ABSTRACT
It is all too evident that it does matter in some degree. Policies of decentralisation are being adopted in a great many countries, North and South. Despite a common language for describing these policies, however, even a cursory examination makes it apparent that their nature and purpose can differ substantially. The first purpose of this book, therefore, is to recognise this diversity and provide a framework for a clear description of the nature of decentralised management in schools. We support this description with our second purpose, which is to analyse these phenomena in different national settings and, drawing upon recent theoretical work and extensive evidence from one country, our third purpose is to explain these changes and evaluate their impact on schools. This provides the basis for our fourth purpose, which is to examine how decentralisation matters for schools, pupils and communities. It leads to our final purpose, which is to consider what directions decentralisation might take in future. During its preparation we were aware that we are adding yet another book to a rapidly growing literature, and we hope, therefore, that we are adding value as well as volume to that field: it is for readers to decide whether we have done so.
