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"Forms of institutional governance critically shape the culture, creativity and academic outcomes of higher education. The book provides a new, updated and research based account of the changing face of the governance of British higher education. Historically, British universities were deemed amongst the most, if not the most, autonomous in Europe, with governance rooted in their collegial disciplinary structures. This assessment must now be decisively revised, although the belief systems deriving from it remain buried deep in university culture. Drawing on the authors' investigation of the governance of higher education in the four UK nations, including extensive on-site interviews, and discussions with government policy-makers, the book shows how global, national and system level pressures have changed the face both of the external governance of higher education institutions and how universities govern themselves. Government priorities, new funding methodologies and marketisation have all played a part in this process. Since the mid-1980s, there have been drastic changes in the external environment, reinforced by the increasing diversity within the higher education system as a whole and between the national sub-systems. In addition a new private sector of higher education has been created. New forms of institutional governance are emerging which may have profound effects on research and teaching and on academic creativity and innovation. The study discusses the effects of a state regulated system compared with the more heterarchical system which preceded it. It offers a comparison of the effects of devolved governance to Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland on the respective higher education systems and their impact on institutional governance. The study concludes that England is becoming increasingly an outlier, and discusses the long term implications for the coherence of a British higher education system"--Bloomsbury Education and Childhood Studies

This book probes into the dynamics between Orthodox Christianity and the COVID-19 pandemic, unraveling a profound transformation at institutional and grassroots levels. Employing a multidisciplinary approach, and drawing upon varied data sources, including surveys, digital ethnography, and process tracing, it presents unprecedented insights into church-state relations, religious practices, and theological traditions during this crisis. Chapters analyze divergent responses across countries, underscore religious-political interplay, and expose tensions between formal and informal power networks. Through case studies, the book highlights the innovative adaptability within the faith, demonstrated by new religious practices and the active role of local priests in responding to the pandemic. It critically examines how the actions of religious and political figures influenced public health outcomes. Offering a fresh perspective, the book suggests that the pandemic may have permanently influenced the relationship between Orthodox Christianity, public health, and society

This report is a comparative study of the current legal situation in relation to the forthcoming implementation of the Floods Directive in selected EU Member States, focusing on the question of whether these states incorporate public participation into the process of flood risk mapping and, if so, in what form. The comparison also considers current administrative practices

How do technologies shape participation? The rise of digital technologies has facilitated novel modes of engagement, such as political campaigns, protest movements, or civic education initiatives. However, changing economies of attention and politics of affect have allowed right-wing populist and far-right actors and movements to also reap benefits. This volume brings together new perspectives from general education and media education on digital democratic publics

The realization of inclusion in schools makes a significant contribution to the development towards an inclusive society (cf. Lütje-Klose et al. 2018a, p. 9), as social practices are not only reproduced in schools, but also newly produced. These practices are carried on in extra- and postschool fields of action (cf. Sturm 2018b, p. 251; Powell 2016, p. 681; Budde 2012, p. 530ff.). Although the introduction of inclusion confronts the entire multi-level system of schools with the task of critically questioning existing structures, concepts, and practices and working on them in an inclusion-oriented manner (cf. Lindmeier & Lütje-Klose 2019, p. 590), the requirements in the field of action of teachers are becoming more complex. Teachers are not only responsible on the meso and micro level of the school system, but also interactively involved in the (re)production of social practices in the school practice (cf. Sturm 2018, p. 254ff.). It is up to teacher education to prepare student teachers to accept the challenge of school inclusion and to adapt traditional educational structures and contents in an inclusion-oriented way. The dissertation aims at reconstructing the knowledge that students of different teacher training programs have about inclusion-related subjunctive experiences during their studies. For this purpose, group discussions with students of special education and secondary school teaching are analyzed using the documentary method. The reconstructions provide information about how the participating student teachers anticipate and cope with inclusion as a challenge of school practice. Based on the findings, implications for the (re)orientation of educational structures and contents of teacher education are finally presented for discussion