The third sector as an effective support system for good governance in the school sector

: the Hong Kong case from an instrumental perspective

Abstract

Modem governance denotes increasing emphasis on the 'steering' role of the state in the governing process. Discussion on how the state steers support systems in order to enhance governing quality has led to debates on the concept of 'good governance'. Martin Painter's "Making Sense of Good Governance" has provided a less western-biased framework to assess 'good governance' of a polity. Nevertheless, the linkage between support systems and 'good governance' remains unclear. As the framework of good governance is salient on the necessary conditions for support systems to perform effectively, this dissertation attempts to bridge the gap. The dissertation conceptualizes the third sector as a policy instrument, that is, as a support system for the pursuit of good governance in the school sector in Hong Kong. Accordingly, its effectiveness is analyzed through the 'instrumental' perspective, with focus on the 'classical', 'instrument-context', 'contextual' and 'constitutive' factors of policy instrument. Using the framework of 'good governance' developed by Painter and the 'most similar system design' as a method of cross-time comparison, the role and function of the third sector, along with outcomes of occurrence of 'good governance' in the school sector, are examined and compared between 1950s-1980s and 1990s-2005 to explore the necessary conditions for good governance in the school sector. The key findings of the study are that the period of 1950s-1980s witnessed emergence of good governance because the third sector effectively supported the government to achieve 'quantity-based efficiency', the value of good governance attached to the administrative capacity of government. However, there was no occurrence of good governance in the period of 1990s-2005 because the pursuit of 'accountability' - as the new value of good governance underlying the administrative capacity of government - was no longer effectively supported by the third sector. The changing effectiveness of the third sector can be accounted for by a changing nature of interplay between the four instrumental factors. In building and maintaining an effective support system for good governance, this dissertation argues that it essentially entails a 'good fit' complementary interplay amongst the four instrumental factors comprising: (l) clearly and accurately identified values of good governance, (2) a support system with suitable 'character' in relation to requirements of the values, (3) a facilitative implementation process of making a support system operate, and (4) an appropriate relationship between government and its support system. This distinctive complementary relationship denotes the necessary conditions for effective support system for good governance under Painter's framework.

Date of Award	15 Jul 2009
Original language	English
Awarding Institution	City University of Hong Kong
Supervisor	Yin Hung Joan LEUNG (Supervisor)