Educational management challenges for the 21st century

Abstract

While demands for large scale improvements in education systems increase worldwide, education system structures continuously fail to meet, or even make notable advancements, toward these demands. Inseparable from this problem is the very similar way in which education systems are managed. Educational managerial structures have become so universal, perpetual, and therefore, deeply ingrained in society, that they remain almost entirely unchallenged; this encourages the misleading, nearly unquestioned assumption that managers are not responsible for educational failures and that teachers are at fault. This paper argues that the core of most educational problems lie within current educational management structures. It calls for a complete rethinking and rebuilding of such structures in order to aid educational systems in reaching their full potential, therefore helping students within these systems fully develop 21st century skills and meet future global challenges.