critical success elements in the school for defining the present status that the school is in, and for determining the strengths and weaknesses and opportunities and threats of the school (SWOT Analysis). Besides this, the data gathered from the interviews with the teachers, students, administrators, Psychological Counseling and Guidance specialists, the members of The School-Parent Union and School Maintenance Union were taken into consideration as well. The items that were related with the statements resulting as the weaknesses of the school in the data collection instruments were included in the interview forms. For the internal environment and external environment analysis, a form was developed by the researcher as a result of the review of the related literature Document analysis was carried out by using this form. While determining the organizational values and principles, vision and mission the researcher had the moderator role. The data gathered for internal and external environment analyses were used to support the findings of SWOT analysis and data collection instruments and to present alternative explanations. Every single one of the critical success elements; that is, determined education, infrastructure, human resources, social relations, communications, research and development and finance, was considered as an action field. Action plans in line with the requirements in every single field were prepared. As a result, it is seen that Canaydm Primary School has some weak sides concerning education, infrastructure, social relations, communication, research and development and finance; however, it has the adequate human and material resources to carry on education successfully. At the end of the study, based on the findings, various suggestions concerning every single success element were made.