Policy and Practice of the Decentralization of Basic Education in China: The Shanghai Case

This paper is aimed at exploring distinctive features of the decentralization of basic education in Shanghai by drawing on data from Shanghai Program for International Students Assessment (PISA) 2012. While doing the research for this paper, the author found that from a policy perspective, Shanghai had launched a reform policy aimed at transforming the highly centralized education system. This included a devolution of the decision-making authority to local departments of education and a reduction of control over schools. Private school policies were also initiated with the understanding that private schools ought to enjoy autonomy in almost every aspect of decision-making. From the perspective of practice, decentralization of basic education could be categorized as county-based school decentralization. In such a situation, the county bureaus of education wielded decision-making authority over a number of areas in the public school sector, while gradually devolving some decision-making authority to the public schools themselves; and the private schools enjoyed autonomy within their major decision-making areas. Given both the policy and practice of the decentralization of basic education in Shanghai, some suggestions are provided regarding: (1) how to promote school decentralization, and (2) how to balance it with accountability.     

中国大陆教师专业学习社群的内涵与发展——基于对上海市中小学的调查研究

国际上越来越多的研究表明,专业学习社群能够促进教师专业发展及推动学校变革。本研究对专业学习社群进行概念化,并基于中国的学校背景,探索出一套教师专业学习社群的表现指标,对上海市7所中小学进行抽样调查。运用主成分分析法对数据进行分析,得到适用于中国大陆的指标体系,并进一步分析教师专业学习社群的内涵与发展状况。研究发现,所调查的学校在教师合作学习、专业能力、校长领导、结构支持方面均具有良好的表现,且组织变革障碍不大。可通过改善校长领导和结构支持,控制学校内部的组织变革障碍等途径促进教师合作学习和专业能力的发展,以进一步促进教师专业学习社群的发展。     

Educational decentralization policies in Argentina and Brazil: exploring the new trends

This paper compares educational decentralization policies implemented in Argentina and Brazil during the 1990s, focusing on the rationales and contexts of the policies, and through a review of secondary sources and some official documents. The paper argues that school decentralization, the movement toward transferring functions and responsibilities to schools, appears as a new and extended reform that was accompanied by more traditional forms of decentralization, but also by a process of centralization of planning and evaluation at the national level. This new form of centralization/decentralization is seen as linked to the neoliberal restructuring of the state, to pressures from globalization processes and forces, and to various internal demands for improving quality and efficiency in the delivery of education.     

Social capital practices as adaptive drivers for local adjustment of new public management in schools

New public management (NPM) reforms have typically undermined teachers’ autonomy, values, and status in society. This article questions whether such reforms automatically have these outcomes or whether and how possibilities for local adjustment of such reforms may prevent negative outcomes. Drawing on empirical case studies from two Danish municipal schools and the concept of organisational social capital, we investigate how two reform initiatives – ‘student plan-based school–home collaboration’ and ‘teamwork’ – were locally adjusted into collaborative practices. The analysis demonstrates surprising local adjustments of the reform initiatives, while also revealing some ambiguities. The results demonstrate that some reform initiatives can lead to new collaborative leadership and management practices in schools that solve the central school leadership and management tasks of coordination and planning. This indicates that collaborative leadership and management practices may emerge from NPM reforms, and that such practices can prevent negative outcomes of such reforms.     

Decentralization of First Nations Education in Canada: Perspectives on Ideals and Realities of Indian Control of Indian Education

Fuelled by the concept of self-determination, efforts to improve schooling under the banner of decentralization are taking hold in First Nations communities throughout Canada. Proponents of decentralization hold the perception that decentralized systems are more likely to improve education than centralized systems. But is there a chance that local control can improve First Nations education? From the point of view of the realization of the decentralization values, the outcome is uncertain at best and gloomy at worst. To the extent that First Nations are alert to the emerging educational needs and problems and strong enough to mobilize First Nations resources on their behalf, we may entertain a cautious optimism on the resolution of some of the manifold contradictions of decentralization. I contend that unless there is a genuine devolution that entails the empowerment of First Nations communities to provide an education that is specifically suited to each community, schools for Aboriginal children will remain mediocre in quality. If decentralization is to sustain its momentum and advance productively in coming years, at least it should meet three conditions. First, certain constraints or contradictions internal to decentralization will have to be resolved. Second, Aboriginal scholars and First Nations school authorities need to employ appropriate change strategies by providing a framework for local control, and finally, First Nations communities and federal authorities need to find the key symbolic and structural characteristics of decentralizing First Nations schools.     

