This article examines the different roles the State/government plays in coordinating the Chilean higher education system. It proposes a conceptual and analytical framework based on a multi-governance approach, which considers multi-level, multi-actor and multi-agenda dimensions. This framework is used to study the different roles played by the…

Hungary is on the road towards an illiberal state. On this journey, the Hungarian government, with the Parliament at its service, is reinterpreting the concept of fundamental rights. Under the slogan of effectiveness, new regulations are being adopted which secure more power, influence, rights, and tools for the state. This paper aims to present…

In seeking to improve student outcomes, governments may choose to exercise direct control over schools, as in many centralised systems, or to provide frameworks for intermediate bodies to engage in improvement activities. One such body is the National College for School Leadership (NCSL), now the National College for Teaching and Leadership (NCTL)…

Although England was not included in the International Instructional Systems Study because it was not a high-performing jurisdiction by the Study's definition, contributors largely were England-based. Analysing the Study's nine overall aspects of instructional systems, this paper finds that England is out of step with many of the high-performing…

This paper explores the governance of school-based and early education in England under the Conservative-Liberal Democrat Coalition Government (2010-15). It draws on three prominent Coalition policy areas--the academies programme, the pupil premium, and free part-time early education--and focuses on changes to the role played by central government…

China has adopted an unbalanced policy for economic development to improve its domestic economy and international competitiveness for more than three decades. During this process, rural education has undergone a series of reforms. With reference to compulsory education, this article argues that rural education in China is a pragmatic instrument…

Prepared for a Strategic Education Governance learning seminar, this working paper analyses the ways in which the Dutch government tried to reach overarching goals in education, in a system characterised by a high degree of distributed autonomy of education institutions and the participation of multiple actors, and consequently a government highly…

Teaching Chinese students in an American university can be both challenging and rewarding. Cultural and language differences can lead to some superficial confusion and interpretational problems. However, the vast differences in the ways Chinese students view the role of the public sector, as compared to the US, can mean that the instructors and…

A sound education sector is fundamental for the economic, social, and political transformation of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). The DRC has achieved significant progress in its education sector over the last decade, demonstrating strong resilience following a particularly violent period in its history. The DRC's development trajectory…

Across Canada there have been numerous recent examples of incidents where the political and ideological interests of provincial governments have run counter to the mandates of school districts. In this pan-Canadian study, focus groups were conducted with school board trustees and school district superintendents to examine the relationships between…

The Chinese National Quality Course Plan is a large-scale project by the Ministry of Education, which has led to the production of more than 12,000 courses from some 700 universities since 2003. This paper describes in detail the purpose of the project and how it is organized at all levels, including how individual courses get selected at…

Where the continuing professional development (CPD) process is being increasingly articulated and circumscribed by policy and central specification, the initial year of teaching may significantly shape career-long expectations of CPD. This article contrasts the early experiences of beginning secondary teachers in Scotland and Hong Kong and the…

This article critically reflects upon the "divides" among actors within two currently popular education policies in low-income countries: decentralisation and Universal Primary Education (UPE). Current literatures suggest that the existing decentralisation framework tends to overlook the "divides" among actors that often impede…

Based on a survey of rural school districts in Western China, this essay explores the effects of fiscal centralisation on the relationship between local governance and school district management, most particularly on how managerial power is distributed in the rural education sector. The essay also examines some of the possible effects that changes…

The Washington-based America 2000 system may be as close to a genuine national network as education in the 1990s will get. Riddled with inconsistencies, the network is becoming a nationwide "meeting-place" for reformers supporting the general concept of educational reform without the financial obligations. America 2000 is a top-down…