Pub Date : 2021-01-01DOI: 10.14425/JICE.2021.10.1.0913
Matthew J. Schuelka, Mollie Braznell, M. Leavesley, S. Dorji, Khandu Dorji, K. Nidup, Pema Latsho
Bhutan is a country known for happiness. In the 1970s, the Fourth Druk Gyalpo [Dragon King] of Bhutan established the development philosophy of Gross National Happiness (GNH). However, using ‘happiness’ as a measurement of social and economic development does not mean that all Bhutanese are ‘happy’ themselves. Schools – including higher education – can be stressful places in Bhutan, and there is little support or resources for the mental health and wellbeing needs of students. In this article, we explore the experiences and perceptions of both students and staff across the Royal University of Bhutan in regard to wellbeing and mental health. In all, there were over 1,700 respondents to our survey. We explore the results of the survey through an Educational Values Evaluation and Design (EVED) framework to understand the complex factors that both enable and challenge GNH as a value in higher education. The results show that while many students view their happiness and wellbeing as positive overall, there are still a significant amount that experience depression, stress, social difficulties, and other forms of distress. In comparison to college staff perception of student’s mental health and wellbeing, the students are more positive about their own wellbeing than the staff.
{"title":"Happiness, Wellbeing, and Mental Health in Bhutanese Higher Education: Exploring Student and Staff Experiences and Perceptions within a Framework of Gross National Happiness","authors":"Matthew J. Schuelka, Mollie Braznell, M. Leavesley, S. Dorji, Khandu Dorji, K. Nidup, Pema Latsho","doi":"10.14425/JICE.2021.10.1.0913","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.14425/JICE.2021.10.1.0913","url":null,"abstract":"Bhutan is a country known for happiness. In the 1970s, the Fourth Druk Gyalpo [Dragon King] of Bhutan established the development philosophy of Gross National Happiness (GNH). However, using ‘happiness’ as a measurement of social and economic development does not mean that all Bhutanese are ‘happy’ themselves. Schools – including higher education – can be stressful places in Bhutan, and there is little support or resources for the mental health and wellbeing needs of students. In this article, we explore the experiences and perceptions of both students and staff across the Royal University of Bhutan in regard to wellbeing and mental health. In all, there were over 1,700 respondents to our survey. We explore the results of the survey through an Educational Values Evaluation and Design (EVED) framework to understand the complex factors that both enable and challenge GNH as a value in higher education. The results show that while many students view their happiness and wellbeing as positive overall, there are still a significant amount that experience depression, stress, social difficulties, and other forms of distress. In comparison to college staff perception of student’s mental health and wellbeing, the students are more positive about their own wellbeing than the staff.","PeriodicalId":42500,"journal":{"name":"Journal of International and Comparative Education","volume":"10 1","pages":"33-50"},"PeriodicalIF":0.9,"publicationDate":"2021-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"66974345","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2020-10-01DOI: 10.14425/jice.2020.9.2.0704
N. Thien
This research aims to explore the nature of organizational culture in the context of the higher education sector in Vietnam. This study hopes to enrich literature on organizational culture, the organizational culture of higher education institutions, and relevant themes in the context of Vietnam. In this research, qualitative methods and a single-case holistic type are chosen to help fulfill the purposes of this study. The findings show that in higher education institutions in Vietnam, morality, professional knowledge, and the teaching methodologies of faculty are the most important values. Additionally, hierarchical order and university rules and decisions should be respected, and faculty members are believed to be role models for students. There is also the emergence of the elements of relationships, salary, and promotion as important components of culture.
