Research On Reforms Of Management Mechanism In UK Higher Education

In the late 1970's and beginning of 1980's, the movement of new public management was launched, bringing a tremendous worldwide influence later on. After over twenty years development, reforms carried out in western advanced countries with the guidance of new public management theory have exerted great impact on various sectors, among which is UK higher education. From the perspective of new public management, this research undertakes an exploration into mechanism reforms of management in UK higher education sectors initiated in 1980's. Based on analyzing basic ideas of new publish management, the thesis argues that as UK government launched reforms in the public sectors by using the ideas of new public management, two major mechanisms, namely market mechanism and multi-supervision mechanism, have played the key roles in the process of reforms. Thus taking the two major mechanisms as a conceptual framework, there is a systematic exploration in the thesis into the process and current situation of the mechanism reforms in UK higher education administration and management, and a specific analysis of the impact on UK higher education institutions exerted by the mechanism reforms.Interpretation of the theory and its basic points is an important premise to carry out the research. In Chapter One, based on the expounding of the realistic and theoretic background, theoretic causes, and basic arguments of new public management, it is put forward that UK government used the two major management mechanisms to reform the public sectors with the guidance of new public management theory. One of the two major management mechanisms is market mechanism, including market competition mechanism, market choice mechanism and market exchange mechanism. The other one, multi-supervision mechanism, consists of public accountability, quality assurance mechanism and performance management mechanism. Bringing forward the two major mechanisms makes it possible to further carry out the research and to establish the basic structure of the thesis.In Chapter Two, it is illustrated why the ideas of new public management could be utilized into the sector of UK higher education. It is argued there are three main causes playing a role. First, the massification of UK higher education causes various problems and challenges; second, UK government alters the way of appropriation and decreases the appropriative funds, resulting in shortage of recourses in UK higher education institutions; third, the belief relationship between UK government and the higher education institutions has been undergoing transformation.Chapter Three mainly explores the roles market competition mechanism and market exchange mechanism playing in higher education administration. For the former one, the thesis displays how UK government creates such a competition mechanism in the process of funding, in order to improve the utilization of resources in higher education and increase the benefits when running an institution, so that higher education institutions competes against each other in funding, enrollments and faculties. For the latter one, it works well under two measures taken by UK government,...