ABSTRACT
This essay on centralization and decentralization consists of two major elements, the first of which, written in an expansive mood, focuses on the language of centralization and decentralization, and tries to suggest why the two words lack the emotive tone of high politics, even though they have much to do with power. The second section attempts to make two points. One point is that school structure is not one-dimensional but multi-dimensional, and that those who would restructure schools have not just one structure to deal with but several. The discussion here is mainly about the nature of these several structures and of organizational structure in general. The other point is that the most practical question one can raise about school decentralization or restructuring has to do with their connection to school effectiveness, and where this connection is concerned organization theory, particularly contingency theory, seems especially relevant.
