Spring/Summer 2005 - University of Toronto Press Publishing

POLITICAL SCIENCE / ECONOMICSGoverning EducationBenjamin LevinIPAC SERIES IN PUBLIC MANAGEMENT AND GOVERNANCEHigh levels of cynicism about politics, fuelled by alack of understanding of the real dynamics of policyand the political process, are dangerous todemocracy. So argues Benjamin Levin in GoverningEducation. With this book, Levin seeks to improvepublic understanding of the way governmentworks, especially with regard to education policy.Based on his experience as Manitoba’s deputyminister of education from 1999 to 2002, Levinoffers an insider’s account of the events and conditionsthat governed Manitoba’s educational policyas a way of illustrating the larger dynamics of thepolitical process. He demonstrates how the actionsof governments are rooted in diverse politicaldemands, and looking at the current state of educationand education policy in Canada, comments onits strengths, weaknesses, and opportunities.Levin’s unique combination of informed analysiswith real stories of real events told by participantsprovides an incisive exploration of governmentin action. While based on events inManitoba, the same dynamics and conditions applyacross the country. This book will have strongappeal to people in education, political science, andpublic administration.Benjamin Levin is the deputy minister of educationfor the Government of Ontario.‘Governing Education is a unique and powerful book thatprovides an insider’s view of the workings of government.Benjamin Levin addresses virtually every major educationalpolicy issue that face governments and society, and each ispresented with insightful analysis, insider and personalobservation, and links to the bigger policy picture. A substantialcontribution to the field of public policy.’Michael Fullan, Ontario Institute for Studies inEducation, University of TorontoOf related interest:The Politics of Educational Reform in AlbertaAlison Taylor0-8020-8352-8 / £20.00 / $32.95 / 2001Approx. 240 pp / 6 x 9 / March 20055 figuresCloth ISBN 0-8020-8852-X £35.00 $55.00 EPaper ISBN 0-8020-8622-5 £18.00 $27.95 CPhotograph courtesy Comstock.46