{"title":"Exploring The Organizational Culture Of Higher Education Institutions In Vietnam From Faculty’s Perspective – A Case Study","authors":"N. Thien","doi":"10.14425/jice.2020.9.2.0704","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.14425/jice.2020.9.2.0704","url":null,"abstract":"This research aims to explore the nature of organizational culture in the context of the higher education sector in Vietnam. This study hopes to enrich literature on organizational culture, the organizational culture of higher education institutions, and relevant themes in the context of Vietnam. In this research, qualitative methods and a single-case holistic type are chosen to help fulfill the purposes of this study. The findings show that in higher education institutions in Vietnam, morality, professional knowledge, and the teaching methodologies of faculty are the most important values. Additionally, hierarchical order and university rules and decisions should be respected, and faculty members are believed to be role models for students. There is also the emergence of the elements of relationships, salary, and promotion as important components of culture.","PeriodicalId":42500,"journal":{"name":"Journal of International and Comparative Education","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.9,"publicationDate":"2020-10-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"48492720","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2020-10-01DOI: 10.14425/jice.2020.9.2.0612
A. Khokhar
The textbooks are believed to be containing true and authentic historical narratives and it also remained the sole tool employed by a state to impart a certain notion of its identity. The qualitative perspective best suited this research, and within it, the qualitative content analysis method was chosen to analyze the content of textbooks. This study analyzed history textbooks of classes six to eight published by the three state textbook authorities in Pakistan. The focus of the textbook analysis was to identify discourse strategies used to construct, reinforce and strengthen a certain notion of pupils’ identity. The study revealed the use of representation, unification, avoidance, and trivialization strategies as the textbook writers created images of invaders, conquerors and rulers of the Indian subcontinent and the impact on Indian people and society. This study suggests that history textbooks should present history with multiple interpretations using multiple sources to construct a historical narrative.
{"title":"Portrayal of Invaders and Conquerors of Indian Subcontinent: Analysis of History Textbooks Studied in Pakistani Schools","authors":"A. Khokhar","doi":"10.14425/jice.2020.9.2.0612","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.14425/jice.2020.9.2.0612","url":null,"abstract":"The textbooks are believed to be containing true and authentic historical narratives and it also remained the sole tool employed by a state to impart a certain notion of its identity. The qualitative perspective best suited this research, and within it, the qualitative content analysis method was chosen to analyze the content of textbooks. This study analyzed history textbooks of classes six to eight published by the three state textbook authorities in Pakistan. The focus of the textbook analysis was to identify discourse strategies used to construct, reinforce and strengthen a certain notion of pupils’ identity. The study revealed the use of representation, unification, avoidance, and trivialization strategies as the textbook writers created images of invaders, conquerors and rulers of the Indian subcontinent and the impact on Indian people and society. This study suggests that history textbooks should present history with multiple interpretations using multiple sources to construct a historical narrative.","PeriodicalId":42500,"journal":{"name":"Journal of International and Comparative Education","volume":"9 1","pages":"103-118"},"PeriodicalIF":0.9,"publicationDate":"2020-10-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"44758603","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2020-04-25DOI: 10.14425/jice.2020.9.1.0512
Zulkipli Lessy, M. Arif
The function of empowerment is to equip people with the knowledge, skills, and perspectives that can sustain and improve both personal and societal well-being. Empowerment can occur by means of education, as well as by supportive programs in social work, community development, and philanthropy. Especially when intended for the poor, marginalized, or minority students, such programs should be well-focused on methods for building long-term capabilities and for strengthening societal participation. Our investigation documented empowerment methods and effects in three Islamic-based, partially statefunded, co-educational schools, one located in Yogyarkarta, Indonesia, and two located in Sydney, Australia. The study gathered individual and group accounts from teachers, academic staff, and parents at these schools. Their accounts were examined with reference to the educational precepts valued by the schools and their communities. This qualitative case-study used interviews, focus group discussions, and review of selected documents to examine the significance of education as implemented through curricula that includes moral education. The findings illustrate how such programs serve as empowerment for students toward fulfilling spiritual, economic, and social needs. Islamic moral education was seen to be embedded in many courses, including languages, arts, culture, social studies, sports, and science. This research found that there is an urgency for Islamic schools to grow their resources in order to remain viable, to provide powerless children with access to education, and to empower these students through curricular and extracurricular activities.
