Public services have been a target for reform in Western-style democracies for more than three decades. This volume documents and examines the case of School Business Managers (SBMs) as an example of a growing but scarcely-acknowledged phenomenon: the government-backed creation of new 'professions' within the public sector for groups of support workers not formally recognised as such. The dawn of the millennium saw the beginning of an unprecedented professional project as the New Labour government set about the systematic creation of a pool of suitably skilled and qualified School Business Managers in England. The Government's stated purpose was to support educational leaders in meeting mounting public expectations for state schools in increasingly complex and challenging circumstances.Although the 'war stories' of lead professionals such as teachers and physicians in the context of reform have been extensively documented, the contribution of the army of less high-status professionals in public service institutions is poorly-understood. Drawing on first-hand accounts of people involved in bringing the SBM professional project about, and those whose professional lives the project sought to target, the SBMs themselves, the book turns the spotlight on an under-recognised group. It explores the purposes and outcomes of the professionalization initiative, comparing the process to the professional projects of SBMs in other countries and to parallel projects within the health sector.

New Public Management and the Reform of Education addresses complex and dynamic changes to public services by focusing on new public management as a major shaper and influencer of educational reforms within, between and across European nation states and policy actors. The contributions to the book are diverse and illustrate the impact of NPM locally but also the interplay between local and European policy spheres. The book offers: A critical overview of NPM through an analysis of debates, projects and policy actors A detailed examination of NPM within 10 nation states in Europe A robust engagement with the national and European features of NPM as a policy strategy The book actively contributes to debates and analysis within critical policy studies about the impact and resilience of NPM, and how through a study of educational reforms in a range of political systems with different traditions and purposes a more nuanced and complex picture of NPM can be built. As such the book not only speaks to educational researchers and professionals within Europe but also to policymakers, and can inform wider education and policy communities internationally.

Presenting international evidence, from school systems across the globe, this book documents patterns, causes, and effects of school principals’ time use, building a case for the implications for school improvement, administration, and leadership. This edited volume offers an unparalleled set of chapters that delve into conceptual and methodological issues in researching principals’ time use. Chapters consist of empirical studies that advance fresh perspectives and build empirical ground on how principals use time across different school systems in Africa, Asia, Europe, Middle East, Oceania, and North America. This unique book, is a useful resource for researchers and educators, capturing the geographically diverse contexts of principal time use. This work makes a significant contribution to the field of school improvement, administration, and leadership with both theoretical depth and empirical grounding.

This Handbook explores the discourse within the field of educational leadership and management. It provides a clear analysis of the current field as well as older foundational ideas and newer concepts which are beginning to permeate the discussion. The field of educational leadership and management has long acknowledged that educational contexts include a variety of leaders beyond school principals and other school officials such as informal and middle level leaders. By looking at the knowledge dynamic rather than a static knowledge base , this Handbook allows research to be presented in its multidimensional, evolving reality.

This title is part of UC Press's Voices Revived program, which commemorates University of California Press’s mission to seek out and cultivate the brightest minds and give them voice, reach, and impact. Drawing on a backlist dating to 1893, Voices Revived makes high-quality, peer-reviewed scholarship accessible once again using print-on-demand technology. This title was originally published in 1977.

Just what is the role and impact of corporate elites in contemporary reforms of public sector universities and schools? Providing fresh perspectives on matters of governance and vibrant case studies on the particular types of provision including curriculum, teaching and professional practices, Gunter, Hall and Apple bring together contributions from Argentina, Australia, England, Indonesia, Singapore and US to reveal how corporate elites are increasingly influencing public education policy, provision and service delivery locally, nationally and across the world. Leading scholars, including Patricia Burch, Tanya Fitzgerald, Ken Saltman, and John Smyth scrutinise the impact elites are having on opportunity, access and outcomes through political and professional networks and organisations.

Modernising School Governance examines the impact of recent market-based reforms on the role of governors in the English state education system. A focus of the book concerns how government and non-government demands for ‘strong governance’ have been translated to mean improved performance management of senior school leaders and greater monitoring and disciplining of governors. This book addresses fundamental questions about the neoliberal logic underpinning these reforms and how governors are being trained and responsibilised in new ways to enhance the integrity of these developments. Drawing on large-scale research conducted over three years, the book examines the impact of these reforms on the day to day practices of governors and the diminished role of democracy in these contexts. Wilkins also captures the economic and political rationalities shaping the conduct of governors at this time and traces these expressions to wider structural developments linked to depoliticisation, decentralisation and disintermediation. This book addresses timely and original issues concerning the role of corporate planning and expert handling to state education at a time of increased school autonomy, shrinking local government support/oversight, and tight, centralised accountability. It will appeal to researchers and postgraduate students in disciplines of education, sociology, political science, public policy and management. It will also be of interest to researchers and policy makers from countries with similar or emerging quasi-market education systems.

Situated Lives brings together the most important recent feminist and critical research that situates gender in relationship to the historical and material circumstances where gender, race, class and sexual orientation intersect and shape everyday interaction. Contributors include: Barbara Babcock, Jean Comaroff, Sarah Franklin, Faye Ginsburg, Matthew Gutmann, Faye V. Harrison, Louise Lamphere, Ellen Lewin, Jos^'e Lim^'on, Iris Lopez, Emily Martin, Mary Moran, Kirin Narayan, Aihwa Ong, Devon G. Pe^~na, Beatriz Pesquera, Helena Ragon^'e, Rayna Rapp, Judith Rollins, Leslie Salzinger, Denise Segura, Carol Stack, Ann Stoler, Donald D. Stull, Brett Williams, Patricia Zavella.

"Establishes a new landmark in the study of everyday life in the modern metropolis. This book brilliantly integrates systematic theory and participant observation data. Forms of domination and resistance are poignantly captured in different social settings, and admirably related to economic and political forces. The volume will do more to enhance ethnographic research than any previous study in sociology."—William Julius Wilson, University of Chicago "What is unleashed in Ethnography Unbound is the theoretical and critical potential of exemplary urban fieldwork and pedagogy. This book by Michael Burawoy and his talented students sets an inspirational standard to emulate in the classroom and in the 'field'."—Judith Stacey, author of Brave New Families "Bravo! A book that explodes the barriers that prevent us from seeing, simultaneously, both the social world and our role in its making. The dichotomies of teacher/student, researcher/researched, and theory/data are subjected to a penetrating and refreshing scrutiny in this unique project."—Rick Fantasia, author of Cultures of Solidarity "Burawoy and his colleagues have rediscovered the ancient truth that participant observation is well-suited to understanding the larger society as well as microsocial life. Moreover, they have made that rediscovery superbly. The essays are of high quality and I hope that the book will increase yet further the current interest in participant observation and ethnography."—Herbert J. Gans, author of People, Plans and Policies