Evaluating the Application of Leadership and Governance in Higher Education Institutions

This chapter aims to evaluate the application of leadership and governance in higher education (HE) organizations in the Kingdom of Bahrain and the UK. The method of the study relies on reading lists of governance standards from several advanced educational institutions and uses a “comparative methodology” based on the collected data from both counties. This research reviews the various models of “the higher education governance” and analyzes the strengths and weaknesses of each model. The study employs the three principles of UNDP (transparency, participation, and accountability) to assess application of leadership and governance in higher education institutions. The findings of this study reveal that Arab universities need to perceive the significance of clarifying the reason for governance. The study likewise distinguishes the significance of relating their job and commitment to the procedure of change to the learning-based economy and world informatics. Further, it features the need of broadening the cooperation of stakeholders in the key basic leadership.

Educating for the future? Mapping the emerging lines of precision education governance

Managing the future has become one of the major focuses of global governance in education. In its current mode, education seems unable to answer the needs and interests of the market and future megatrends, such as globalisation and digitalisation. Calls for precision education to introduce the usage of digital platforms, artificial intelligence in education, and knowledge from the behavioural and life sciences are getting a foothold in widening powerful networks of strengthening global governance and EdTech business. By bringing together some of the emerging changes in education governance, in this article we argue for a new constitution of governance, precision education governance. Precision education governance combines three overlapping and strengthening lines of governance: (i) global governance of education, (ii) marketisation, privatisation and digitalisation, and (iii) behavioural and life sciences as the basis for managing the future education. In the article, we highlight the importance in bringing these so far separately studied lines together to understand how they shape the aims and outcomes of education, knowledge and understanding of human subjectivity more thoroughly than before.

Research on the Abilities of Community Education Study Tour Instructors

Community education study tour instructors are important action elements of community education tours. It is necessary to sort out the abilities of community education study tour instructors as well as construct a scientific and reasonable professional ability index system for community education study tour instructors, so as to promote the high-quality development of community education as well as the modernization of lifelong education governance system and governance ability. Based on the practice of community education in Jiangsu and the basic theory of pedagogy, this paper puts forward five core vocational abilities of community education, including travel education and teaching ability, curriculum development ability, management and research ability, training and guidance ability, as well as study tour guarantee ability. This paper attempts to sort out the ability of community education study tour instructors through research and analysis. A three-dimensional and multi-dimensional framework of community education instructors’ ability has been constructed to provide a path for the professional development of community education study tour instructors.

Synthetic Governance: On the Impossibility of Taming Artificial Intelligence in Education

This paper claims it is impossible to tame Artificial Intelligence in education. The paper is not advocating that AI should be used in an unfettered way in education. Rather, the paper suggests that despite ongoing policy attempts to regulate AI, these policy moves are unlikely to succeed due to a synthesis of machines and humans in education governance. The paper briefly outlines attempts to tame AI, and proposes that rather than considering taming AI, a new politics of education may be necessary.

Education governance and the role of the headteacher: The new policy problem in Scottish education

As part of the current Review of Education Governance in Scotland, the Headteachers’ Charter is perceived as a central policy solution. The Charter changes the responsibilities of the headteacher by altering the relationship between headteacher and local authority, and thereby bringing about changes to the governance of education. If these changes are perceived as the solution, what is the perceived policy problem? This article examines policy documents to explore the policy problem using Bacchi's (2012a) ‘what's the problem represented to be’ (WPR) approach, which uses a framework of six questions to analyse policy texts. The article begins with a brief overview of the policy programme, the ‘Empowerment Agenda’. The article discusses Bacchi's WPR analysis framework and then presents the findings, using this framework. The article ends with a discussion of the impact of the reform of educational governance including the Headteachers’ Charter on the role of the headteacher.