The author investigates ideologies, the strategies and the results of the secondary education management reforms in the USA during the 80-90th of the ХХ century – the beginning of the ХХІ century. In the first part of the dissertation the division of education management development into periods is offered, the dependence of education reforms on the economic and socio-political changes in the society is proved and the theoretical and methodological grounds of modern education management reforms are investigated. The author distinguishes four periods of secondary education management development: 1) community management (1800 – 1850) – the creation of public schools administrated by local communities; 2) professional management (1850 – 1900) – the changes in the type of school administration caused by professionalization of education and progressive movements; 3) scientific management (1900 – 1945) – the adoption of professional control, transference of the scientific management ideas in the sphere of education administration; 4) state-community management (1945 – 1990) – the increasing role of the social interest groups in education administration and orientation of education reforms to the improvement of education quality and increase of competitiveness of the American nation. Ideological basis of the reforms is neo-liberal theory of „New Managerism”, i.e. spreading the management principles typical for business and market mechanisms of regulation into education; transformation of control – from politico-administrative to market control; predominance of results-oriented approach while defining the priorities of education reforms and their effectiveness. The ideas of systemic reform introduced by J. O’Day and M. Smith have become the theoretical grounds of education management reforming. They were directed at optimization of interconnection between different branches of education system and refusal from traditional construction of American education system as “organized anarchy”. The main aim of systemic reform is creation of the education structure where one-purposefulness of all the participants of the education process will ensure the improvement of the system’s results, first of all, teaching and learning. Within the framework of organizational approach the theories of functioning and reorganization of secondary education management at school level are analyzed. These theories are arranged as management models, the most substantial of which are given by American researchers T. Bush (formal, collegial, subjective, political, ambiguity and cultural model), T. Sergiovanni (effectiveness, human, political, and cultural model), L. Bolman and T. Deal (structural, political, symbolic and human resources model) and M. Hanson (classical hierarchical model, social system model and open system model). Analyzed management models had become theoretical basis for reorganization of school culture and transforming school into learning community. In the second part of the dissertation the functioning peculiarities of different policy-making levels (federal, state, district and school) are analyzed. System-wide standard-oriented reforms aimed at improving education quality for all children allow distinguishing such tendencies of secondary education management development as centralization and decentralization. The manifestations of centralizing processes at federal level are: formulating the national strategy of education development; increasing federal educational programmes and federal funding. At state level centralization of education management is characterized by defining performance and content standards in core subjects (English, Mathematics, Science); professional development standards for teachers and school principals; creating national testing and accountability systems; regulating district funding; applying sanctions and awards to districts and schools. Centralizing tendencies at district level are: defining local performance, content and professional development standards and new forms of accountability. Decentralization of education management at district and school level is characterized by delegation of resources (financial, material, human, intellectual, information, time) by means of adoption school-based management programmes and signing contracts with schools within the framework of charter school movement. Special attention is paid to the development of distributive leadership while reorganizing the school culture and transforming schools into learning communities. The proposals for the Ukrainian education based on positive conceptual ideas of American reforming experience are given.
