Theory and Evidence on Governance: Conceptual and Empirical Strategies of Research on Governance in Education

Abstract

During the last 20 years many European education systems have seen profound changes in the way they are governed. This also applies to the school systems of German-speaking countries which until then had been characterized by a long period of stability. Both political rhetoric and actual changes have rightly attracted increased attention of educational researchers, resulting in a growing body of work on the 'governance' of schooling. There is no such word as 'governance' in the German language. Nevertheless, a type of studies called 'Governance Studies', 'Governance Research' or 'Governance Perspective' has recently evolved in German-speaking social sciences. This article aims to make accessible this strand of research which has not yet been extensively published in languages other than German. Further, it intends to explore its links and relationships to other European research approaches. First, the article explains in what way the concept of 'governance' has been defined in German educational research. The second section discusses some of its methodological aspirations. In the third part, some examples of empirical research on changing educational governances are discussed in order to give an idea of how this research approach currently unfolds.

University governance: insights from England and Greece

“…While it is true that a market-based approach may facilitate innovation and a greater responsiveness to the needs of all stakeholders involved, it is equally true that a collaborative and collegial institution culture is crucially important for its efficient and effective performance through maintained academic standards as it instills trust and reinforces academic bodies' initiatives that aim to satisfy stakeholders' needs (Altrichter, 2010;de Haan, 2015;Ntim, Soobaroyen and Broad, 2017;Papa, et.al. 2013;.…”

“…The governance of organizations (including educational institutions) has a societal orientation since organizations are living organs operating within a given environment. (Altrichter, 2010;Burley, Gnam, Newman, Straker and Babies, 2012;Cai and Mehari, 2015;de Haan, 2015;Hordern, 2013;Lokuwadage and Armstrong, 2015;Ntim, Soobaroyen and Broad, 2017; Vidovich and Currie, 2011). The main aim of governance in an organization is to harmonize processes and to ensure the effective coordination and monitoring of its management activities.…”

A conceptual model for research in performance standard policies

“…(1) Actors making sense of 'structural offers': Based on the 'governance' concept proposed by actorcentred institutionalism (Altrichter, 2010;Mayntz, 2009;Schimank, 2007), innovatory ideas and instruments are inserted as 'structural offers' in an interactional and discursive arena with a multitude of actors. In order to become socially relevant, they must be taken up by actors who translate them into meaning, action and structures.…”

Comparing the policy, polity and politics of basic education – from formulation to implementation

“…Auch jenseits von international-vergleichender Forschung zur Bildungspolitik wird der Governance-Ansatz intensiv diskutiert: zum einen in der Schulforschung, wo das Konzept der Educational Governance ursprünglich entwickelt wurde (vgl. Altrichter et al 2007;Altrichter 2015), zum anderen in Analysen zur Hochschulsteuerung (vgl. Dobbins und Knill 2015) oder zur (beruflichen) Weiterbildung (vgl.…”