ABSTRACT
The governing bodies of all state schools, whether maintained by direct government grant or by a local authority, have considerable responsibility in law for the activities of their schools. Arguably, the powers of governing bodies actually lie towards the weaker end of the spectrum. Taxonomy of effectiveness such as this begins to indicate areas in which the actions of governors may be significant; in which there are opportunities for governors to be effective. It is the professional teacher, not the parent, the politician, the community, or the professional manager that Sayer, with many other educationists, argues should properly be in charge of schools. If most head teachers are uneasy about the powers of governors, experience suggests that many classroom teachers feel actually threatened by them. The evident lack of effectiveness among governors may also be related to the kind of training they receive.
