Understanding the interactions between multiple actors in network governance: Evidence from school turnaround in China

摘要

This study explores network governance in education in China, using the phenomenon of school turnaround as a research Drawing on data collected from document analysis, observation, and interviews in Shanghai, this qualitative empirical study examines the complexity of interactions between schools, local governments, and third-party actors in school turnaround through network governance. The findings identify three network governance patterns - government-led, third-party-led, and school-led networks. In different patterns, the tripartite actors play different roles (schools as obedient follower, reserved implementer, or conscious striver; local governments as dominator, accommodator, or facilitator; and third parties as government representative, self-interested leader, or supportive partner) and adopt different coping strategies in their interactions. Based on its analysis of the interactions between the tripartite actors, this article suggests network governance as a differentiated leadership practice. In this practice, network actors can, depending on their configuration, exercise different extents of powers and have different degrees of asymmetric power relations (i.e., unequal power dis-tribution between actors), with different actors exercising leadership as the most powerful or influential actor in different networks.

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