Whole-School Collaborative Sustained Professional Development and Science Teacher Change: Signs of Progress

The experiences of middle school science teachers at two schools in the southeastern US who participated in collaborative, sustained, whole-school professional development and their implementation of standards-based instructional practices are the focus of this study. Participants were involved in their second year of the professional development experience. The research question that was explored was “How are science teachers implementing standards-based instruction while participating in effective professional development experiences?” Data collected in the form of teacher interviews and classroom observations using an observation protocol. Findings indicate that even with effective professional development, teachers implement standards-based instructional practices at varying levels. The reasons for these differences are discussed and the role of teacher beliefs and the impact of beliefs, experience and support from administrators on professional development efforts are discussed. Implications for future science education reform stakeholders and professional development efforts are revealed.     

经合组织国家教育改革中的放权及其启示

20世纪80年代以来,经济合作与发展组织国家对公立学校进行重构与放权的尝试,主要包括:重新定位国家的角色,中央政府权力下放;扩大下级中层机构对学校管理和监督的权力;扩大学校的自主权;扩大社区与家长参与学校事务的权力几方面。改革之后,更多的权力从中央下放到地方和具体的学校,在管理自身事务以及提高教育质量方面,地方与学校发挥着更大的作用,承担着更多的责任。针对当前我国教育管理体制改革的情况,政府应该着重进行四个方面职能的定位:政策的制定应有利于支持权力的下放;关注加强学校能力的建设;严格的督导与评价;鼓励改革与更新。     

Collaboration for the effective and efficient management of school financial resources

Abstract

This paper examines the collaborative relationship between principals and School Governing Bodies (SGBs), and how this impacts on the management of financial resources in public schools. In South Africa, educational trends such as decentralisation, the shift of responsibility in roles, community involvement, building of partnerships and accountability in schools resulted in changing associations and patterns of interaction amongst participants in schools. Collaboration may be viewed as central to each of these trends. As principals and SGBs grapple with the demands of managing their schools’ financial resources efficiently and effectively, it is important to reflect on the collaborative relationship that society expects of them. Principals are required to cultivate processes of authentic collaboration in order to empower SGBs on school governance. It is thus imperative for schools to initiate and maintain a collaborative relationship between principals and SGBs, through mutual trust, teamwork, collaborative decision-making, open-communication and co-operation. Using a qualitative research paradigm, we determined the perceptions and experiences of school governors on their collaborative efforts in managing the school financial resources. This study revealed, amongst others, that many SGB members were unclear about their roles and functions which resulted in serious conflict situations and accountability implications.     

Gender politics in 21st century literacy reform

From 2001 to 2004 Education Queensland undertook significant literacy reform in schools through the Literate Futures Project. Research into the impact of this reform has revealed that significant demands were placed on women at all levels, from those producing resources to those leading change within schools. Although the reform was a government response to globalisation, many women were driven by a commitment to a collaborative approach to professional learning that addressed equity and improving educational outcomes for all students. But what was the cost of this commitment to the project? Failure to acknowledge the emotion work demanded by educational reform effectively silences women and the significant contribution they make. This paper examining a 21st century literacy reform draws on the work of Fraser and Boler to argue for gender justice and acknowledgement of emotion work.     

“引校入企”共建混合所有制产业学院的实践

高职混合所有制改革是要使校企联系更加紧密、实现校企协同育人的有效途径。“引校入企”是职业教育校企合作的新模式,可以提升人才培养的适应性和有效性,两者的结合是职业院校进行混合所有制改革的实践创新。通过对“引校入企”模式的内涵解读和实践运行,表明“引校入企”可以实现企业和学校的深度合作共赢,可以实现学生德技兼修的全面培养,可以为职业教育改革提供案例支撑和经验借鉴。     

Collaboration as a Predictor for Success in School Reform

Although school reform has captured the attention of this country, considerable controversy exists regarding the feasibility of reform, appropriate strategies for implementing reforms, and the adequacy of preparation of school professionals who will work in reformed schools. We propose that collaboration is the theme which unites the various dimensions of school reform and that the potential of school reform success can be analyzed by examining the extent to which the conditions needed for collaboration can be created in schools. We apply this notion to three key reform issues: (a) professionalism; (b) empowerment; and (c) restructured schools, specifically as recommended in special education. We conclude that educators should more carefully deliberate the conditions required for collaboration, should more directly address the preparation of school personnel for collaborative activities, and should call for realistically matching expectations for reform with implementation opportunities and constraints.     

