This study investigates the organising practices of directors in Early Childhood Care and Development (ECCD) centres, focusing on Ghana and offering insights applicable to global contexts. The research examines how directors manage resources, define tasks, delegate authority, and align organisational functions to achieve operational and educational goals. From the findings, four key themes emerged: resource allocation and management, task definition and role assignment, delegation and authority, and functional integration and task alignment. Public centres demonstrated greater efficiency due to clearer role definitions and effective delegation, while private centres faced challenges such as limited resources, role ambiguity, and reluctance to delegate authority. Task alignment with organisational goals and resource optimisation were found to be critical for maintaining operational coherence and meeting educational objectives. As a major contribution, the study develops an Integrated Organising Framework to guide ECCD directors in addressing these challenges. The framework offers practical strategies for improving resource allocation, clarifying roles, and fostering organisational alignment, particularly in resource-constrained settings. By addressing identified gaps, this framework provides a systematic approach to enhancing service delivery, staff performance, and operational efficiency while remaining adaptable to policy changes and diverse community needs.

This study comparatively examines state policies of university autonomy in the Eastern Neighborhood countries of the European Union, with a particular focus on Georgia, Ukraine, and Moldova. Guided by the principles outlined in the 2007 Lisbon Declaration, the research investigates how university autonomy is shaped by state policies in these three countries. The study is grounded in the qualitative research design, drawing on document analysis, semi-structured interviews, and content analysis of legislative frameworks and higher education experts’ perspectives- including those of professors and administrative personnel. Five core features of university autonomy policies were identified: Legislative control over university autonomy, Political appointments to administrative positions, gaps between policymaking and implementation, the impact of funding on financial autonomy, and the existence of formal rather than substantive academic autonomy in relation to quality assurance standards. Two primary explanatory factors emerged: the scarcity of university resources and the persistence of centralized management practices. The study is framed through systems theory, drawing on the work of Alex Clark, Michael Hogg, and Ron Stewart in University Autonomy and Public Policy: A Systems Theory Perspective. From this perspective, universities, government bodies, and policymakers are understood as interdependent components of the broader systemic network, where actions taken by one entity influence the functioning of others. This research contributes to the limited academic literature on university autonomy in the EU’s Eastern Neighborhood by offering a cross-country comparison aligned with European higher education standards.