New Philanthropy, New Networks and New Governance in Education

2008 ◽  
Vol 56 (4) ◽  
pp. 747-765 ◽  
Author(s):  
Stephen J. Ball
Keyword(s):  
Education Policy ◽  
Political Science ◽  
Policy Process ◽  
New Governance ◽  
Policy Influence ◽  
Governmental Agencies ◽  
New Methods ◽  
Governance Model ◽  
New Form ◽  
Policy Communities

This article draws upon and contributes to a body of theory and research within political science which is concerned with changes in the policy process and new methods of governing society; that is, with a shift from centralised and bureaucratic government to governance in and by networks. This is sometimes called the ‘Anglo-governance model’ and the most prominent and influential figure in the field is Rod Rhodes. The article focuses on one aspect of these kinds of change within the field of education policy and argues that a new form of ‘experimental’ and ‘strategic’ governance is being fostered, based upon network relations among new policy communities. These new policy communities bring new kinds of actors into the policy process, validate new policy discourses and enable new forms of policy influence and enactment, and in some respects disable or disenfranchise established actors and agencies. The argument is illustrated with examples of networks identified and mapped by the author. Some of the relationships among participants who make up these new networks are traced and discussed, drawing upon research into the privatisation of education funded by the ESRC. These relationships interlink business, philanthropy, quangos and non-governmental agencies.

Should Public Health and Policy Communities Interact With the Food Industry? It Depends on Context Comment on "Towards Preventing and Managing Conflict of Interest in Nutrition Policy? An Analysis of Submissions to a Consultation on a Draft WHO Tool"

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Katherine Cullerton ◽  
Jean Adams ◽  
Martin White
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Conflict Of Interest ◽  
Policy Process ◽  
Food Industry ◽  
Nutrition Policy ◽  
World Health ◽  
Business Goals ◽  
Health Organization ◽  
Intractable Problem ◽  
Policy Communities

The issue of public health and policy communities engaging with food sector companies has long caused tension and debate. Ralston and colleagues’ article ‘Towards Preventing and Managing Conflict of Interest in Nutrition Policy? An Analysis of Submissions to a Consultation on a Draft WHO Tool’ further examines this issue. They found widespread food industry opposition, not just to the details of the World Health Organization (WHO) tool, but to the very idea of it. In this commentary we reflect on this finding and the arguments for and against interacting with the food industry during different stages of the policy process. While involving the food industry in certain aspects of the policy process without favouring their business goals may seem like an intractable problem, we believe there are opportunities for progress that do not compromise our values as public health professionals. We suggest three key steps to making progress.

Citizenship participation in water management plans in the Doce River Basin, Brazil and Catalonia, Spain

Water Policy ◽  
2013 ◽  
Vol 16 (2) ◽  
pp. 205-221 ◽  
Author(s):  
Desirée C. Rabelo ◽  
Josep Espluga ◽  
Edmilson C. Teixeira ◽  
Quim Brugué
Keyword(s):  
River Basin ◽  
Water Usage ◽  
New Governance ◽  
Advantages And Disadvantages ◽  
Governance Model ◽  
Management Plans ◽  
Water Management Plans ◽  
Participation Mechanisms ◽  
Distinct Features ◽  
Doce River

Despite the growing literature and empirical research on citizenship participation in the elaboration of water resources plans (WRP), little attention has been paid to the Terms of Reference (ToR) for such plans. Such a technical contract sets the targets, stages and activities to be met as part of the development of the WRP. Thus, any analysis of the participation impacts and results must follow the previously agreed terms but the ToR development may not, in itself, be participative. Examined herein are the ToR for the WRP of the Doce River Basin (Brazil) and the Catalonia Fluvial District (Spain), with focus on (i) proposals for democratising debates and decisions and (ii) the very process of ToR development. Historical and institutional aspects of both regions were analysed, which comprised participation mechanisms established by the corresponding national policies and recommended by the relevant international bodies. Despite the distinct features of the two regions, they both share the challenge of implementing a new governance model involving various stakeholders with the common goal of defining the water usage rights in a sustainable way. A comparative analysis of the two approaches revealed different approaches to tackle this challenge and highlighted advantages and disadvantages of each model.

scholarly journals Taking Stock of the Bologna Process at 20: The Possibilities and Limits of Soft Law Governance

2020 ◽  
pp. 417-436
Author(s):  
Ligia Deca ◽  
Robert Harmsen
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Education Policy ◽  
Higher Education Policy ◽  
Regional Cooperation ◽  
Bologna Process ◽  
Balance Sheet ◽  
Soft Law ◽  
Governance Model ◽  
Nuanced Understanding ◽  
The Bologna Process

Abstract The Bologna Process stands as both an exemplar of regional cooperation in the higher education policy sector and as a comparatively successful instance of the use of so-called ‘soft law governance’ policy instruments. While the formal launch of the European Higher Education Area (EHEA) in 2010 represents a significant milestone in the process, it nevertheless left many politically sensitive questions unanswered. Today, as this pan-European process now marks two decades of existence, many of the questions concerned with the direction and purpose of the process are being addressed with increasing urgency. Against this background, the present paper specifically focuses on recent debates surrounding the (non-)implementation of key commitments; on the functioning of the EHEA as a policy forum in relation to both its own membership and the wider international higher education policy landscape; and on the manner in which the EHEA may respond to increasingly serious challenges to the fundamental values that underpin the process. The authors draw on both the substantial body of scholarship that has emerged on the process and practitioner insights to examine its past achievements and current challenges, while having in mind the specificity of the EHEA as a policy process in a complex European context. Finally, the paper underlines the need for a more nuanced understanding of the EHEA governance model, based on an overall balance sheet that suggests the likely direction(s) of the process going forward.

scholarly journals Processos de autoavaliação de escolas ou avaliação interna do sistema?

