Dynamics in higher education politics: a theoretical model

Kauko, Jaakko

doi:10.1007/s10734-012-9538-z

Cited by 27 publications

(37 citation statements)

References 26 publications

(21 reference statements)

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Unclassified

Order By: Relevance

“…Clearly, this shows that HE policy-making is now a fast growing field of study. Conducting an extensive literature search, I discovered that there were a number of studies carried out with the aim of debating some HE policy and policy-making issues (see Cook, 1998;Kauko, 2013;Lane, 2007;Marginson & Mollis, 2001;Martinez, 2002;Mills, 2007;Lowry, 2001;Richardson et al, 1999;Saarinen & Ursin, 2012). The focus of these studies has been varied and these apply the study of public policy and political science to HE.…”

Section: He Policy-makingmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Overall, these studies (American and European) have used several different frameworks and methods which fit with their cases and contexts. Some of the issues and themes covered in these studies are the national politics of HE (Cook, 1998), how the structure of HE systems affects HE policies (Lowry, 2001), political actors and the governance of HE (Richardson et al, 1999), policy development and state governance structures (Leslie & Novak, 2003;Martinez, 2002), the use of political frameworks in analysing policymaking in HE (Kauko, 2013;Lane, 2007;Mills, 2007), the viewpoints of policymakers, and legislators on HE policy (Bastedo, 2006), the analysis of power relations in comparison between HE systems in Australia and Argentina (Marginson & Mollis, 2001) and approaches to study HE policy (Saarinen & Ursin, 2012). These studies informed the selection of an appropriate theoretical framework for this study, as will be shown in the following chapter.…”

Section: He Policy-makingmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…These frameworks differ from one study to another, depending on the nature and focus of the study and the specific issues being addressed (Bastedo, 2007;Kauko, 2013;McLendon, 2003a). Bastedo (2007) has examined some frameworks used in HE policy literature and has argued that only some of these frameworks have been found to be useful for application in analysing HE policy-making problems.…”

Section: He Policy-making Frameworkmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The seminal work done by Bastedo (2007), Kauko (2013), McLendon (2003a) and Saarinen and Ursin (2012) is very helpful in choosing a theoretical framework, as they traverse some of these frameworks and give examples of their usage. Overall, these frameworks are found to be theorydriven approaches, meaning that they are based on theories used in a deductive manner in research.…”

Section: He Policy-making Frameworkmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Indeed, this issue was also raised by Kauko (2013), pointing to the confusion between usage of these terms. For my research, I am going to speak of the framework of the study.…”

Section: Reflection On the Approach Of This Studymentioning

confidence: 99%

See 4 more Smart Citations

Higher education policy architecture and policy-making in the Sultanate of Oman: towards a critical understanding

Al’Abri¹

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

The higher education (HE) system in Oman is governed and controlled by the state and is thus a government managed sector in which the state is the chief policy player. The main aim of this study is to provide a critical understanding of the policy architecture and policy-making processes in Omani HE since 1986. More specifically, the study seeks: to describe the Omani HE policy-making architecture and its operation; to analyse the impact of this architecture and its operations on the HE system; and to investigate national, regional and global factors affecting HE policy.The study employed a qualitative methodology. Semi-structured interviews and document analysis were the methods used for generating data. The semi-structured interviews were conducted with a purposive sample of 43 policy-makers and others involved in Omani HE. The documents included:Royal Decrees, Ministerial decisions, Organizational charts of HEIs, Legislative documents, strategic plans, and meeting minutes. Those documents were from the post 1986 period, aligning with the time frame of the study. These documents are ready for use as they are published for the public. The data generated through interviews and document analysis were analysed thematically according to an inductive approach and through the lens of the theoretical framework.The study finds that the Omani political system results in a hierarchical approach to policy-making for the HE sector. This architecture has three levels-the top level of government, specialized bodies, and the field-with strong control concentrated at the top level of the government and weaker control available to agencies at the lower levels of the system. The study conceptualizes the policy-making architecture of the entire Omani HE system as a cascade of principal-agent games, showing that the Omani Government is a highly powerful controller of HE policy-making. The relationships between the different policy actors and bodies within this hierarchical architecture are documented and described in terms of four different scenarios: (1) policy development by the Education Council; (2) policies emanating from the Sultan; (3) policies emanating from the Cabinet and the Supreme Council for Planning; and (4) policies proposed by the Oman Council.A key argument of the study is that the Omani government developed and reformed its HE system in relation to national pressures for development, student demand, and regional and global pressures. The Omani HE system is situated in relation to national, regional and global contexts and thus, its policies were made and implemented in responses to complex intersections of these contexts. Nationally, pressure has been placed on HE policy by the political system of the state, the economy, the labour market, the schooling system, the history of the HE system, and broader social changes. Regionally, the study finds that Oman learned from, and borrowed much HE policy from, neighbouring Arab Gulf States, motivated by dynamics of both competition and cooperation. The ii Cooper...

show abstract

Section: He Policy-makingmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: He Policy-makingmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: He Policy-making Frameworkmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: He Policy-making Frameworkmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Indeed, this issue was also raised by Kauko (2013), pointing to the confusion between usage of these terms. For my research, I am going to speak of the framework of the study.…”

Section: Reflection On the Approach Of This Studymentioning

confidence: 99%

See 3 more Smart Citations

Higher education policy architecture and policy-making in the Sultanate of Oman: towards a critical understanding

Al’Abri¹

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

The evaluation and steering of English academy schools through inspection and examinations: national visions and local practices

Kauko

Salokangas

2015

British Educational Res J

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

The article analyses the redefinition and distribution of powers between central governance and local actors in English independent state-funded schooling. Earlier research on governance confirms the importance of the local and the school level in reshaping national-level reforms and steering policies. The research draws on data from interviews with national-level policymakers and an ethnographic school case study, thereby yielding contrasting views and perceptions of governance at the national level, and the day-to-day reality at the local level. The empirical analysis gives mixed results in that the national visions of innovative local practices seem not to be manifest at the local level. Despite the legal and financial freedoms granted to academy schools, the case academy is constrained by the national policy of steering by evaluation, namely inspection and testing, and the managerial practices of the sponsor. The article concludes that the real effect of academies is still under construction and meanwhile their space for action is strongly restricted by the tools of evaluation. As a more theoretical conclusion the analysis suggests that future analysis should concentrate more on action rather than structures and on evaluation as an embedded practice.

show abstract

The Idea of Educational Development: An Historical Perspective

Cruz¹

2018

To Improve the Academy

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

Dynamics in higher education politics: a theoretical model

Cited by 27 publications

References 26 publications

Higher education policy architecture and policy-making in the Sultanate of Oman: towards a critical understanding

Higher education policy architecture and policy-making in the Sultanate of Oman: towards a critical understanding

The evaluation and steering of English academy schools through inspection and examinations: national visions and local practices

The Idea of Educational Development: An Historical Perspective

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About