10 School decentralization and empowerment

School results for children of poverty ‐ those forced by that poverty to live in inner‐city neighbourhoods ‐generally indicate educational failure at a much higher rate than is seen for students nurtured by wealthier school districts. This failure in school severely limits chances of social and economic upward mobility, which translates into a waste of human capital for the nation's business‐industrial‐political complex, and dashed hopes, dreams and self‐esteem for the individual. Parents and concerned citizens from across socio‐economic strata, long aware of the general inadequacy of schools in poor communities, have demanded improvement, often seeking it through legal and political means. Important strategies among the various federal, state and local school reform efforts to make schooling a meaningful process for all students, and particularly the minority poor, are decentralization and citizen/parent empowerment, the focus of this chapter. The movement to decentralize school governance ‐ an effort to place control into the hands of the people being served ‐ has gained momentum and exists in some form in most large‐city school districts today. An extension of administrative decentralization, citizen/parent empowerment is seen as one of several factors, including teacher and administrator preparation, curriculum renewal, school financing, and school restructuring, vital in the improvement of schools. A look at the meaning and scope of decentralization, operationalized through citizen/parent empowerment, and its probable effectiveness in improving school outcomes indicates that, alone, it is insufficient to ensure positive academic and social performance in school.     

教学型高校传统结构的弊端与矩阵结构的选择

教学型高校是我国高等教育大众化的主力军,分析、回顾了这类高校传统科层制结构弊端和改革管理体制的动态,提出了管理重心下移学院、构建面向系与研究所的矩阵组织结构的观点;同时对二级学院组织结构进行了探索,目的在于提高教学型高校的管理效率与质量。     

中美协作式高等教育管理体制比较研究

随着各国高等教育管理体制改革的不断推行,高等教育管理体制改革呈现均权化的趋势。美国的高等教育管理体制打破了传统的地方分权制模式,其高等教育管理体制改革注重权力间的分配与制衡,逐步形成一种全方位、协作式的管理体制。本文通过与美国协作式高等教育管理体制构建的比较,对我国高等教育管理体制进行反思并借鉴美国的经验。     

Enhancing the supervision of beginning teachers: A Canadian initiative

The purpose of this study was to examine, and to consider improvements to, the supervision of beginning teachers in one Canadian province, during the 3-year transition phase into formal teaching. This phase spans the period from their college-based extended-practicum experience in the schools through to the end of their probation term, prior to their achieving tenure with an employing school division. The existing supervisory practice, as conducted both in the college's practicum program and in the province's school division, was compared to that recommended in some of the current reform literature related to North American teacher education. In the light of this three-way comparison, implications are drawn to encourage the groups involved in this transition period to strengthen their recently initiated collaborative efforts in supervision.     

Competitive Incentives and the Education Market: How Charter Schools Define Themselves in Metropolitan Detroit

Policymakers often advance charter schools as an education reform model that can offer more diverse educational alternatives for families. Yet, as these schools compete for students, questions arise about how they respond to the competitive incentives in differentiating themselves through marketing distinct options for learners. The way these schools promote themselves to their anticipated clientele—as opposed to how they are defined by their competitors—speaks to how schools engage and thus arrange themselves in the local education market. In that regard, school mission statements can offer critical information on the intended organizational purposes that differentiate each organization. Yet there is little empirical research on what these statements contain, and thus how schools respond to incentives in engaging local markets. This study looks at the content of mission statements—which are largely consistent with the schools’ charters themselves—developed by each charter school in one of the most competitive charter school markets in the country: the Detroit metropolitan area. This study finds a notable level of isomorphism in charter school mission statements, indicating a tendency to replicate rather than innovate. This uniformity of mission statements suggests that charter schools are not fulfilling their potential in diversifying school markets.     

分权视角下改革演进的探索——严炳洲新著《民本经济新论》评介

严炳洲新著《民本经济新论》,透过纷繁复杂的改革现象,抓住分权这一改革的实质,以行政性分权、经济性分权、综合性分权三种分权形式透视改革的演进过程,并将其概括为“政治安定,渐进分权,市场取向,民本经济”。这既是中国改革开放的成功经验,也是进一步深化改革的正确方向。     

The lessons of international education reform

This paper examines the nature of education reform in English‐speaking countries in an attempt to draw out its implications for other countries. The focus is on three main areas of reform: decentralization and local management of schools, markets and choice programs, and increased use of large‐scale student assessment. Other countries should be very cautious in borrowing these ideas about education reform for at least three reasons: these reforms embody problems of contradictory purposes; reforms with similar names actually end up looking quite different because of contextual differences; and such reforms are weakly connected to teaching and learning and hence to outcomes. A program of reform in any setting should be grounded in a clear sense of educational purpose that fits the particular social context.