Planning of education: Where do we go?

Dominated by economists' positivist paradigms, educational planning has rarely been an effective instrument of education management. The failure to take into account the diversity of local conditions, the complexity of the technical systems and the neglect of implementation issues are the principal reasons for the persistent planning mishaps of the past. The recommitment of the international community to education, in the wake of the recent World Conference on Education for All, makes it imperative to ensure that the new resources that can be expected to become available for educational development are well used. This means planning for change at the school level in the context of more organic management systems. In this environment the premises of deterministic planning models no longer hold. Operationally useable ‘interactive’ models will be essential. The dimensions of such models are beginning to be clear: (i) systematic learning; (ii) indirect intervention strategies; (iii) institutional analysis; and (iv) staff development.