An Investigation into the Impact of Mission Statements on School Development Planning.

This thesis uses quantitative as well as qualitative methods to examine the impact of school philosophical statements on school development planning. Three case study schools from an Asian city were selected. A questionnaire and face to face interviews were used as data gathering tools. The data from the questionnaires informed the questions created for the interviews and the outcomes of these two data sources were analysed qualitatively. As a result of the findings from qualitative analysis a further quantitative analysis was made of the questionnaire data. A total of 188 responses to questionnaires were examined and 22 interviews took place. The main aim of this research is to empirically examine the assumptions that underpin the Council of International Schools and New England Association of Schools and College’s accreditation standards for school philosophical statements and development planning. At the heart of these assumptions is the belief that school development planning is most effective when it is closely linked to a clearly written, collaboratively created set of philosophical statements which articulate the school’s values and beliefs. To date this assumption has not been substantiated by research. A secondary aim is to examine the systems and structures in schools that assist in linking the school’s philosophy to its planning processes. The data resulted in a set of interesting findings. Firstly, insights were gained into techniques used to reaffirm and embed school philosophy into the school’s culture. Secondly, the data suggested that the assumptions made by the accrediting agencies hold true under certain circumstances but that a school’s underlying ideology may be more powerful in driving institutional planning. As a result of the findings, suggestions to further develop accreditation standards are made and ideas for further research are proposed.