{"title":"Empowerment in Islamic Schools in Yogyakarta and Sydney","authors":"Zulkipli Lessy, M. Arif","doi":"10.14425/jice.2020.9.1.0512","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.14425/jice.2020.9.1.0512","url":null,"abstract":"The function of empowerment is to equip people with the knowledge, skills, and perspectives that can sustain and improve both personal and societal well-being. Empowerment can occur by means of education, as well as by supportive programs in social work, community development, and philanthropy. Especially when intended for the poor, marginalized, or minority students, such programs should be well-focused on methods for building long-term capabilities and for strengthening societal participation. Our investigation documented empowerment methods and effects in three Islamic-based, partially statefunded, co-educational schools, one located in Yogyarkarta, Indonesia, and two located in Sydney, Australia. The study gathered individual and group accounts from teachers, academic staff, and parents at these schools. Their accounts were examined with reference to the educational precepts valued by the schools and their communities. This qualitative case-study used interviews, focus group discussions, and review of selected documents to examine the significance of education as implemented through curricula that includes moral education. The findings illustrate how such programs serve as empowerment for students toward fulfilling spiritual, economic, and social needs. Islamic moral education was seen to be embedded in many courses, including languages, arts, culture, social studies, sports, and science. This research found that there is an urgency for Islamic schools to grow their resources in order to remain viable, to provide powerless children with access to education, and to empower these students through curricular and extracurricular activities.","PeriodicalId":42500,"journal":{"name":"Journal of International and Comparative Education","volume":"9 1","pages":"15-27"},"PeriodicalIF":0.9,"publicationDate":"2020-04-25","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"45807090","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2020-04-01DOI: 10.14425/jice.2020.9.1.0704
Aishath Wadheefa, M. Tee
A major curriculum reform was implemented in Maldives in 2015. Little is known about how the new curriculum has been used and implemented in classroom teaching. This qualitative multiple-case study aims to examine the teacher-tool relationship of six teachers teaching sixth grade English and the factors that shape the teacher-tool relationship. The teachers were situated in four schools with distinct contexts – a densely populated urban context, a sparsely populated island with multi-grade classrooms, an island dependent on fishing and an island dependent on tourism. Data collected include three video-recorded observations of each teacher as well as post and pre-observation interviews. Brown’s Design Capacity for Enactment Framework (DCEF) was used as a basis to see whether teachers offload, adapt or improvise the curriculum. In addition, an analysis of the descriptive data, across and within the cases was done to identify factors that shape the way teachers use the curriculum. The analysis revealed that teachers use the curriculum in distinctive ways and included multiple layers of offloading, adapting, improvising and omitting. The way teachers use the curriculum varies from one teacher to another, from one lesson to another, and from one activity to another. Curriculum tool features, individual characteristics as well as the island context played significant roles in shaping how teachers use the curriculum in their teaching. The results of the study can provide curriculum developers with a different perspective in designing curriculum tools, particularly to create flexible affordances within the curriculum to allow for differing teacher and locational characteristics.
