Studied the views of Israeli principals about school decentralization and restructuring policy. Findings from a survey of 50 principals shed light on the potential of the reforms, the hardships principals face implementing them, and the complexity of implementing decentralization policies. (SLD)

Examines administrative, political. and ideological aspects of decentralization in the South African educational system. Discusses current policy development with special focus on the South African Schools Act of 1996. Highlights the tension between national and provincial educational competencies and decision making. Contains 30 references. (MMU)

Sweden is undergoing a school decentralization process from a formerly centralized system. This report examines how school personnel are adapting to the changes. Schoolteachers, administrators, and staff members were interviewed, and, where appropriate, responses were coded for numerical assessment. Additional data include school-reform plans for…

This paper examines the complexity and ambiguity of policies that purport to promote deregulation and decentralization of education. The paper describes the development of decentralization/deregulation policies in the Netherlands and applies the specific dilemmas faced in the country to the unexpected difficulty in preparing and passing a…

This book is about education system reform in Central and Eastern Europe, with emphasis on decentralization and management. In the past, local authorities served as implementation arms of the central ministry, while finance and decision-making were controlled by the central government, leaving local communities with little influence. New education…

All organizations can be located on a complex continuum whose extremes are total self-management or total control by external agents. School self-management is measured by degree of local community control over inputs, structures, processes, and relations with the environment. Australian schools have significantly decentralized processes and are…

Political and economic realities in changing South Africa brought about restructuring of the nation's Department of Education and Culture. Using semistructured interviews with principals, this study attempted to determine how principals in one state-aided school perceived changes regarding their roles and tasks, staff structure, and internal…

Considers the issue of local school control within large school districts. Describes the campus-centered German educational system. Provides insight into why the orientation of initiatives in site-based school management may be the opposite of what is needed. (HB)

In The Netherlands, waning confidence in government has resulted in educational policy favoring deregulation and increased autonomy for school boards and schools. Despite restructuring reforms, an intermediary administrative tier has developed that may be undermining school autonomy and weakening the central government's sense of responsibility.…

Educational reforms implemented in Sri Lanka in the early 1980s are examined in this paper, which focuses on three broad areas: restructuring reforms; the principal's role; and school-community reform. The research project was carried out by Basic Research and Implementation in DevelopinG Education Systems (BRIDGES) of Harvard University…

In 1987, Western Australia implemented a school-based management program called "Better Schools," which attempted to create "self-determining schools." Central to the restructuring effort was the establishment of school-based decision-making groups (SBDMGs), which permitted school staff and community representatives to exercise…

Tests the effectiveness of senior educational administrators' efforts to cope with stress in a decentralizing Australian state education department of over 2,000 schools employing 60,000 professional staff members. Presents general findings of a self-report, coping-strategies questionnaire and reveals some significant relationships among general…

Explains the Republic of Belarus's new educational system, stressing its universal and democratic values, national-cultural foundation, scientific character, humanistic and ecological orientation, social and practical activities, encouragement of talent and erudition, and compulsory basic (nine-year) education focus. Describes types of educational…

This report covers two interrelated research projects, both dealing with questions of decentralization in the governance of education in South Africa. The first subproject examines the restructuring of educational governance at the level of provincial departments. Research at the institutional level forms part of the other subproject, which…

Australia's National Schools Project tried to facilitate restructuring by abolishing, bending, or breaking the rules that prevented schools from improving student outcomes. Since 1992, the 50-school project has expanded to over 200 sites. An evaluation of three NSP schools identifies barriers (cultural resistance and structural complexity) and…