ABSTRACT
The structures, processes and practices of education governance frameworks
matter, because they shape the form, pattern and scope of education policies and
practices, the opportunities they provide, and the outcomes they enable. Education
governance frameworks, therefore, both intrinsically and necessarily, have social
justice implications in that they structure, and are ‘strategically selective’ (Jessop,
2005) of, some interests, life chances and social trajectories over others. The
power and reach of education lies in the fact it is the only formal institution (aside
from the family) that all individuals in societies are required to pass through. And
as Connell (2012, p. 681) reminds us: ‘… schools and colleges do not just
produce culture, they shape the new society that is coming into existence all
around us’. This makes it all the more important that as far as possible education
is a ‘just institution’ (Rothstein, 1998).
