Quality management in higher education is generally discussed with reference to commendable outcomes such as success, best practice, improvement or control. This paper, though, focuses on the problems of organising quality management. It follows the narrative of the seven deadly sins, with each 'sin' illustrating an inherent trade-off or paradox…

Electronic Governance (E-governance) in Open and Distance Learning (ODL) System is the utilization of Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) for the governance and management of the ODL institutions. This includes planning, implementation, and monitoring of university programs, projects, and activities. Interest in e-governance is…

Prior to 1994, the South African education system was entrenched by authoritarian leadership in which ultimate authority was vested in school principals and power was not distributed to other members of the school. However, the importance of distributed leadership has increasingly gained prominence across the world. After apartheid in 1994, the…

This paper aims at providing a theoretical and empirical discussion on the concept of pedagogisation which derives from the hypothesis of a new era of "totally pedagogised society" in Basil Bernstein's work. The article is based on empirical research on higher education policy, with a focus on the implementation of curriculum change…

Responding to Thrupp's [2003. "The School Leadership Literature in Managerialist Times: Exploring the Problem of Textual Apologism." "School Leadership & Management: Formerly School Organisation" 23 (2): 169] call for writers on school leadership to offer "analyses which provide more critical messages about social…

Corruption is at the core of weak governance. In the education sector, corruption is a threat to the quality of and access to education. Although the diagnosis is straightforward, effective reforms are more difficult to implement. The principles of good governance (transparency, participation, accountability, and integrity) provide us guidance,…

Through a case study that highlights the role of rulemaking in the evolution of the "No Child Left Behind Act" (NCLB), this article provides strategies for educators who seek both to influence policy outcomes and to understand the dynamics of policymaking. This study examines the regulatory processes for NCLB, specifically related to the…

One of the most important and high-profile issues in public education reform today is the replication of successful public charter school programs. With more than 5,000 failing public schools in the United States, there is a tremendous need for strong alternatives for parents and students. Replicating successful charter school models is an…

Purpose: Despite the popularity of school "turnaround" and "portfolio district" management as solutions to low performance, there has been limited research on these strategies. The purpose of this paper is to address this gap by exploring the strategic case of Los Angeles Unified School District's Public School Choice…

During the last several decades, educational reform in Sweden has been at once contentious, fast paced, and uneven as control of Parliament and educational policy shifted between left- and right-wing political factions. These political power shifts within Parliament created tension between national and local municipal governments and provoked…

In this essay, the author reviews "Education Reform in New York City: Ambitious Change in the Nation's Most Complex School System," by Jennifer A. O'Day, Catherine S. Bitter, and Louis Gomez. The book under review explores a larger set of issues, and some time has passed. But many of the issues studied remain relevant and the consistent…

Communities across the country are grappling with different approaches to improving their schools. Introducing or expanding charter schools is one of the approaches that states and school districts have considered or implemented. Charter schools serve more than 5 percent of public school students nationwide and make up close to 7 percent of all…

This inquiry interrogates the experiences of local implementation actors of the Philippine Department of Education as they navigate through reform efforts within systemic corruption. Departing from dominant analytical paradigms centred on patron-client frameworks, the article introduces the typology of complex linkages where local actors play…

Multilevel programs--that is, programs with multiple levels of administration, funding, and implementation--present dynamic and challenging environments for the conduct and use of evaluation. The challenges include questions, priorities, audiences, and purposes that vary at each level. This chapter discusses the challenges as well as the…

The increasing importance of schools and learning in the changing patterns of work and society is widely recognized. However, implementing and sustaining educational reforms pose major problems in all countries. This paper briefly: (1) summarizes conceptual trends in implementing educational change, (2) reviews the complexities of educational…