2015 ◽  
Vol 23 ◽  
pp. 115
Author(s):  
Anabela Barros Pinto Sousa ◽  
Manuela Terrasêca
Keyword(s):  
Public Schools ◽  
Education Policy ◽  
Document Analysis ◽  
The Self ◽  
Process Models ◽  
External Evaluation ◽  
Framework Analysis ◽  
Self Evaluation ◽  
Current Context ◽  
New Form

Evaluation, in the current context of education policy, is an instrument of regulation of action. In Portugal, public schools evaluation focuses on the dimensions of self-evaluation and external evaluation, the articulation of both being normatively imposed and also encouraged in various evaluation, benchmarking, and monitoring initiatives. Based on document analysis of background documents and reports of evaluation of schools initiatives, this article presents the various concepts of school self-evaluation in those documents and reflects on the "self" dimension of this self-evaluation in Portuguese public schools as an exercise of autonomy and accountability. Since 2002, the guidelines for self-evaluating schools are known. Although the administrations continue to say that it is not intended to induce the process, models and tools for evaluating schools, particularly the External Evaluation of Schools (EES), have been carrying a soft orientation / regulation, since they call for the school to produce a discourse built around the analysis of dimensions that they impose. This "new form of governance", assuming itself as a form of regulation of this action, can become a form of self-evaluation as a discourse, more or less standardized, which is a part of (self)-evaluationt of the system, rather than a process of construction of negotiated and shared references in school. We aim to characterize this self-evaluation, from the EES's conceptual framework analysis, and study the dimensions in which it is applied, as well as to clarify its place in the evolution of the EES model.

ICT in Education Development in Africa

2011 ◽  
pp. 283-305
Author(s):  
Chijioke J. Evoh
Keyword(s):  
Education Policy ◽  
Interest Groups ◽  
Policy Process ◽  
Teaching And Learning ◽  
Sub Saharan Africa ◽  
Ict In Education ◽  
African Countries ◽  
Education Development ◽  
Sub Saharan

This study presents the rationale for policy and institutional frameworks in the development of ICT in secondary education in countries in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). As the adoption of modern ICTs slowly gain momentum, various stakeholders in education have recognized the importance of leveraging these technological tools for the improvement of teaching and learning. To a large extent, the application of modern ICTs in education remains uncoordinated in many countries. This study identifies the institutional framework as the dominant approach to ICT in education policy process in the region. This involves the participation of broad-based interest groups in the policy process. Using South Africa as a case study, the study presents elements of ICT in education policy as well as policy lessons that would enable African countries use ICTs for productive educational outcomes.

Neurological imaging as evidence in political science: a review, critique, and guiding assessment

2006 ◽  
Vol 45 (1) ◽  
pp. 5-33 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dustin Tingley
Keyword(s):  
Political Science ◽  
Social Scientist ◽  
Human Subjects ◽  
Science Research ◽  
Prise De Décision ◽  
Economic Decision Making ◽  
The Social ◽  
Neuroimaging Data ◽  
New Form ◽  
Sciences Sociales

English Political scientists have access to a number of competing methodologies that marshal different forms of evidence for their arguments about political phenomena. Recently a new form of evidence has appeared in political science research and, more frequently, economics: spatially explicit and time-varying neurological activity of human subjects engaged in political or economic decision-making. As with any of the more standard methodologies, this approach carries with it a set of orienting theories linking hypotheses with the types of data induced to support or falsify these theories. While this new form of evidence is exciting, especially for the empirically minded social scientist, it deserves the utmost scrutiny. I provide a review of how neurological imaging is being used in the social sciences and consider several problems and prospects of using neuroimaging data in political science. French Les sciences politiques ont recours à des méthodes de recherche et à des évidences empiriques diverses pour étudier les phénomènes politiques. Récemment, les chercheurs en sciences politiques et plus souvent encore en économie se sont tout particulièrement intéressés à l'activité cérébrale, objectivable dans l'espace et variant dans le temps, de sujets humains en situation de prise de décision politique ou économique. Comme toute autre méthode de recherche, cette approche s'appuie sur des orientations théoriques, qui font le lien entre les hypothèses de recherche et les données destinées à étayer ou invalider ces théories. Si cette approche nouvelle semble prometteuse, tout particulièrement pour les chercheurs à l'esprit empirique, elle mérite d'être examinée en profondeur. L'article fait le point sur l'utilisation des résultats de l'imagerie cérébrale fonctionnelle en sciences sociales et considère les différents problèmes qu'elle pose ainsi que les perspectives nouvelles qu'elle peut offrir en sciences politiques.

A Discussion of Sanford Schram’s The Return of Ordinary Capitalism: Neoliberalism, Precarity, Occupy

2016 ◽  
Vol 14 (2) ◽  
pp. 485-485
Author(s):  
Mark Sawyer
Keyword(s):  
Political Science ◽  
Political Resistance ◽  
Economic Insecurity ◽  
Oxford University ◽  
Neoliberal Governance ◽  
New Form ◽  
Political Realities ◽  
Oxford University Press

Sanford Schram’s The Return of Ordinary Capitalism: Neoliberalism, Precarity, Occupy (Oxford University Press, 2015) is an ambitious effort to link together three important political realities of our time: the rise of new forms of neoliberal governance, the associated rise of new forms of social and economic insecurity, and the recent development of organized forms of political resistance symbolized by the figure of “Occupy.” The argument is relevant to all subfields of political science. And so we have invited a range of experts across the discipline to comment on the book and on the broader question the book poses: Are we confronting a new form of capitalism that engenders new forms of politics, and if so, what does this mean for political science?

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