Restructuring and Reinventing the Principal Responsibility System

Abstract

The principal responsible system is far from perfect though it is no doubt that the system has its historical merits. The disadvantages of this system are becoming increasingly obvious under the changing situation, tasks, and social context of the educational reform in China. To some extent, they have even become the obstacles to deepen the reform and pursue excellence in China's schools. Hence, it is inevitable to restructure and reinvent the on-going principal responsibility system. The proposals about the second generation of principal responsibility system in this article focus on four aspects: from externally-controlled schools to self-managing schools; shifting the role of principal from “hero ”to “leaders leader”, amplifying the democratic mechanism in school management in the light of law; and building the school-parents-community relationship completely.