ABSTRACT
Management of education systems changes in ways that reflect new insights into education and management but also in ways that reflect ideology. Some highly centralised systems, like those in the Australian states, have devolved authority to regional structures on the basis of claims that regional culture and context should be given expression in education. More recently, some of these systems have gone further in devolving responsibility to schools. In some cases, the justification advanced involves local community ownership and responsibility, and the local structure involves school councils with a strong community voice. New Zealand is an example. In other cases, the justification involves local professional leadership, particularly by the principal, and is based on the view that decentralised management with local discretion yields more professional engagement and greater efficiency. Within schools, the most complete delegation grants local control over resource allocation. The Australian State of Victoria presents itself as an example, and is discussed in Chapter 11.
