Forms of participation and teacher voice. Self-appraisal in Academy schools.

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Martin Brown
Keyword(s):  
Performance Appraisal ◽  
Personal Development ◽  
Central Government ◽  
Network Governance ◽  
Professional Autonomy ◽  
Teacher Voice ◽  
Teacher Interviews ◽  
Teachers Experiences ◽  
Local Actors ◽  
Professional Conflicts

Since 2010, privatisation of English state funded schools has accelerated. This is an educational policy that continues to shift accountability for effective teaching away from central government and local authorities towards schools and individual teachers. New models of network governance continue to exacerbate old tensions between ideas of professional accountability and contractual accountability. In this context quality assurance mechanisms have displaced opportunities for personal development and job satisfaction.The phenomenon of participation has been conceptualised here as teacher voice and as the means of reducing professional conflicts in secondary schools. This discussion draws on empirical evidence from teacher interviews and teacher self-appraisal submissions in order to answer the question, ‘What are teachers’ experiences of participation in their performance appraisal in English Academy schools?’, where ‘evaluation has become an embedded practice giving less room to local actors’ (Kauko and Salokangas, 2015). Voice is described with reference to reflective writing for self-appraisal. Institutional forgetting is described in relation to reductions in professional dialogue and professional autonomy. Keywordsprivatization, self-appraisal, participation, voice, active, passive, compliance, non-compliance, forgetting, knowledge, stratification, separation, compartmentalization

scholarly journals Insertion as an alternative to workfare: Active labour-market schemes in the Parisian suburbs

2017 ◽  
Vol 28 (4) ◽  
pp. 326-341 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lisa Schulte ◽  
Ian Greer ◽  
Charles Umney ◽  
Graham Symon ◽  
Katia Iankova
Keyword(s):  
Central Government ◽  
Market Competition ◽  
Field Research ◽  
Network Governance ◽  
Professional Autonomy ◽  
Network Control ◽  
Local Network ◽  
Managerial Control ◽  
Government Power ◽  
Active Labour

Many governments have tightened the link between welfare and work by attaching conditionality to out-of-work benefits, extending these requirements to new client groups and imposing market competition and greater managerial control in service delivery – principles typically characterized as ‘workfare’. Based on field research in Seine-Saint-Denis, we examine French ‘ insertion’ schemes aimed at disadvantaged but potentially job-ready clients, characterized by weak conditionality, low marketization, strong professional autonomy and local network control. We show that insertion systems have resisted policy attempts to expand workfare-derived principles, reflecting street-level actors’ belief in the key advantages of the former over the latter. In contrast with arguments stressing institutional and cultural stickiness, our explanation for this resistance thus highlights the decentralized network governance of front-line services and the limits to central government power.

scholarly journals The Complexity of Drug Consumption Room Policy and Progress in Finland

2021 ◽  
pp. 009145092110025
Author(s):  
Ali Unlu ◽  
Fatih Demiroz ◽  
Tuukka Tammi ◽  
Pekka Hakkarainen
Keyword(s):  
Complexity Theory ◽  
Government Policy ◽  
Policy Process ◽  
Central Government ◽  
Drug Consumption ◽  
People Who Use Drugs ◽  
Local Response ◽  
Local Actors ◽  
Moral Frameworks ◽  
Drug Consumption Room

Drug consumption rooms (DCRs) have been established to reach high-risk people who use drugs (PWUDs) and reduce drug-associated harm. Despite effectiveness, their establishment requires strong advocacy and efforts since moral perspectives tend to prevail over health outcomes in many countries. DCRs have generally emerged as a local response to inadequate central government policy. Likewise, the initiative of the Municipality of Helsinki in 2018 opened up a discussion between central government, society, and local actors in Finland. This would be the first DCR in Finland, which makes the policy process and the progress of the initiative interesting for analysis. In this article, the identification of agents, structures of interactions, environmental challenges, and policy opportunities are analyzed within the framework of complexity theory. Our results show that the initiative faces policy barriers that have mainly arisen from the conceptualization of DCRs in moral frameworks that result in the prolongation of political and professional actors to take a position on DCRs.

Changing patterns of individual performance appraisal systems for civil service in European Union countries: toward a developmental or an incentivizing model

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Gyorgy Hajnal ◽  
Katarina Staronova
Keyword(s):  
Performance Appraisal ◽  
Public Service ◽  
Public Management ◽  
New Public Management ◽  
Central Government ◽  
Individual Performance ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Public Service Organizations ◽  
New Public ◽  
Appraisal Systems

