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In this paper, we discuss if the current educational management practices in Croatian schools are in line with the constructivist prescriptions and what is their relationship with the available principal support tools. Our research is based on previous empirical results, related to the perceived needs of school principals for training and support. Namely, in 2011, the surveyed school principals required additional competencies to be developed in the fields of school marketing and management. At that time, the primary school principals are being surveyed, related to their managerial practices and the obtained results are interpreted in the context of the already announced, comprehensive school reform in Croatia, designed according to the constructivist educational theories. The empirical results demonstrate that the managerial practices of Croatian primary schools are not compatible with the constructivist theory of education. One group of principals (27.6%) have adequate delegation skills and focus on the specific fields of project management and school marketing, while the majority demonstrate one (or several) forms of ineffective practices. There is limited empirical evidence of the statistically significant differences in the usage of principal support tools/approaches, although the specific usage patterns have been identified. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Like many other education systems in the world, Chinese education has undergone various reforms in order to adapt to the challenges that are perceived to emanate from the knowledge economy. Central to this transformation is the concept of 'innovation', which is to guide the country on its path from a production economy to a knowledge economy. Chinese policymakers have been targeting the higher education sector both as a motor for innovation and as a realm to be innovated, and have invested heavily in the sector's internationalization, above all in the form of international collaboration and student mobility, affecting higher education and academia worldwide. However, a number of structural and political constraints delimit the directions that innovation can take, both within Chinese education in general and within Chinese higher education. The article takes stock of these constraints and assesses the potential for innovation in Chinese higher education in terms of the underlying school system, exam and recruitment policies, the (re-)organization of universities, as well as the universities' and science system's performance according to indicators of innovation. The article then identifies four 'Chinese innovation dilemmas', that is, educational policies and developments that are to spur innovation but run counter to existing structures and practices of educational, social, and political governance: ideological control versus creativity; state planning versus grassroots innovation; old-boy networks versus anti-corruption; and exam-based student recruitment versus flexible recruitment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Unlike the traditional disciplinary approach to research and problem-solving still common in higher education, this article explicates and recommends an interdisciplinary, holistic pedagogical approach that takes seriously the interconnectedness of our wicked social sustainability challenges (e.g., poverty, global climate change, food access, among others). We argue that educators can better prepare students to tackle such wicked problems by requiring they engage with locally based problems connected to large-scale systemic challenges. By discussing the design and outcomes of the course “Wicked Problems of Sustainability” from both the students’ and instructor’s perspectives, we seek to extend and enhance effective pedagogical strategies. As a laboratory for sustainability education and innovation we have developed a transdisciplinary, community-engaged, upper-division undergraduate course that engages students in participatory research on the inextricably linked dimensions of social sustainability. Collaborating with community partners to work across networks, disciplines, and institutions, students have the opportunity to ameliorate real problems in the local community. In doing so, the course confronts students and the instructor with a series of robust challenges from intensive collaborations, to logistical and time-management dilemmas, to real-world execution issues. This article details the obstacles associated with messy inquiry, participatory research, and community engagement and provides recommendations for overcoming them. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]