Ministries Of Education In Small States

The conventional literature on public administration is dominated by the patterns and concerns of large countries. It does not address the needs of small countries, which have very different organisational and managerial frameworks. For example, what degree of specialisation is possible in a ministry which has only a small group of professional staff? And what are the implications for management of highly personalised societies in which everybody seems to know everybody else?This book presents 14 studies written by people who are actually grappling with the issues about which they write. The book thus has both authenticity and practical value.The book is an amplification of a companion work, and will be of value to academics as well as to administrators and trainers. The companion book is also available from the Commonwealth Secretariat. It is entitled Making Small Practical: The Organisation and Management of Ministries of Education in Small States.

Identity and diversity in all its forms present major challenges to countries seeking to best equip citizens with the skills to participate effectively in their diverse societies. They set out the strategies and actions needed to support small states wishing to promote the values of good citizenship.

Based on a pan-Commonwealth training workshop held in 1992 at the University of the South Pacific, Vanuatu Complex, this volume explores the skills required of the consultant and the ways in which institutions within small states can develop their consultancy capacity.Marie-Pierre Lloyd is a sociologist working as an independent consultant. She has worked in a number of senior public service posts in Seychelles. Steve Packer was until recently responsible for the Commonwealth Secretariat’s programme on education in small states.Educational Development in the Small States of the Commonwealth is a series of books which focuses on the impact of scale on the national education systems of small states.• Lifelines for the Isolated, 1994• Post-Secondary Education in the South Pacific, 1994• Educational Consultancy in Small States, 1994• The Challenge of Scale: Educational Development in the Small States of the Commonwealth, reprinted 1993• Making Small Practical: The Organisation and Management of Ministries of Education in Small States, 1991• Ministries of Education in Small States: Case Studies in Organisation and Management, 1991• The Multi-Functional Administrator, 1989

This book focuses on education in small states. It examines the strengths and weaknesses of different aspects of educational provision in political jurisdictions having a very small population – populations which encounter specific challenges, threats and opportunities. This book presents a balance in regional representation – covering the South Pacific, the Caribbean, Africa, Europe and the Mediterranean. The contributions pay particular attention to basic education, higher education, entrepreneurship training, post-primary education and the impact of globalization on educational restructuring and aid delivery in specific small state regions. This book was published as a special issue of the Comparative Education.

This collection of papers presents the critical reflections on the management and planning of education of 18 senior officials working in 12 small island nations. The papers are a result of their participation in the Postgraduate Diploma in Educational Planning and Management in Small States program at the University of Malta. The book is divided into two sections. After an introductory essay and two papers on generic management and administration issues in small states, the papers in the first section deal with educational management, addressing the education process from its internal organizational or operational perspective. This section addresses such topics as resource allocation, Total Quality Management, staff recruitment, job satisfaction, and the role of principals. The second section of the book discusses educational planning, focusing on education as a tool for national development. This section discusses such topics as school-business linkages, the general role of educational planning, and specific developmental challenges facing primary, secondary, vocational, and adult education in small countries. Each chapter begins with a brief summary of the key arguments of the paper and ends with a discussion point based on the contents. (Contains a subject and author index.) (WFA).

How should one organise a ministry of education which has only a small group of professional staff? Officers must become multi-functional; but what tasks should be grouped together, and how? What styles of management are needed for the highly personalised nature of small states, in which individuals have multiple out-of-work relationships as well as formal in-work ones? What arrangements can be made for career paths in a small organisation? And how can small ministries best manage the demands of regional and international linkages?These are among questions addressed in this book. It is the product of a pan-Commonwealth project in which officers from small ministries contributed practical insights. Experiences have been distilled and analysed, and are presented in a lively and readable format for both administrators and trainers.A companion book contains 14 case studies in a country-by-country format. Also available from the Commonwealth Secretariat, it is entitled Ministries of Education in Small States: Case Studies of Organisation and Management.

This publication deals with the provision of examinations in small states. It presents a conceptual framework and discusses models for the administration and provision of examinations at the end of the secondary cycle. It is a response by the Human Resource Development Division of the Commonwealth Secretariat to facilitate the development and improvement of education in countries faced with challenges of scale. It is intended for use by ministries of education, institutions, researchers and international organisations.Educational Development in the Small States of the Commonwealth is a series of books which focuses on the impact of scale on the national education systems of small states.• Lifelines for the Isolated, 1994• Post-Secondary Education in the South Pacific, 1994• Educational Consultancy in Small States, 1994• The Challenge of Scale: Educational Development in the Small States of the Commonwealth, reprinted 1993• Making Small Practical: The Organisation and Management of Ministries of Education in Small States, 1991• Ministries of Education in Small States: Case Studies in Organisation and Management, 1991• The Multi-Functional Administrator, 1989

This book argues for the particular challenges of education in small states, and for the need to examine the impact of changing global contexts, to document the changing nature and significance of recent and contemporary education policy priorities, and to advance the case for new and strengthened initiatives for education in small states.