In 1974 the Swedish national higher education agency undertook a study of educational planning at the local and regional levels. It was hoped that by investigating and discussing the problems involved the study would contribute to discussion within institutions and planning bodies prior to implementation of the 1977 national reform of higher…

Cites the rush to administrative decentralization and community participation. Suggests that controversy arises when school critics want to move to community control, a concept that has not yet accomplished what advocates claim for it. (JF)

This study analyzes local school council (LSC) meetings in Chicago (Illinois) during their first year of operation. The Chicago School Reform Act of 1988 created a radical shift in authority from the central bureaucracy to the LSCs, empowering the LSCs to set educational policy and govern schools. The councils hire and evaluate the principal,…

The authors identified those Community School Districts in New York City that have a minority population of at least 60 percent and also contain a non-Hispanic white residential enclave. By studying the election results for these school districts, the authors tested the hypothesis that non-Hispanic white middle-class voters had a disproportionate…

A four-stage model (goal setting, program planning, program implementation, program evaluation) for achieving diversity in the means and ends of education is suggested. Its major thrust is for more educational programming at the local school level. (MS)

Discussed are some decision-making influences on the attitudes of New York City parents toward school decentralization. The Mass Media Committee of the Center for Urban Education maintains a representative panel of parents from whom information about communication experiences and responses to educational issues can be gathered. Telephone…

This article explores the benefits and drawbacks of centralized versus local control of schools. It concludes that our traditional conflict between Jeffersonian and Hamiltonian perspectives makes it possible for us to avoid a permanent imbalance between centrist imperatives and the need to maintain rural strength. (PB)

This paper examines the problems of centralized academic-indicator systems in light of the move toward site-based management. Problems with current practice are examined in the framework of critical inquiry. Alternatives to current accountability guidelines are presented that harmonize positivism with critical inquiry, while respecting both local…

The process used in Papua New Guinea to integrate national and district health planning in a decentralized setting is described, highlighting the key elements of participation, learning by doing, and integration. The importance of this three-pronged approach for program development and application is discussed. (SLD)

A 1994 review of international policy research on accountability in education indicates that there is widespread concern over policy content, processes, and consequences. Current purposes tend to be polarized by a simplistic dualism--hyperindividualism versus communitarianism. Policies and practices often exhibit neocentralist assumptions. This…

The involvement of parents in the community school board elections in New York City in May 1989 was to be closely watched. Puerto Rican and other minority parents must seize the opportunity provided by the elections as a first step toward determining the educational agenda for their children. (SLD)

Combines a global, national, and local perspective to study the effects of educational changes over the last 20 years on the relationships among head teachers, teachers, and parents in France. Examines the impact of five kinds of transformations--decentralization, marketization, accountability, managerialism, and professionalism--on definitions of…

Reviews the rapidly expanding literature on the federal government's involvement in elementary and secondary education, covering research syntheses published in the early 1980's and subsequent unanthologized empirical research and normative commentaries. Identifies trends and themes that surface from this literature, encompassing both empirical…

Reports on a study of innovative city and county government programs in four western states. The study discovered widely divergent assessments of the same programs, dependent upon whether the survey instruments used qualitative or quantitative techniques. Discusses the possible reasons for this and the implications for future research. (MJP)