Proceeding decentralization of a school system and related enhancement of schools autonomy in different areas of their functioning (which applies to many European countries) is accompanied by new possibilities for quality advancement of the whole educational system including the performance of particular schools. In parallel, however, it brings out the need to expand the current concept of school accountability. A logical consequence is then e.g. an outer pressure on the implementation of self-evaluation processes (see. OECD, 1998) that are already commonly perceived as one of the ways of participative style of school work encouraging the learning of individuals as well as whole organizations. In the Czech Republic, the school self-evaluation has become a legal obligation; the authoresses of the paper, nonetheless, defend the opinion that self-evaluation as the only mechanism of the quality advancement in a decentralized system at a school level is insufficient. Not even a „correctly performed“ self-evaluation can always allow an organization to develop in the right direction on a long-term basis unless it is supplemented with other processes compensating its weak points (they include e.g. restrictions when searching for new - yet not tested ways of dealing with situations; subjectivity of discoloured perception…). Supplementing with other e.g. benchmarking activities allows schools to clearly recognize which way certain processes are or could be implemented. Benchmarking offers comparison with another organization and obtaining inspiration from somewhere else; it pulls down deep-rooted paradigms defining the way of individuals´ work and organization functioning. It is a process of constant surveys, comparison, measurement and assessment of information among different organizations with a view to obtaining knowledge that can help the organization to improve its functioning (see Tucker, 1995; Snyder, Acker-Hocevar, Snyder, 2000 etc.). Spendolini (1992) considers benchmarking primarily a possibility for the growth and advancement of an organization. As for the Czech school environment, benchmarking as another possibility of organization learning is still an undiscussed topic. For that reason, the authoresses firstly concentrate on a theoretical analysis of benchmarking processes. They compare research findings from different European countries allowing broader knowledge of these processes potential (including information about validisation of benchmarking tools such as 2EQBS). They deduce and present a picture of possibilities for their implementation in Czech school environment; consider both the possibilities and limitation of activities of different subject types which may be involved in those processes (on regional, national and international level - working with PISA results etc.).

In the empirical part of the text, the authoresses are going to respond to main research questions: „What is the reality of benchmarking in the Czech school environment? What dimensions are already being implemented? What causes the restriction for its implementation on various levels of a school system?“ The answers will be searched by means of various research methods of analytical-descriptive character (in order to detect all the nuances of benchmarking processes): text analysis (essays of school executives on the topic of possibilities and restrictions of benchmarking use at my school); analysis of school educational programmes of ca 200 randomly selected schools and analysis of their annual reports; content analysis of SWOT analysis used by schools as a foundation for their plans. Findings will be supplemented with information from in-depth discussions with school chief representatives and with teachers.

From theoretical analysis of foreign information in the form of stating the potential of benchmarking processes will help to dissemination of at least basic concept of these processes among theoreticians and practicians in education environment. Comparison of results from foreign and Czech research can help to identify educational needs of Czech school managers and in can also provide a view on possible reserves of various stakeholders´ work as far as school development is concerned. Last but not last this paper can provide framework for further national and international (comparative) research.