Paper presented at the Annual Research Symposium, University of Colombo, Sri Lanka, (68-70) 2012 How make decisions in the PSI schools in Sri Lanka: A case study with reference to the Colombo district schools where the Programme of School Improvement is being. Chandana Kasturi Arachchi Senior Lecturer, Faculty of Education, University of Colombo chacmb@gmail.com ABSTRACT The Programme of School Improvement (PSI) was introduced to the government schools in Sri Lanka as a pilot project in 2006. At present all the public schools are implementing the PSI as a tool of management. With the implementation of the PSI, school decision making process was significantly changed (Ministryofeducation, 2008). However, no adequate qualitative research was undertaken to study the changed decision making process in those PSI schools yet. Therefore this study designed to explore the nature of the school decision making in the PSI schools. Three schools were purposively selected in the Colombo district, and information gathered interviewing the members of the School Development Committees (SDC). Case study research approach used to study the research problem, and Data was analyzed using thematic analytical technique. Principal interference can be seen in the selection process of the members for the SDC in the majority of schools. Therefore, it seems that the decision making in those schools is not much democratic, and mostly internal staff members in the SDC influence the school decisions. Most of the external members are not much aware their authority and power in school decisions. However, the responsibility for school decisions still with the internal staff members of SDC. Mostly, SDC meetings are held to get official approval for the proposals tabled by the respective school principal. Majority of SDC members have not undergone any training in relation to the PSI, therefore, all the members required to be provided appropriate training and awareness on the PSI. In addition, democratic and participatory decision making process must be emphasized as a key element of the PSI schools. Key Words- Decision making, Programme of school improvement, School based management References- Caldwell, B. J. (2005). School-based management. Education Policy Series. The International Institute for Educational Planning and The International Academy of Education, Paris and Brussels. Cheng, Y. C. (1993). The theory and characteristics of school-based management. International Journal of Educational Management, 7(6).