Network Governance for School Turnaround: A Case Study Exploration of Third-Party Actors in China

Abstract

Network governance has become central to government school turnaround policy in many education systems. While external forces are essential in facilitating school turnaround, most studies focus on governments’ leadership, paying less attention to the role of third-party actors. Referencing Shanghai, China, this empirical case study examines the complexity of third-party actors’ participation in network governance for school turnaround. Drawing on data from interviews, document analysis, and observation, this study found three patterns of third-party actors’ interactions with turnaround schools and local governments—government agent, egotistic leader, and dedicated ally. Third-party actors’ differential participation indicated their different approaches toward supporting turnaround schools and different value orientations toward implementing government tasks, exerting different controls over turnaround schools and different influences on government intervention. This study aimed to enlighten China’s policy-makers on giving full play to third-party actors in collaborative networks as well as contributing to the theoretical and practical understanding of network governance and school turnaround in the globe.

KEYWORDS:

• Case study
• China
• network governance
• school turnaround
• third-party participation

Disclosure Statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author.

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by Shanghai Planning Leading Group Office of Educational Science under grant number B2022004.

Notes on contributors

Yuan Tao

Yuan Tao is a lecturer in the School of Education at Shanghai Normal University.