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This paper aims to trace the evolution of two initiatives – the direct subsidy scheme and independent schools initiative – their genesis, rationale, current form and take‐up rate. It also analyses them as education reforms in terms of policymaking dynamics. The very notion of the term “privatization” will be examined.

The article examines the two school privatization schemes in Hong Kong and Singapore, by putting into perspective a discussion of their policy implications, thereby reflecting on their similarities and differences in their agenda, implementation and implications.

The findings indicate that the DSS and independent school schemes in both Hong Kong and Singapore are in line with the global trends of privatization. It is suggested that the governments of the two places have adopted different approaches in the implementations of their schemes.

The paper shows how the direct subsidy scheme and independent schools initiative represent attempts over the past two decades by the governments of Hong Kong and Singapore, respectively to promote school privatization.

This paper aims to discuss why there is often a gulf of difference between policy rhetoric and reality. In particular, the paper seeks to explore issues with the policy rhetoric, implementation process and the lens through which reality is perceived, explaining why these issues can open up a policy rhetoric‐reality gap. This article also suggests a simple matrix framework to analyse a rhetoric‐reality gap.

This paper is a reflection on, and analysis of, the issue of the difference between policy rhetoric and reality. The framework of analysis involves: issues with policy rhetoric; issues with the implementation process; issues with examining reality.

Although policy rhetoric always has laudable aims, the underlying dynamics of change and interaction among the various actors at different levels of the system often means that the rhetoric may be compromised in reality. However, it is also possible that even when implementation reality may not correspond closely to policy rhetoric, the adaptation of the policy allows for a better fit with the local context while allowing the policy rhetoric to retain its evocative values for an ideal state of affairs.

Policy rhetoric‐reality is not always “evil” and this gap can be systematically investigated.

This paper provides an explanation of the policy rhetoric‐reality gap and suggests a simple matrix framework to analyse such a gap.

This paper aims to examine and compare the school excellence model (SEM) approach adopted by Singapore and the school‐based management (SBM) approach adopted by Hong Kong. It discusses the implications of such a strategy and the challenges that both Singapore and Hong Kong schools face in navigating a new paradigm of managerialism while satisfying the requirements of quality assurance.

This paper utilises a comparative approach to analyse the development of educational quality assurance and the movement to decentralise power to the schools in Singapore and Hong Kong. The framework of analysis involves: approach to decentralisation; effects of education marketisation; school leaders, teachers and the profitable use of quality models.

Both Singapore and Hong Kong utilise a centralised decentralisation approach though with different intent. Education marketisation accentuates the underlying dynamics of fierce competition and accountability through performance indicators. To use the quality models profitably, the main challenge will be for schools to satisfy the spirit of the law rather than the letter of the law.

The comparative study of Singapore and Hong Kong serves as a mirror to other developing countries in understanding how a quality framework coupled with self‐assessment and external inspections can lead to changes in the school system, both positive ones and undesirable side‐effects.

The first comparative study between Singapore's school excellence model with Hong Kong's school‐based management.

This article aims to review the latest developments of the higher education sector in China since the mid‐1990s by focusing on the expansion of university education.

It is argued that while massification of higher education is an important indication of the progress in China's higher education system, the quest for world‐class universities indicates China's ambition to earn international reputation in higher education sector compatible with its increasing economic power.

The driving force of these two developments is from the state, which demonstrates the dominant role of the Chinese government in higher education policy and administration. However, the ambitious state constitutes both a driving force and a constraint for China's higher education. The strengthening administrative control accompanied by the financial benefits from the government has led to bureaucratization of China's universities. China's world‐class pursuit necessitates a fundamental change of the existing pattern of relationship between the state and university and university governance model.

The strategic plan to build up world‐class universities shows that China is not satisfied with the quantitative growth of its higher education, but is seeking to achieve a breakthrough in quality higher education.

The paper explains how China's desire to achieve world class status within the area of higher education is being achieved.

