Such is the reach and range of the text, from the comparative, con-ceptual and contextual through to more professional, operational andpractical matters. There is a welcome consideration of first principles,back to Mill and Hume. The chapters on the nature of comparativeeducation and the definition of vocational education serve both asprimers and as commentaries that draw on a wide set of literatures,ancient and modern.The book has several aims but these are aspects ofone overall question: why do tertiary systems have sectors?

Why sectors survive and whether it is desirable to maintain them arequestions addressed in the final chapter. Given their endurance, sixoptions are available for governments to structure the relations betweenvocational and higher education: segregation, duplication, integration,systematising a transfer role, establishing an intermediate sector and‘wise and masterly inactivity’.The latter, we are informed, is a quotationfrom the eighteenth century Scottish jurist, politician and historianJames Mackintosh. It is typical of the book and a tribute to its eruditionthat we are offered an education in its sources as well as its arguments.

Gareth Parry, University of Sheffield

Leadership and Governance in Higher Education—Handbook for Decision-makers and Administrators. Edited by Sjur Bergan, Eva Egron-Polak,Jürgen Kohler, Lewis Purser and Martina Vukasovic. © 2011, Dr JosephRaabe Verlags-GmbH.hequ_502 436..••

This handbook builds on the success of the Bologna Handbook. It isthe same publisher and format with an overlap of editors. Leadershipand Governance in Higher Education—Handbook for Decision-makers andAdministrators aims to do precisely what the title suggests, to provideleaders, members of governing bodies and senior administrators ofhigher education institutions with a user-friendly, practical tool tosupport their work.

The handbook is published as a journal consisting of a basic,initial edition and regular supplemental volumes (hard copy plusonline), all of which can be collected in a ring folder. The basic loose-leaf edition consists of 440 pages and costs €129.00 (plus postageand packing charges). There are four supplemental volumes per year,each approximately 150 pages, costing €67.00 (plus postage and

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packing). The subscription approach also includes Internet access tothe material via a complementary website that aims to inform sub-scribers about the contents, authors and editors of the handbook andprovide free access to an electronic version of the articles written in thehandbook.

The handbook is composed of five major sections. Section A is Contextand Concepts, and focuses on definitions and understandings, mecha-nisms, rationale and key features of good governance. Section B entitledLeadership and Good Governance of Higher Education Institutions addressesissues such as styles of leadership, communication and organisationalculture. Section C is Change Processes:Vision-Decision-Action covers allaspects of change from ideas-generation and needs-analysis to imple-mentation and evaluation. Section D, under the heading Leading HigherEducation Institutions: Issues, Tools, Practices, includes practical contribu-tions on short-term, day-to-day management through to long-termstrategic planning. Section E, on Institutional Governance in NationalContexts, explores governance models and will be a major area for futuresupplements, including critical reflection on governance in differenthigher education systems.

In all the initial basic volume has 26 expert contributors from 14countries. As the world of higher education faces increasing challenges ofbudget restraint, internationalisation, widening access and the insidiousresearch rankings, a handbook on governance and leadership is timely.University leadership is clearly no longer an amateur pastime and thatincludes leadership at all levels. However, does the Handbook do what itsays it intends to do?

Section B on leadership, for example, includes seven sections, three ofthem empty in the base volume with promise of material to come. Theempty slots are B4 Leadership and Diversity,B6 Styles andTools of Leadershipand B7 Connecting Leadership and Communication.The other sections havearticles. Robin Middlehurst provides a contribution on ‘Becoming aLeader’ as does Lothar Zechlin on ‘Understanding and DevelopingYourRole as a Leader’ in the section B1, Understanding and DevelopingYour Roleas a Leader. Section B2, Value-Based Leadership, has a single article by JosefJarab ‘An unexpected Role to Play and Challenges to Face’ as does B3,Academic Leadership and Organisational Culture, a contribution by AdaPellert on ‘Academic Leadership: Structures, Processes and Culture’.Section B5, Structures, Actors and Roles, has a contribution by ManjaKlemencic on student representation.

This latter, for example, considers formal provisions for, andgood practices in, student representation and student participation in

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institutional governance in Europe. The article aims to assist the futuredevelopment of student involvement through clarification of conceptsand exploring the relationships between student representation andinstitutional governing bodies. To that end it explores conditions foran enabling environment and discusses the reasons for differencesin practices and modes of participation in institutional governance.It argues that the differences are due to different institutional con-ceptualisation of students ranging from community members andstakeholders to consumers to the future élite. While an interestingjournal-type article, it is debateable to what extent this fulfils theprofessed function of the Handbook to be a ‘user-friendly, practicaltool’.

Much the same can be said of many of the other articles in thecompendium.There are exceptions and maybe the future plan is to havemore guidance articles. Middlehurst’s contribution is more ‘what youshould do’ focused. It covers, how to develop knowledge about leader-ship, self-awareness as a leader, and an understanding of the leadershipcontext. It goes on to outline the tasks of leadership and managementand the selection and development of leaders.

Overall, the Handbook reads like a journal on leadership and gover-nance, which the publicity openly suggests is what, in essence, it is.That,though, raises the question of whether it is quite, as yet, a practicalhandbook. Overall, the publication is an admirable and timely conceptand has made a good start. I’m looking forward to more ‘hands-on’articles to fulfil the promise of a handbook.

Lee Harvey

Peters Scott, J (2010) Democracy and Higher Education. Traditions andStories of Civic Engagement. Michigan State University. ISBN -978-0-87013-976-5 (pbk) 396 pages.hequ_503 438..••

There is a growing interest internationally in the engagement of highereducation institutions with their local communities. Analysis is flourish-ing and international associations are taking up civic engagement withrenewed vigour. Democracy and Higher Education brings to this debate aUnited States perspective and one focused very much on the normativedimension of civic engagement. Sometimes ‘service learning’ can appear

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