[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"doc-seo-602653-105":3,"doc-detail-602653-en":81,"detail-sidebar-cat-0-en-105":99},{"code":4,"msg":5,"data":6},0,"ok",{"site_id":7,"language":8,"slug":9,"title":10,"keywords":11,"description":12,"schema_data":13,"social_meta":74,"head_meta":76,"extra_data":78,"updated_unix":80},105,"en","goal-free-planning-a-largely-unrecognized-but-frequently-used-approach-to-school-improvement-abstract","GOAL-FREE PLANNING - A LARGELY UNRECOGNIZED, BUT FREQUENTLY USED, APPROACH TO SCHOOL IMPROVEMENT - Abstract","","This article explores the relatively unknown educational planning model introduced by David Clark in 1981—goal-free planning. Unlike rational goal-based models, it emphasizes developing a shared understanding of a school’s mission, vision, and key values. The approach then focuses stakeholders on how each can contribute uniquely toward moving the school in the desired direction, rather than centering planning on fixed goals and objectives.",{"@graph":14,"@context":73},[15,34,56],{"@type":16,"itemListElement":17},"BreadcrumbList",[18,23,27,31],{"item":19,"name":20,"@type":21,"position":22},"https://docshare.wps.com","Home","ListItem",1,{"item":24,"name":25,"@type":21,"position":26},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/","Document",2,{"item":28,"name":29,"@type":21,"position":30},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/research-report/","Research & Report",3,{"item":32,"name":10,"@type":21,"position":33},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/goal-free-planning-a-largely-unrecognized-but-frequently-used-approach-to-school-improvement-abstract/602653/",4,{"url":32,"name":10,"@type":35,"image":36,"author":41,"headline":10,"publisher":44,"fileFormat":47,"inLanguage":8,"description":12,"dateModified":48,"datePublished":49,"encodingFormat":47,"isAccessibleForFree":50,"interactionStatistic":51},"DigitalDocument",{"url":37,"@type":38,"width":39,"height":40},"https://docshare.wps.com/thumbnails/goal-free-planning-a-largely-unrecognized-but-frequently-used-approach-to-school-improvement-abstract/602653.png","ImageObject",300,407,{"name":42,"@type":43},"pixelkiddo","Person",{"url":19,"name":45,"@type":46},"DocShare","Organization","application/pdf","2026-11-03","2026-10-15",true,{"@type":52,"interactionType":53,"userInteractionCount":55},"InteractionCounter",{"@type":54},"ViewAction",6,{"@type":57,"mainEntity":58},"FAQPage",[59,65,69],{"name":60,"@type":61,"acceptedAnswer":62},"What is goal-free planning according to David Clark (1981)?","Question",{"text":63,"@type":64},"Goal-free planning focuses on building a shared understanding of the school’s mission, vision, and key values rather than relying on fixed, finite goals and objectives.","Answer",{"name":66,"@type":61,"acceptedAnswer":67},"How do rational planning models differ from goal-free planning?",{"text":68,"@type":64},"Rational planning models assume clear goals, sequential rational processes, predictable events, evaluability, and identifiable alternative means. Goal-free planning instead centers on a broader, less procedural definition of goals.",{"name":70,"@type":61,"acceptedAnswer":71},"Why do educational leaders sometimes dismiss goal-free planning too early?",{"text":72,"@type":64},"Because of an erroneous assumption that the model is not based on organizational goals or directions, leaders may conclude it is non-relevant before considering its broader basis for guiding improvement.","https://schema.org",{"og:url":32,"og:type":75,"og:title":10,"og:site_name":45,"og:description":12},"article",{"robots":77,"canonical":32},"index,follow",{"doc_id":79,"site_id":7},602653,1792231203,{"code":4,"msg":82,"data":83},"success",{"doc_id":79,"user_id":84,"nickname":42,"user_avatar":85,"doc_module":4,"category_id":86,"category_name":29,"doc_title":10,"doc_description":12,"doc_content":87,"file_id":88,"file_url":89,"file_type":90,"file_size":91,"view_count":55,"is_deleted":4,"is_public":22,"is_downloadable":22,"audit_status":22,"page_count":92,"language":93,"language_code":8,"site_id":7,"html_lang":8,"table_of_contents":94,"faqs":95,"seo_title":96,"seo_description":12,"update_tm":97,"read_time":98},962090883892,"https://ap-avatar.wpscdn.com/avatar/e00115db34f3e0f11b?x-image-process=image/resize,m_fixed,w_180,h_180&k=1790152879550218658",8,"GOAL-FREE PLANNING: A LARGELY UNRECOGNIZED, BUT FREQUENTLY USED, APPROACH TO SCHOOL IMPROVEMENT  \nRONALD A. LINDAHL  \nABSTRACT  \nThis article explores the relatively unknown educational planning model introduced by David Clark in 1981 – goal-free planning. Unlike more traditional rational planning models, goal-free planning focuses on building a shared understanding of the school’s mission, vision, and key values, rather than on more finite goals and objectives. It then calls for stakeholders to recognize how each can make his or her unique contribution to moving the school in the desired direction.  \nINTRODUCTION  \nPlanning is an essential part of organizational improvement at all levels of formal education, from pre-school through higher education. As early as 1916, Fayol recognized it as a key management function, and it remains so today. In public preK-12 education, it is almost universally mandated by state policy; in higher education, virtually all accreditation agencies require it. However, although in some instances the strategic planning approach is prescribed, inmost cases the specific planning model is not delineated in policy.  \nIn 1981, David Clark added goal-free planning to the literature base repertoire. His contention was that both theory and experience mitigated against the efficacy of the traditional rational, goal-based models. Perhaps because very few authorities have given other than occasional references to this approach (e.g., Astuto, Clark, Read, McGree, & Fernandez, 1994; Hargreaves & Hopkins, 1994) other than to cite or briefly discuss Clark’s work, goal-free planning is not among the approaches familiar to educational leaders. Also, because it is an easy, yet erroneous, assumption that the model is not based upon organizational goals or directions, educational leaders may prematurely dismiss it as non-relevant to their organizational improvement process and needs. However, in reality, the model is merely based on a broader definition of goals, less explicit, less procedural, more idiopathic, less concrete, and more emergent than most goals associated with rational planning processes (Clark, 1981, p. 44) . Reflective analysis of how organizational improvement is generally approached and effected suggests that, at least unconsciously, educational leaders often follow the basic tenets of goal-free planning, moreso than those of the so-termed rational models.  \nBASIC TENETS OF RATIONAL PLANNING MODELS  \nRational planning models are built on a fairly fixed, and essential, set of assumptions (Clark, 1981; Etzioni, 1967; Lindblom, 1959; March & Simon, 1959; Simon, 1957, 1997):  \n1. Clear understanding of an organization’s goals or mission is an a priori condition for planning.  \n2. Planning must follow a sequential, rational process that allows the planner to build upon previous steps to address the organization’s goals.  \nEducational Planning 7 Vol. 23, No. 3  \n3. There is ample and effective communication across and among hierarchical levels of the organization  \n4. Planners and implementers have valid, reliable, and comprehensive access to information.  \n5. Events, their causes, and their consequences are predictable.  \n6. It is feasible to evaluate A clear the effects of the plan and its implementation, and to use the results for feedback and medication purposes.  \n7. It is possible to identify suitable alternative means of attaining goals and to rationally prioritize and choose among them.  \nRational planning typically takes one of several well-established forms: comprehensive rational planning (Simon, 1957, 1997); bounded rationalism (March & Simon, 1959; Simon, 1957, 1997); incrementalism (Lindblom, 1959); or mixed-scanning (Etzioni, 1967) . The very commonly used strategic planning model (Bryson, 1988, 2004; Cook, 1990; Kaufman & Herman, 1991; Mintzberg, 1994) is a sub-set of the comprehensive or bounded rational approaches, depending on the specific decision-making parameters set for that specific","cbCaireAKNgCQtSr","https://ap.wps.com/l/cbCaireAKNgCQtSr","pdf",105188,9,"English","# Introduction\n## Basic tenets of rational planning models\n## Basic tenets of goal-free planning","[{\"question\":\"What is goal-free planning according to David Clark (1981)?\",\"answer\":\"Goal-free planning focuses on building a shared understanding of the school’s mission, vision, and key values rather than relying on fixed, finite goals and objectives.\"},{\"question\":\"How do rational planning models differ from goal-free planning?\",\"answer\":\"Rational planning models assume clear goals, sequential rational processes, predictable events, evaluability, and identifiable alternative means. Goal-free planning instead centers on a broader, less procedural definition of goals.\"},{\"question\":\"Why do educational leaders sometimes dismiss goal-free planning too early?\",\"answer\":\"Because of an erroneous assumption that the model is not based on organizational goals or directions, leaders may conclude it is non-relevant before considering its broader basis for guiding improvement.\"}]","GOAL-FREE PLANNING - A LARGELY UNRECOGNIZED, BUT FREQUENTLY USED, APPROACH TO SCHOOL IMPROVEMENT - Abstract | PDF",1792095032,23,{"code":4,"msg":82,"data":100},[101,105,109,113,118,122,127,130,134,137,141],{"id":22,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":102,"show_sort_weight":103,"slug":104},"Story & Novel",90,"story-novel",{"id":26,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":106,"show_sort_weight":107,"slug":108},"Literature",80,"literature",{"id":33,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":110,"show_sort_weight":111,"slug":112},"Exam",70,"exam",{"id":114,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":115,"show_sort_weight":116,"slug":117},5,"Comic",60,"comic",{"id":55,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":119,"show_sort_weight":120,"slug":121},"Technology",50,"technology",{"id":123,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":124,"show_sort_weight":125,"slug":126},7,"Healthcare",40,"healthcare",{"id":86,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":29,"show_sort_weight":128,"slug":129},30,"research-report",{"id":92,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":131,"show_sort_weight":132,"slug":133},"Religion & Spirituality",20,"religion-spirituality",{"id":132,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":135,"show_sort_weight":132,"slug":136},"World Cup","world-cup",{"id":138,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":139,"show_sort_weight":138,"slug":140},10,"Lifestyle","lifestyle",{"id":142,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":143,"show_sort_weight":114,"slug":144},19,"General","general"]