Why do policy leaders adopt global education reforms? A political analysis of SBM reform adoption in post-conflict Bosnia and Herzegovina

Authors

  • Taro Komatsu Sophia University Faculty of Human Sciences Department of Education

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.14507/epaa.v21n62.2013

Keywords:

Bosnia and Herzegovina, Decentralization, Education Reform, Institutional Isomorphism, Political Utility Theory, Politics of Education, Post-Conflict Nations

Abstract

This paper presents a political analysis of school-based management reform in Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH). School-based management (SBM), based on the principle of school autonomy and community participation, is a school governance system introduced in many parts of the world, including post-conflict nations. Such a phenomenon seems to follow the pattern predicted by the theories of institutional isomorphism. According to the institutionalists in comparative education, a country adopts global education reforms so as to enhance nation-building and nation-state legitimacy within the international community (Meyer, Boli, Thomas, & Ramirez, 1997; Ramirez & Boli, 1987). However, a closer look at the SBM reform adoption process in BiH reveals that, after legislating the global reform, policy leaders appear to have willfully derailed its implementation. Careful analysis of their legitimacy contexts suggests that BiH leaders may have adopted the internationally-driven reform policy primarily for the purpose of enhancing their precarious domestic legitimacy. Such behavior can be explained by Weiler’s (1983; 1990) political utility theory, which has not yet been sufficiently incorporated into the analysis of educa­tional reform transfer. The study posits that policy leaders i­n reform-borrowing countries still play a crucial role in shaping education systems, even in the globalized world that is arguably driving these systems to converge. It is then important for comparative and international education scholars, as well as international donors, to critically assess the intent, practices and behaviors of the political leaders who accept global reforms.

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Author Biography

Taro Komatsu, Sophia University Faculty of Human Sciences Department of Education

Taro Komatsu is a faculty member in the Department of Education at Sophia University, Tokyo, Japan. His research focuses on education policy and administration in developing nations and post-conflict societies, with a particular interest in the political dimensions of reform policies and their implementation. He previously worked as an education specialist for the UNESCO Paris and Sarajevo offices, the UN Mission in Kosovo, and the Japanese International Cooperation Agency (JICA) in Pakistan and Afghanistan. Komatsu holds an M.Sc. in social policy and planning from the London School of Economics and Political Science, and a Ph.D. in education policy and administration from the University of Minnesota.

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Published

2013-08-04

How to Cite

Komatsu, T. (2013). Why do policy leaders adopt global education reforms? A political analysis of SBM reform adoption in post-conflict Bosnia and Herzegovina. Education Policy Analysis Archives, 21, 62. https://doi.org/10.14507/epaa.v21n62.2013

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Section

Articles