Exploring the Potential for Networked Governance: A Case of Crossing Administrative and Professional Boundaries?

• In Event: Accountability of Educational Networks: New Avenues to Improve Public Education

Abstract

This paper draws on ideas associated with Mary Douglas’s (1982) sociocultural grid group theory and ‘realist’ perspectives of collaboration which highlight that collaboration is more likely to be successful if it is understood as more than an ultraistic pursuit (Sullivan and Skelcher, 2002) to illuminate the lessons from two experiments exploring the potential for developing networked governance arrangements and accountability systems in Scotland. The findings from this research provide a number of important insights with implications for future research, policy and practice pertaining to accountability and scrutiny mechanisms for education and public service systems.

Authors

• Christopher James Chapman, University of Glasgow

• Daniel L Van Amersfoort, Open University of the Netherlands

• Stuart Hall, University of Glasgow

• Kevin Lowden, University of Glasgow