This paper presents a dilemmatic approach to democratic school leadership and governance (DSL). Rather than viewing dilemmas and inner tensions as debilitating democratic governance, a dilemmatic approach views tensions between core values as a defining feature of DSL. A dilemmatic approach differs from central views in the field by regarding DSL…

After widespread concern following the tragic death of a headteacher, the appointment of a new chief inspector for Ofsted and the prospect of a Labour government offer an opportunity for a radical appraisal of the current inspection regime. This article discusses some basic concepts and principles which might contribute to a system that is…

In this essay, I introduce the term "governance inversion" to describe a situation in which a university administration repositions a governance body in such a way as to limit its legitimate governance function. Structural conditions might make governance inversion more likely, but narratives might also be deployed to make the inversion…

This article describes what it means to be a comprehensive teachers union, one that integrates industrial unionism, professional unionism, and social justice unionism, providing a historical context for this evolution. The author relates his own journey in becoming a union organizer and then in building public spaces for teachers to find their…

This article develops a framework for understanding and analyzing the intermediary work of platform technologies, and their owners, as an emerging form of platform governance in educational systems. Our investigation is guided by two questions: (a) How do platform technologies shape policy by brokering relations among commercial, technical, and…

This paper argues that school leaders and managers are being forced to abandon their educational purpose and that leadership and management activities of school leaders are now purposed towards satisfying the needs of a managerialist elite. As a result, the best interests of learners/ students are placed secondary to the interests of the…

How do school leaders make sense of the mess of the regimes of the normal (Warner, 1993) when they themselves are beyond the norm? While we may be beyond the normal, we are also "awash in the flow of the everyday" (Manalansan, 2018, p. 2). Though we may resist and see ourselves as beyond the norm (Weiser et al., 2019), we are never…

'Leadership' has now become one of the most over-used terms in school organisation, so much so that it is now difficult to find mentions of 'management' and 'administration' in school organisation literature. Papers published in "Educational Management, Administration and Leadership" and "Management in Education" over the last…

Drawing on Dewey's critique of the way educators, historically, have tried to promulgate definitive prescriptions for educational practice, this article examines implications of the use of science for supervisory practice and for the field of supervision as a whole. A content analysis of Dewey's "The Sources of a Science of Education"…

In this article, I re-think official educational organization toward friction-zones. Thinking with a swimming event in physical education, and Deleuze's notion of pure difference and its accompanying characteristics, non-linearity, decentralization, pluralistic knowledge, virtual and actual multiplicities, nomadic waiting, and open ends, I outline…

In this perspective article, I explore the implications of artificial intelligence (AI)-enabled algorithmic decisions on education governance. Three main questions are explored: (1) Are algorithmic decisions de facto policy decisions? (2) What distinct features of algorithmic decisions necessitate a re-evaluation of education governance? (3) How…

What will it take to build high-performing, purpose-oriented public sector organizations in India? In answering this question, the voices of India's frontline officers--charged with delivering a vast array of public services to citizens--are dismissed all too quickly. Public debates on the Indian state generally view them as corrupt, apathetic,…

This study investigates the value essence of "Double reduction" ("Shuang jian") policy in China from a perspective of policy narrative. It examines three values essences of "Double reduction" (Shuang jian) policy, including the core value of running schools: student-centered education; the leading value of running…

Although the new Supreme Court decision outlawing affirmative action in college admissions is constitutional, equitable, and approved by a large majority of Americans, by itself it will probably increase leftist dominance of American universities. After all, an increase in leftist dominance was the effect of the constitutional amendment outlawing…

Recent policy changes to the regulation of international schooling for Chinese nationals in China have seen restrictions on curriculum, admissions and ownership. While there is evidence of the impact of these changes at the institutional level, it is not clear how recent regulation has impacted the actors at the phenomenological level. In order to…