Abstract:

The purpose of this research is to describe the income and expenditures of Anatolian High Schools in Turkey. School principals’ views on budget management in terms of “competence, effectiveness, participatory budget, accountability, transparency, and flexibility,” are presented in order to identify problems originating from school budgets and to determine solution proposals. In addition, the study describes the school budget management system designed by school principals, and their views on their role in budget management as a reflection of key stakeholders of school budgeting (principals, teachers, students, parents, school council members). Quantitative and qualitative research methods have been used together in order to describe budget management in Anatolian High Schools in Turkey, based on the views of school principals, and to reveal the effects of budget applications on stakeholders through looking at their experiences. Survey method is used for this research. In order to determine the sample size that would best represent the target population in the quantitative dimension of the study, the number of samples was determined as 1,180 using layered sampling method. The collection of data from the selected sample was conducted using the “Questionnaire Survey of Anatolian High School Principals on Budget Management”, which was developed by the first author. In the qualitative dimension of the study, interviews were conducted with 60 school participants (12 school principals, 12 teachers, 12 students, 12 student parents and 12 school council members) in three different socioeconomic regions using maximum diversity sampling type. Semi-structured interview forms created by the first author were used during the interviews. The results of the research determined that the Ministry of National Education budget that all schools are provided with is inadequate and that there are concerns regarding expenditure procedures. Also, according to the views of school principals and other stakeholders, it was concluded that budgetary problems were experienced in schools, that the resources of the schools were limited, and that there were differences seen between regions. In light of the findings, it is deemed necessary to design a system involving more stakeholders, with central and local budget resources pooled to better meet the needs of schools

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