Policy, Politics and Legal Foundations

¶ … policy, politics and legal foundations as forces that shape the context of school operations. Specifically this reflection in writing will answer the questions of: (1) What was learned about dealing with teachers, students, parents and community in these contexts; (2) what was learned about decision-making processes; (3) what was learned about district responsibilities; and (4) what was learned about the role of the principal in policy, politics and legal operations?

Learned from information gathered in learning activities is the fact that there are principles of representative governance that support the American school system and that the role of public education is the development and maintenance of democracy in a society. Education and specifically the context for schools is formed upon the foundation of four values which are: (1) equity; (2) efficiency; (3) choice; and (4) excellence all of which are the pillars of education in the United States.

It is the responsibility of the school administrator to negotiate the various interrelationships that exist in the environment of the school and this includes management of the budget and school operations for which they are held accountable. Furthermore, school administrators must assume the role of a politician in coping with the diversity within the community and the differing demands for resources. The administrator of the school must have specific knowledge of the Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) which requires that children who have disabilities are provided with a public education that is both 'free and appropriate' and that emphasizes special education services as well as other services that meet the unique needs of these students so they are prepared for future employment and to live independently.

The principal holds the responsibility to assume the role of the leader in education and to focus on the curriculum and instruction in the school in order to enable the successful learning of all students. It is also important that the school administrator have a full understanding of the political and legal systems and the manner in which policy is developed on both a national and local level and that the administrator understand how to implement these policies.

Schools are directly impacted by social forces and a close link exists between the school education program and the social environment. Social forces are represented by cultural and ethnic diversity as well as poverty, violence, drugs, as well as the changing structure of families, all of which impact the learning of students in that these forces create barriers to student learning.