Decentralised Centralism: Insights from a Malaysian Cluster School of Excellence

Autor/inn/en	Lee, Huan Yik; Samuel, Moses
Titel	Decentralised Centralism: Insights from a Malaysian Cluster School of Excellence
Quelle	In: Journal of International and Comparative Education, 9 (2020) 1, S.29-43 (15 Seiten) PDF als Volltext kostenfreie Datei Verfügbarkeit
Sprache	englisch
Dokumenttyp	gedruckt; online; Zeitschriftenaufsatz
ISSN	2232-1802
Schlagwörter	Foreign Countries; Administrative Organization; Neoliberalism; Accountability; School Effectiveness; Institutional Autonomy; Educational Policy; Educational Change; Principals; Administrators; Administrator Attitudes; Malaysia + Suchen Sie Ihr Suchwort? Ausland; Neo-liberalism; Neoliberalismus; Verantwortung; Schuleffizienz; Institutionelle Autonomie; Politics of education; Bildungspolitik; Bildungsreform; Principal; Schulleiter
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. (As Provided).
Anmerkungen	University of Malaya Press. Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia 50603. e-mail: jice@um.edu.my; Web site: http://jice.um.edu.my/
Erfasst von	ERIC (Education Resources Information Center), Washington, DC
Update	2024/1/01