Over the past two decades Malta has been witnessing wave after wave of reforms. Whilst official documents speak of the need for more decentralised forms of governance the reality shows otherwise. Data from a series of studies involving school leaders show that they still feel that a top-down approach is being adopted leaving limited space for…

In England the balance of responsibilities between national and local government for the governance of education is changing. Relationships between schools are shifting and new structures, groups and alliances are being created in response to national policy. The article is part of a project to understand how the new local education landscapes are…

Recent reforms in England's education system have been justified on the grounds that other countries have pursued similar approaches to education reform. Many such policies that by-pass or otherwise diminish meso-level institutions demonstrate a commitment to the idea of devolving authority to local actors. The current reforms in England and…

Following his previous article in this journal on the centralisation of power in English education post the 1988 Education Reform Act ("The Era of Centralisation", "FORUM", 50[2], pp. 255-261), the author considers the apparent turn to school autonomy central to the Conservative Educational Revolution. He argues that the power…

Based on a survey of rural school districts in Western China, this essay explores the effects of fiscal centralisation on the relationship between local governance and school district management, most particularly on how managerial power is distributed in the rural education sector. The essay also examines some of the possible effects that changes…

The style of management in higher education has changed significantly in recent decades. The groups that have demanded, and in most cases been given, a share in the governance of the institution are the administration, the faculty, the students, and the non-faculty staff. The problem arises in implementing the claims for a share of authority. Some…

The prevailing trends in American education-- centralization, bureaucratization, and hyperrationalization-- are being pressed upon the institution of schooling through current modes of educational change. A better approach is to increase human control over educating, locating responsibility for educational improvement with the teachers themselves.…

Addressed are the issues of government/school relationship and the increasing centralization of postsecondary education. Drawing from the experiences of foreign countries, the value of institutional differentiation, and the need for planning and autonomous action for differentiation, coordination, and change are discussed. (JMD)

A comparative study of policies and practices for accountability in French and English schools is presented. Growth of central government influence and teacher autonomy are common elements. However, the constraints on teachers (formal in France and informal in England) do not necessarily cause more freedom or accountability in England. (MSE)

The intent of this paper is to come to terms with some of the philosophical issues raised by community involvement in the education power structure. The literature reviewed identifies some of the underlying assumptions and explores some implications of increased citizen involvement for both educators and the society they serve. Two modes of…

The changes and progress made under the new system of governance of the Montana university system are examined. The report compares progress made by the system in the five years preceeding the change of governance (1968-1973) with the progress made during the first five and one-half years of the new system (July, 1973 to December, 1978). Under the…

This document presents comparative data concerning staff utilization under educational systems operated by the State as opposed to those operated by school districts. The study reported here used as its samples the Canadian Provinces of Alberta and British Columbia and the Australian States of Queensland and Victoria. Specifically, the study was…