PurposeThe purpose of this article is to examine whether the incentivizing type of performance appraisal (typical of New Public Management) has indeed been superseded by a post-New Public Management (NPM), developmental type of performance appraisal in European Civil Services.Design/methodology/approachThe literature review lead to a unidimensional, twofold typology: incentivizing (NPM) and developmental (post-NPM) performance appraisal. The empirical basis of the research is two surveys conducted among top civil servants in 18 European countries.FindingsFirst, there are crucial discrepancies between performance appraisal systems in contemporary European central government administrations and current theorizing on performance appraisal. Contrary to our expectations developed on the basis of the latter, “developmental” and “incentivizing” do not seem to be two distinct types of performance appraisal; rather, they are two independent dimensions, defining altogether four different types of performance appraisal systems.Practical implicationsThe authors results give orientation to policymakers and public service managers to engage in designing or applying performance appraisal systems, in particular by identifying assailable presumptions underlying many present-time reform trends.Social implicationsCitizens and communities are direct stakeholders in the development of public service performance appraisal both as possible or actual employees of public service organizations and as recipients of public services.Originality/valueThe paper proposes a new fourfold typology of performance appraisal systems: incentivizing, developmental, symbolic and want-it-all.

scholarly journals Analyzing Actors’ Engagement in Sustainable Energy Planning at the Local Level in Ghana: An Empirical Study

Energies ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 13 (8) ◽  
pp. 2028
Author(s):  
Hassan Qudrat-Ullah ◽  
Mark McCarthy Akrofi ◽  
Aymen Kayal
Keyword(s):  
Local Government ◽  
Central Government ◽  
Focal Point ◽  
Sustainable Energy ◽  
Local Level ◽  
Energy Development ◽  
Energy Planning ◽  
Government Agencies ◽  
Non Governmental Organizations ◽  
Local Actors

Actors play a crucial role in sustainable energy development yet interaction in different contexts is an area that has not received much scholarly attention. Sustainable energy transitions theories such as the Multi-Level Perspective, for instance, have been criticized for not describing precisely the nature of the interactions between actors and institutions within socio-technical systems. The goal of this study was to empirically examine local actors’ engagement and its impact on the planning and implementation of sustainable energy initiatives in the villages and remote areas in Ghana. Using the mixed methodology approach, interviews were performed, focus discussion groups were held, and archival data were collected, and social network modeling and case study analysis was performed. Our findings showed that sustainable energy development at the local level depends on an interplay between local government agencies, Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs), central government agencies, local communities, and private sector organizations. Despite being the focal point at the local level, local government involvement in sustainable energy planning is limited. In the case of Ghana, sustainable energy planning remains centralized and is manifested in a low level of awareness of local actors on national energy plans. The implication for decision makers is that energy planning functions should be devolved to the local government. Such devolution is expected to ensure the integration of sustainable energies into local government plans for the well-coordinated implementation and effective monitoring of sustainable energy projects.

scholarly journals The Greater Bay Area (GBA) Development Strategy and Its Relevance to Higher Education

2020 ◽  
pp. 209653112096446
Author(s):  
Ailei Xie ◽  
Gerard A. Postiglione ◽  
Qian Huang
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Development Strategy ◽  
Central Government ◽  
Academic Research ◽  
Professional Autonomy ◽  
High Tech ◽  
Bay Area ◽  
Funding Opportunities ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
Do So

Purpose: This article provides a policy review of the Greater Bay Area (GBA) development strategies and their relevance to higher education. Design/Approach/Methods: This article reviews key GBA policies adopted by the central government of China and interprets higher education cooperation policies at provincial and national levels before discussing the opportunities and challenges for higher education. Findings: The GBA Development Strategy aims to build an integrated, innovative, and internationalized economy. It presents an opportunity for universities to attract new funding opportunities as well as to prepare graduates to play a key role in the GBA. The shift toward a high-tech service-led economy would hinge upon creating an effective partnerships platform between industry and higher education institutions. To do so would require greater institutional and professional autonomy for the academic research enterprises. There is also a need for evidence-based policies by the Central and GBA regional governments. Originality/Value: The article examines the state of the relationship between GBA strategies and higher education cooperation. It can be used to guide policies to promote higher education cooperation in the GBA in a more integrated, innovative, and internationalized way.

scholarly journals International donors as enablers of institutional change in turbulent times?

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Veronika Vakulenko
Keyword(s):  
Financial Management ◽  
Public Management ◽  
Central Government ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Management Reform ◽  
Public Financial Management ◽  
Turbulent Times ◽  
Local Actors ◽  
Global And Local

PurposeThe purpose is to explore the role of international financial institutions (IFIs) during public financial management reform in a transitional economy. In particular, the study focuses on interaction between external enablers and local actors.Design/methodology/approachThe paper is based on a qualitative study of public financial management reform in Ukraine during 1991–2014. This period is divided into stages corresponding with two projects financed by the World Bank: “Treasury System” and “Public Finance Modernization.”FindingsFirst, IFIs supported a Ukrainian economy weakened by financial crisis and insisted on a comprehensive reform of public financial management to facilitate recovery. By strategically addressing local challenges, eliminating local uncertainties and maintaining stable interactions, IFIs gained support from the central government. Local actors continued the reform by negotiating with other actors and getting quorum support. In the second stage, IFIs could not implement planned changes. Even though the change was well-perceived at the beginning, developed tensions between local actors were overlooked by IFIs, which resulted in loss of commitment of the State Treasury representatives. The continuous political instability in Ukraine constrained interaction between IFIs and the Ministry of Finance and reduced political will for conducting reforms.Originality/valueThe study contributes to the debate on the adequacy of externally driven public management reforms in developing countries by exploring actions and interactions of global and local actors during the change in public sector practices.