{"title":"Teacher-Tool Relationship of Maldivian ESL Teachers: A Multiple Case Study","authors":"Aishath Wadheefa, M. Tee","doi":"10.14425/jice.2020.9.1.0704","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.14425/jice.2020.9.1.0704","url":null,"abstract":"A major curriculum reform was implemented in Maldives in 2015. Little is known about how the new curriculum has been used and implemented in classroom teaching. This qualitative multiple-case study aims to examine the teacher-tool relationship of six teachers teaching sixth grade English and the factors that shape the teacher-tool relationship. The teachers were situated in four schools with distinct contexts – a densely populated urban context, a sparsely populated island with multi-grade classrooms, an island dependent on fishing and an island dependent on tourism. Data collected include three video-recorded observations of each teacher as well as post and pre-observation interviews. Brown’s Design Capacity for Enactment Framework (DCEF) was used as a basis to see whether teachers offload, adapt or improvise the curriculum. In addition, an analysis of the descriptive data, across and within the cases was done to identify factors that shape the way teachers use the curriculum. The analysis revealed that teachers use the curriculum in distinctive ways and included multiple layers of offloading, adapting, improvising and omitting. The way teachers use the curriculum varies from one teacher to another, from one lesson to another, and from one activity to another. Curriculum tool features, individual characteristics as well as the island context played significant roles in shaping how teachers use the curriculum in their teaching. The results of the study can provide curriculum developers with a different perspective in designing curriculum tools, particularly to create flexible affordances within the curriculum to allow for differing teacher and locational characteristics.","PeriodicalId":42500,"journal":{"name":"Journal of International and Comparative Education","volume":"9 1","pages":"1-13"},"PeriodicalIF":0.9,"publicationDate":"2020-04-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"48005234","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2020-04-01DOI: 10.14425/jice.2020.9.1.0612
Michael C. Brophy
Non-Government Organisations (NG0s) which support education in Africa may use different titles such as Council or Trust, are almost always Non-profit organizations. They differ in size, ranging from small local organisations through to large internal multinationals. When founded they will often reflect the ideas, objectives and views of their founders. Funds for new NGOs especially smaller organisations were, and still are, likely to come from supporters, small charities and foundations. Their activities are likely to focus either on specific areas for example village schools or supporting specific causes such as school children with disabilities. Funding for many NGOs has changed significantly from their early years. Many now receive large proportions of their funding from governments. However many NGOs perceive their work to be guided by the principals of neutrality and impartiality. Governments however may view the NGO education programmes they fund as being part of a “counter insurgency strategy” or as one of their “combat teams”. Governments and international funders such as the European Union often now prefer to support consortia where a number of NGOs and multilateral organisations join together to work on a single project. There are significant benefits but also some significant problems.
{"title":"The Role of NGOs in Supporting Education in Africa","authors":"Michael C. Brophy","doi":"10.14425/jice.2020.9.1.0612","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.14425/jice.2020.9.1.0612","url":null,"abstract":"Non-Government Organisations (NG0s) which support education in Africa may use different titles such as Council or Trust, are almost always Non-profit organizations. They differ in size, ranging from small local organisations through to large internal multinationals. When founded they will often reflect the ideas, objectives and views of their founders. Funds for new NGOs especially smaller organisations were, and still are, likely to come from supporters, small charities and foundations. Their activities are likely to focus either on specific areas for example village schools or supporting specific causes such as school children with disabilities. Funding for many NGOs has changed significantly from their early years. Many now receive large proportions of their funding from governments. However many NGOs perceive their work to be guided by the principals of neutrality and impartiality. Governments however may view the NGO education programmes they fund as being part of a “counter insurgency strategy” or as one of their “combat teams”. Governments and international funders such as the European Union often now prefer to support consortia where a number of NGOs and multilateral organisations join together to work on a single project. There are significant benefits but also some significant problems.","PeriodicalId":42500,"journal":{"name":"Journal of International and Comparative Education","volume":"1 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.9,"publicationDate":"2020-04-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"48248663","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2020-04-01DOI: 10.14425/jice.2020.9.1.0910
Futao Huang
Japan began to modernize its education system during the late 19th century by drawing upon models provided by the West but without having to experience the phenomenon of colonization. During the post-WWII period, its education system was restructured, under strong influence from the United States. Then, during the 1990s, there was further wide-ranging reform of the system. These three waves of change have enabled Japan’s education system to play a vital role in Japanese society, first through its contribution to the modernization of Japanese culture during the late 19th century, then by contributing to the high-speed pace of economic growth from the late 1950s, and recently by enabling Japan to become a rich and globally advanced nation.
