Taking a point of departure in the paradoxical fact that the increase in educational knowledge leads to an increase in uncertainty for educational organisations, this article explores how uncertainty and contingency have increasingly become an integral part of school governance. The article draws on Niklas Luhmann's theory of 'World Society' as a…

It is widely acknowledged that China is much wealthier than ever before. However, many have witnessed rising cases of moral disorders and the inefficiency of school-based moral education. As one of the most widely known theoretical frameworks in the social sciences, Bronfenbrenner's bio-ecological systems theory of human development can provide an…

This paper first provides an overview of the topics featured in China's "Educational Journal" in the period 1909-1948, in order to sketch briefly the history of that country's pattern of selection from among various modes of foreign educational thought. It becomes clear that, in each case, China absorbed from outside only those ideas…

New theories and theory-based methodological approaches have found their way into Comparative Education--just as into Comparative Social Science more generally--in increasing number in the recent past. The essays of this volume express and critically discuss quite a range of these positions such as, inter alia, the theory of self-organizing social…

Sketches a conceptual framework for the systematic description of decision-making processes in music education. Refers to existing formulations in education, management, marketing, and economics. Lists decision-making phases in music education, each exhibiting the characteristics of a social system. Offers a historical example of each phase. (AYC)