The Importance of School Image in Attracting the Best Pupils

Proceedings of The 4th World Conference on Research in Education

Year: 2021

DOI:

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The Importance of School Image in Attracting the Best Pupils

Goran Vlašić, Zoran Krupka, Jurica Pavičić

ABSTRACT: 

Corporate Image (CI) can be defined as a concept that comprises of physical and non-physical attributes of the company interpreted by its stakeholders. It represents valuable asset for all subjects in the market – especially today when companies need to differentiate themselves from the competition. Decision to which secondary school to apply to is not an easy one – not for the pupils nor for the parents. Some studies have shown that school image is the key antecedent in pupils’ willingness to consider and apply for enrollment. Also, positive image has spillover effect not just on pupils’ willingness to enroll but also to attract and keep the best professors. That is why lot of secondary schools around the world invest a lot of resources in marketing activities trying to create unique image. With this paper we are combining literature from the fields of education and business with the aim to develop theoretical background for the future research activities. Some of the findings are that secondary schools need to become well aware of how important CI is and as such needs to be built aligned with school’s vision and strategy, and that marketing activities must become part of schools’ management as CI is in a domain of marketing knowledge. CI should be viewed holistically – who/what have an impact on it and who/what does it influence. In the future, with technology development and new generations of pupils, CI will be crucial for secondary schools’ survival.

keywords: school; pupils; image; secondary education; corporate image.