education governance in action - lessons from case studies

Education Governance in Action Lessons from Case studiesPublished

9 September 2016

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• Bridges theory and practice by connecting major themes in education governance to real-life reform efforts

• Sets the agenda for strategic thinking in modern education governance

Education Governance in Action

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• Aligning policies, roles and responsibilities• Designing constructive accountability

mechanisms that ensure quality yet leave room for innovation

• Stimulating capacity building and participatory governance

• Pursuing a long term vision and continuous strategic thinking

• Managing the complex interaction between knowledge and governance

Effective governance of complex systems

Requires:

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Five elements of effective governance

focuses on processes, not structures

is flexible and can adapt to change and unexpected events

works through building capacity, stakeholder involvement and open dialogue

requires whole of system approach (aligning roles, balancing tensions)

harnesses evidence and research toinform policy and reform

Effective governance:

Find out more: Governing Education in a Complex World and Education Governance in Action

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A focus on processes, not structures

There is no ideal structure of governance. Effective governance is built upon dynamic processes that

support the structures in place.

Find out more: Education Governance in Action – Chapter 4

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Changing governance structures in Sweden

Sudden changes in structures will not bring change about if the necessary processes to support the changes are not in place.


Sudden decentralisation

Lack of time to develop strategies to manage new

responsibilities

Municipalities have difficulty adapting to new responsibilities

Lack of internal discussion in municipalities

Ambiguity about responsibilities

Shirking responsibilites among municipal actors

Ad hoc governance arrangements on municipal

level

Central government with a 'hands-off' approach

Accountability to the central level remains largely

unenforced

Few capacity building measures

Lack of communication regarding municipal

responsibilities

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The flexibility to adapt to change and unexpected events

Complex systems do not work in a linear manner. Dealing with emergent,

unexpected phenomena requires flexible governance arrangements and systemic

learning.


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Working to improve weak schools in the Netherlands

Change in complex education systems can no longer be understood through linear cause and effect. Policy interventions need to be flexible and adapt to the context.


Motivated stakeholders

New staff hired

Education improves

Praise builds self-esteem

Students behave well

School collaborates

Teachers feel pressured and leave

Parents remove

children from school

Image of school

worsens

Negative inspection

results lead to calls for

change

Vicious cycle

Virtuous cycle

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Capacity building, stakeholder involvement and open dialogue

Successful governance ensures that stakeholders communicate and

collaborate towards a common objective and have sufficient

capacity to deliver it.

Find out more: Education Governance in Action – Chapter 6 and 8

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Strengthening formative assessment in Norway

Clear communication, leadership and high trust between stakeholders lead to more systematic and sustainable outcomes


Clear understanding/integration of goals

Implementation strategies become more focused.

Establishment of learning networks

More effective knowledge transfer and peer-based support.

Capacity Building

Online platforms and archived presentations support peer and network learning.

Greater potential for successful

implementation of policy

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Towards a new culture of evaluation in Poland

A well-designed and communicated implementation strategy support long-term vision and strategic thinking


Understanding of reform goals

Data and evaluation practices used effectively

Local capacity sufficient

Noticeable development towards a culture of evaluation occurred

Misinterpretation of reform goals

Reorganisation of duties, but not necessarily attitude shift

Concerns about lack of local capacity not addressed

Limited progress in developing a culture of evaluation

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Using a whole of system approach

A whole of system approach works to align roles and responsibilities across

thesystem, improving efficiency as well as reducing potential overlap or conflict

among its parts. This entails long-term strategic thinking, leadership and

trust.

Find out more: Education Governance in Action – Chapter 5, 7 and 8

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Reaching common quality standards in Flanders (Belgium)

A participatory whole-of-system approach to governance may be the best means of arranging the interconnections in multi-level, multi-actor governance.


Participatory governance to foster common understandingShared agenda for comprehensive implementationAligned capacity buildingFeedback and policy flexibility

Diverging views on the nature of attainment targetsFlawed implementationDisconnected capacity building initiativesMissing part of the picture in evaluation

Unity

Disunity

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Harnessing evidence and research to inform policy and reform

Find out more: Education Governance in Action – Chapter 1 & 2

Governance requires knowledge to have an understanding of where to take action.

Governance processes support sustainable production and use of knowledge.

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Improving local decision-making in Germany

Involving stakeholders and building their capacity for data collection and use to strengthen local decision-making.


Local factors contributing to effective policy implementation

Local political support for policy

Clear communication

strategies

Broad stakeholder involvement

Concrete goals and projectsMore well-

resourced municipalities

(in general)

High financial and administrative

capacities

Experience with monitoring and management

Culture of co-operation

United local political structure

www.oecd.org/edu/ceri/gces