scholarly journals Teachers’ autonomy deconstructed: Irish and Finnish teachers’ perceptions of decision-making and control

2019 ◽  
Vol 19 (4) ◽  
pp. 329-350 ◽  
Author(s):  
Maija Salokangas ◽  
Wieland Wermke ◽  
Gerry Harvey
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Classroom Practice ◽  
Professional Autonomy ◽  
Teacher Autonomy ◽  
School Level ◽  
External Control ◽  
Educational Decisions ◽  
Teacher Interviews ◽  
Developmental Issues ◽  
Teachers Perceptions

Teacher autonomy has been a popular topic of investigation over the past decades. This article contributes to the debate by casting light on Irish and Finnish teachers’ perceptions of their professional autonomy, drawing from teacher interviews conducted in both countries. The intersection of newly introduced curriculum reforms, differing education governance models and differing control regimes make Ireland and Finland fertile points of comparison. Teacher autonomy is understood in this article as a multidimensional and context-dependent phenomenon, and the conceptualisation is presented in an analytical matrix applicable to comparative research. Findings indicate that teachers in both countries consider themselves very autonomous in their classroom practice and in their educational decisions overall. However, where much of the school-level decision-making in Finnish schools concerning educational, social and developmental issues tends to be in the hands of teachers (either collegially or as individuals), in Irish schools the senior management, and especially the principal, is reportedly more involved. Possibly the greatest difference is the ways in which teachers’ work is controlled, and in how teachers perceive it; Finnish teachers report intensified external control from the civil society, whereas on top of parental pressures Irish teachers report also increasing pressures from the state agencies.

scholarly journals AT THE NATION-STATE’S EDGE: CENTRE–PERIPHERY RELATIONS IN POST-1947 SOUTH ASIA

2016 ◽  
Vol 59 (2) ◽  
pp. 509-539 ◽  
Author(s):  
ELISABETH LEAKE
Keyword(s):  
South Asia ◽  
Central Government ◽  
Large Degree ◽  
Post Colonial ◽  
Colonial India ◽  
Political Autonomy ◽  
Nation States ◽  
Local Actors ◽  
History Of ◽  
Autonomy Movements

ABSTRACTThis article examines centre–periphery relations in post-colonial India and Pakistan, providing a specific comparative history of autonomy movements in Nagaland (1947–63) and Baluchistan (1973–7). It highlights the key role played by the central government – particularly by Jawaharlal Nehru and Zulfikar Ali Bhutto – in quelling both insurgencies and in taking further steps to integrate these regions. It argues that a shared colonial history of political autonomy shaped local actors’ resistance to integration into the independent nation-states of India and Pakistan. This article also reveals that Indian and Pakistani officials used their shared colonial past in very different ways to mould their borderlands policies. India's central government under Nehru agreed to a modified Naga State within the Indian Union that allowed the Nagas a large degree of autonomy, continuing a colonial method of semi-integration. In contrast, Bhutto's government actively sought to abandon long-standing Baluch political and social structures to reaffirm the sovereignty of the Pakistani state. The article explains this divergence in terms of the different governing exigencies facing each country at the time of the insurgencies. It ultimately calls for an expansion in local histories and subnational comparisons to extend understanding of post-1947 South Asia, and the decolonizing world more broadly.

scholarly journals Rethinking Performance Management Practices in Local Administrations? An Evaluation of BV, CPA, And WPI Practices in the United Kingdom

2018 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
pp. 87-98 ◽  
Author(s):  
Demokaan Demirel
Keyword(s):  
United Kingdom ◽  
Performance Management ◽  
Political Institutions ◽  
Local Governments ◽  
Management Practices ◽  
Central Government ◽  
Local Level ◽  
Local Area ◽  
The United Kingdom ◽  
Local Actors

AbstractPerformance is a fundamental tool that improves results oriented on public administration. Performance management applications have become very popular in public institutions over the past 20 years. Direct accountability to the political institutions and the public is ensured by defining the performance of public administrations according to their organizational goals and objectives. Local governments are using performance management practices to assess the quality of public services offered. In the United Kingdom, performance management practices at the local level were promoted under the leadership of the central government. However, there cannot be a certain standardization or stability in performance management applications. The Best Value (BV) regime was applied primarily in England and Wales. The system was later applied in Scotland in 2003. In 2002, Comprehensive Performance Assessment (CPA) Programme was introduced. Wales preferred to stay outside of this program. The Wales Programme for Improvement (WPI) has adopted self-assessment and holistic assessment. After 2009, the cost-effectiveness of local services was evaluated through comprehensive area assessments. This practice was abolished after 2010, adopting a governance approach based on the common negotiations of local actors. This study aims to evaluate the performance measurement systems applied in the local area in the United Kingdom.

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