{"title":"Book Review: Education in Japan: A Comprehensive Analysis of Education Reforms and Practices.","authors":"Futao Huang","doi":"10.14425/jice.2020.9.1.0910","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.14425/jice.2020.9.1.0910","url":null,"abstract":"Japan began to modernize its education system during the late 19th century by drawing upon models provided by the West but without having to experience the phenomenon of colonization. During the post-WWII period, its education system was restructured, under strong influence from the United States. Then, during the 1990s, there was further wide-ranging reform of the system. These three waves of change have enabled Japan’s education system to play a vital role in Japanese society, first through its contribution to the modernization of Japanese culture during the late 19th century, then by contributing to the high-speed pace of economic growth from the late 1950s, and recently by enabling Japan to become a rich and globally advanced nation.","PeriodicalId":42500,"journal":{"name":"Journal of International and Comparative Education","volume":"9 1","pages":"57-58"},"PeriodicalIF":0.9,"publicationDate":"2020-04-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"44756823","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2020-01-01DOI: 10.14425/jice.2020.9.2.0910
Zhou Zhong
Of the many inspirations from Colin Brock’s original book, I would like to discuss three synergic frameworks that paved the way to the creative and exciting world that fuses both Geography and Education. All three frameworks are in the form of Venn diagrams below, accenting Brock’s love for, and ingenuous use of such diagrams. Brock is the first scholar to articulate the nature, purpose and content of Geography of Education. He stated his book’s prime aim to “further the understanding of the work of each about the other” between Geography and Education. He argued that the two disciplines have much in common and much to offer in harness. Given both are composite disciplines, he regarded the come into being of both having a ‘geography’ in itself-through an interactive process in time-space of learning from, and teaching to, across a wide range of subjects in Arts and Sciences, meanwhile also contributing to other disciplines and fields. Based on his definitions of both Geography and Education, the Geography of Education espoused in this book can be defined as the following: the spatial and locational analysis of human and physical phenomena from the edge of space to the earth’s surface and below about the production and dissemination of knowledge and of learning and teaching, and the factors that enable them to operate.
{"title":"Geography of Education: Scale, Space and Location in the Study of Education","authors":"Zhou Zhong","doi":"10.14425/jice.2020.9.2.0910","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.14425/jice.2020.9.2.0910","url":null,"abstract":"Of the many inspirations from Colin Brock’s original book, I would like to discuss three synergic frameworks that paved the way to the creative and exciting world that fuses both Geography and Education. All three frameworks are in the form of Venn diagrams below, accenting Brock’s love for, and ingenuous use of such diagrams. Brock is the first scholar to articulate the nature, purpose and content of Geography of Education. He stated his book’s prime aim to “further the understanding of the work of each about the other” between Geography and Education. He argued that the two disciplines have much in common and much to offer in harness. Given both are composite disciplines, he regarded the come into being of both having a ‘geography’ in itself-through an interactive process in time-space of learning from, and teaching to, across a wide range of subjects in Arts and Sciences, meanwhile also contributing to other disciplines and fields. Based on his definitions of both Geography and Education, the Geography of Education espoused in this book can be defined as the following: the spatial and locational analysis of human and physical phenomena from the edge of space to the earth’s surface and below about the production and dissemination of knowledge and of learning and teaching, and the factors that enable them to operate.","PeriodicalId":42500,"journal":{"name":"Journal of International and Comparative Education","volume":"9 1","pages":"119-121"},"PeriodicalIF":0.9,"publicationDate":"2020-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"66974038","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2020-01-01DOI: 10.14425/jice.2020.9.2.0913
C. Wan, M. Sirat, D. Razak
: Academic governance and leadership are two inter-related concepts that set the tone and direction for the development of higher education at the system as well as institutional levels. This article examines the academic governance and leadership in Malaysian higher education by focusing on two national higher education strategic initiatives: the National Higher Education Strategic Plan 2007-2020 and Malaysia Education Blueprint (Higher Education) 2015-2025. From analysing the two national strategic initiatives, we discuss the ways in which academic governance and leadership have been articulated at the systemic and institutional levels. We find that, centralisation persists despite corporatisation and granting of autonomy status, and leadership has become subjected to external yardsticks of quality, performance and standardised transformation agenda, driven predominantly by the ideology of neoliberalism and New Public Management (NPM). Unpacking these drivers of policy provides a basis for reflecting on the purpose, philosophy and fundamental idea of universities in Malaysia for nation building and societal development.
