Decentralization and School Improvement

Sponsored by the Consortium for Policy Research in Education

Drawing on theoretical models, case studies, and comparative analyses of other sectors and countries, the authors argue that governance reforms are likely to have little impact on what actually happens in schools, and they tell why decentralized structural arrangements alone are unlikely to establish conditions necessary for general improvement in educational practice. 1. School Governance in the United States: Historical Puzzles and Anomalies(David Tyack)
2. School Decentralization: Who Gains? Who Loses?(Richard F. Elmore)
3. Control Versus Legitimation: The Politics of Ambivalence(Hans N. Weiler)
4. Deinstitutionalization and School Decentralization: Making the Same Mistake Twice(Dan A. Lewis)
5. Fiscal Decentralization and Accountability in Education: Experiences in Four Countries(Donald R. Winkler)
6. Decentralization in Two School Districts: Challenging the Standard Paradigm(Jane Hannaway)
7. School Improvement: Is Privatization the Answer?(Martin Carnoy)
8. Employee Involvement in Industrial Decision Making: Lessons for Public Schools(Clair Brown)
9. Epilogue: Reframing the Debate(Martin Carnoy, Jane Hannaway) JANE HANNAWAY is associate professor in the School of Education at Stanford University, where she also directs the master's program in policy analysis. MARTIN CARNOY is professor of education and economics in the School of Education at Stanford University, where he also has headed the International Development Education program. Drawing on theoretical models, case studies, and comparative analyses of other sectors and countries, the authors argue that governance reforms are likely to have little impact on what actually happens in schools. They explain the cyclical and reactionary nature of decentralization debates and show how they are Andemic to modern society. And they tell why decentralized structural arrangements alone are unlikely to establish conditions necessary for general improvement in educational practice. Drawing on theoretical models, case studies, and comparative analyses of other sectors and countries, the authors argue that governance reforms are likely to have little impact on what actually happens in schools. They explain the cyclical and reactionary nature of decentralization debates and show how they are Andemic to modern society. And they tell why decentralized structural arrangements alone are unlikely to establish conditions necessary for general improvement in educational practice.