Resource management in pre-vocational education: A study of TVEI in two LEAs.

The study addresses the management of pre-vocational education programmes in secondary education with particular reference to the management of resources. The educational context is the Technical and Vocational Education Initiative (TVEI) in the United Kingdom which provides opportunities for curriculum and management innovations through experimentation at the local level. The research broadly explores the roles and relationships between the central government, local education authorities (LEAs) and institutions in the delivery of a directly funded educational programme. The primary focus, however, is on determining and interpreting resource allocation forces and the rationale for allocations in secondary schools. A review of literature on the TVEI, educational innovations and the management of resources leads to a conceptual framework which conceives school activities as comprising 'programmes', with each programme representing a coherent set of resourced activities with its own objectives. A review of literature on the rational and political perspectives on management provides the basis on which the allocative choices of selected schools are interpreted. The research methodology draws from both positivist and interpretative approaches. It consists of a case study method, involving two LEAs and four schools (two in each LEA), using documentation and interview as the major research instruments. Using the concept of full-time (pupils and teachers) equivalence as basis, the allocative choices of the schools are assessed against four performance measures - the impact of subjects and the TVEI, economy in the use of resources, equity/ba1ance in the allocation of resources, and pressure/1oad on teachers. The analysis leads to the conclusion that the relative distribution of resources to subjects and other school activities will necessarily vary because school objectives are not only many and varied, but also make different resource demands. However, it was also found that, in resource terms, some objectives appeared to be in conflict with others, suggesting that specific educational and resource objectives not only need to be specified, but also considered together when making allocative choices.