By Norah Jones and Michael ConnollyWithin management generally, and within education management more specifically, there has been a continuous search for the key to effective management development. Generic occupational standards, generated by the Management Charter Initiative are claimed to be applicable and transferable to any manager in any organization. Thus, a manager in a school would be expected to meet the same requirements as a manager in any other organization at the same level. In the education world, both practitioners and theoreticians are skeptical about the competency approach. This article analyses the relevance of the management standards to primary headship by reporting on the experiences of six headteachers seeking NVQ management qualifications.

Public Money and Management Vol. 21 No. 2 pages 53-60. www.blackwellpublishers.co.uk