{"title":"Academic Governance and Leadership in Malaysia: Examining the National Higher Education Strategic Initiatives","authors":"C. Wan, M. Sirat, D. Razak","doi":"10.14425/jice.2020.9.2.0913","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.14425/jice.2020.9.2.0913","url":null,"abstract":": Academic governance and leadership are two inter-related concepts that set the tone and direction for the development of higher education at the system as well as institutional levels. This article examines the academic governance and leadership in Malaysian higher education by focusing on two national higher education strategic initiatives: the National Higher Education Strategic Plan 2007-2020 and Malaysia Education Blueprint (Higher Education) 2015-2025. From analysing the two national strategic initiatives, we discuss the ways in which academic governance and leadership have been articulated at the systemic and institutional levels. We find that, centralisation persists despite corporatisation and granting of autonomy status, and leadership has become subjected to external yardsticks of quality, performance and standardised transformation agenda, driven predominantly by the ideology of neoliberalism and New Public Management (NPM). Unpacking these drivers of policy provides a basis for reflecting on the purpose, philosophy and fundamental idea of universities in Malaysia for nation building and societal development.","PeriodicalId":42500,"journal":{"name":"Journal of International and Comparative Education","volume":"1 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.9,"publicationDate":"2020-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"66974099","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2020-01-01DOI: 10.14425/jice.2020.9.1.0913
H. Y. Lee, M. Samuel
Currently, in many developing countries, there have been intensified efforts by policymakers to push for decentralisation of education as part of a neo-liberal reform agenda to improve school management efficiency and cater to localised needs. In the Malaysian context, the government has attempted further decentralisation of autonomy in selected public schools, marking a shift from the post-independence centralised education structure. This has led to the development of Cluster Schools of Excellence, practising some form of school-based management and accorded autonomy in the selection of niche areas, programme planning and programme implementation. Drawing primarily on the interview narratives from school administrators as key policy actors, this study examines how autonomy is manifested at the micro-level and how the school administrators exercise their agency when they are accorded autonomy. Using a decentralised centralism framework, the tensions and complexities in education policy implementation are highlighted in this study. Findings reveal that agency and autonomy are held by both macro and micro-level policy actors in varying degrees, and that school administrators have fundamental agency in school-level policy implementation. The study also explores the dynamics of the decentralisation process and raises the issue of re-centralisation of authority through decentralisation of education.
{"title":"Decentralised Centralism: Insights from a Malaysian Cluster School of Excellence","authors":"H. Y. Lee, M. Samuel","doi":"10.14425/jice.2020.9.1.0913","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.14425/jice.2020.9.1.0913","url":null,"abstract":"Currently, in many developing countries, there have been intensified efforts by policymakers to push for decentralisation of education as part of a neo-liberal reform agenda to improve school management efficiency and cater to localised needs. In the Malaysian context, the government has attempted further decentralisation of autonomy in selected public schools, marking a shift from the post-independence centralised education structure. This has led to the development of Cluster Schools of Excellence, practising some form of school-based management and accorded autonomy in the selection of niche areas, programme planning and programme implementation. Drawing primarily on the interview narratives from school administrators as key policy actors, this study examines how autonomy is manifested at the micro-level and how the school administrators exercise their agency when they are accorded autonomy. Using a decentralised centralism framework, the tensions and complexities in education policy implementation are highlighted in this study. Findings reveal that agency and autonomy are held by both macro and micro-level policy actors in varying degrees, and that school administrators have fundamental agency in school-level policy implementation. The study also explores the dynamics of the decentralisation process and raises the issue of re-centralisation of authority through decentralisation of education.","PeriodicalId":42500,"journal":{"name":"Journal of International and Comparative Education","volume":"9 1","pages":"29-43"},"PeriodicalIF":0.9,"publicationDate":"2020-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"66974016","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
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