This paper presents a holistic conceptualization of the school as an autonomous system. Two major scientific paradigms, reductionism and holism, are outlined and their impacts on educational administration are discussed. Findings of a study that investigated the participation of the governing bodies of independent schools in the schools'…

Findings of a study that examined the role of the governing body in the independent school's self-renewing processes are presented in this paper. From the holistic paradigm, the school is viewed as a self-renewing system that is able to maintain its identity despite environmental changes through existing structures that define and create…