This chapter integrates current Chinese education reform into the unique socioeconomic context of China in a transitional time and explores the complexity of education decentralization in China through an in-depth analysis on changes in education finance, administration, and curriculum development. Mark Hanson's theory of education decentralization is cited to build a conceptual framework for examining education decentralization in China. Previous studies, government documents, laws, and regulations related to the current wave of Chinese education reform are reviewed to capture a true picture of education decentralization in China. In investigating the background, actual actions, and motive of the current Chinese education reform, the chapter demonstrates that the on-going Chinese education reform is moving toward a centralized decentralization. Linking education with the unified national goal of economic modernization, the paradoxical mixture of centralization and decentralization is a strategic means to avoid loss of centralized control. Literature on decentralization reform in Chinese education primarily concentrates on changed Chinese education policies in the reform. This chapter places the focus on the contextual factors that shape the decentralization trend in current reform.

Widening participation (WP) has increasingly become part of the normal ‘business’ of English higher education (HE) providers during the last 25 years. WP entered the policy mainstream for the entire HE sector following the Dearing Review (NCIHE, 1997) and the election of a new Labour government wedded to notions of social justice but also concerned with ‘lifelong learning’ in the name of human capital growth. This book employs a dual usage of the term ‘business’ in relation to WP policy, practice and culture in the context of the marketised English HE system. The first, figurative, usage explores the ways in which WP has been drawn into institutional positionality as HE providers are encouraged to differentiate themselves in the market. The second, literal, usage explores the ways in which the business of WP has become ‘business as normal’ for the sector and institutions, increasingly intertwined with other activities and which play out variously, often in response to regulatory demands of the state. This introductory chapter first contextualises these developments with a brief overview of the evolution of the HE sector in England before proposing a multilevel model – the HE policy enactment staircase – as a way of thinking about how policy is made, enacted and implemented within the sector. This chapter then draws upon this model to acts as a structure for this book. It does this by moving from a macro-level exploration of ideological levels of policymaking, through National/Sectoral level right down to the issues at an institutional and operational levels. In doing so, this chapter creates a framework from which to understand how the various elements and levels of the business of WP play out within the English HE sector.

This paper seeks to conduct an in‐depth study of international trends in private higher education and focus on the Indian scenario

The methodology adopted is conceptual, analytical and comparative.

Though there has been better acceptability of private higher education institutions in India today than the “trepidation” felt at their emergence three decades ago, certain basic questions have been raised: Is the presence of private sector in higher education inevitable? Is it desirable too? Why is the Supreme Court of India intervening in matters pertaining to private higher education so frequently? What are the issues at stake?

An attempt is made to highlight the political‐economic, socio‐cultural, national‐international, ethical‐philosophical and legal‐practical aspects of this outreaching theme, in general, and focus on the driving forces, causes, and consequences of the emergence of the private higher education during the last three decades, in particular.

In recent years, though a growing body of research has emerged on world-class universities (WCUs), studies in this field remain limited. The purpose of this study is to identify and describe the research gap and provide a future direction for WCU research. This paper highlights the key theoretical approaches, methods, journals, unit analyses, authors, themes, countries and papers in this field. It also outlines the antecedents and consequences of WCU status.

This study collected all research related to WCUs published from 2004 to 2020. In total, 47 studies of the 435 found on Scopus and Web-of-Science are included in the review.

The results show that though the body of WCU literature is growing, it is fragmented in terms of theoretical frameworks, methodology, countries studied and unit analyses. This study also found that national, organisational and individual factors are among the antecedents and organisational and individual consequences of WCUs.

This study investigates existing gaps in the WCU literature and identifies new research directions for future research. Further, this study scrutinises existing studies to determine how universities have used a variety of methods and theories to achieve WCU status across numerous countries and settings. Finally, this study develops an antecedents and consequences WCU framework to synthesise existing studies.