Abstract
This chapter examines trends in decentralisation in Ontario, Canada. By examining Ontario education reforms in terms of Dale’s (1997) model of governance, including funding, regulation and delivery in terms of relative inputs of coordinating institutions in the state, market and community, the chapter evaluates the complexities of decentralization. The Ontario case shows us that if the marketisation of education is the prime impetus for decentralisation as it was under a previous neo-liberal and business-oriented government, serious problems can arise with educational restructuring. If on the other hand those elements of education that can be decentralised in the spirit of democratisation of education are transferred to local authorities, then decentralisation can be a positive force. The evidence would seem to indicate that neo-liberal driven marketisation and decentraliation in education need to be resisted. The challenges are enormous, but as the recent UNESCO Report on Decentralisation in Education (2005) featuring case studies of 10 countries reveals, when decentralisation is carried out properly, rewards can be considerable.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
References
Astiz MF, Wiseman AW, Baker DP (2002) Slouching towards decentralisation: consequences of globalisation for curricular control in national education systems. Comp Educ Rev 46(1):66–88
Barlow M, Robertson H-J (1994) Class warfare: the assault on Canada’s schools. Key Porter Books, Toronto
Dale R (1997) The state and governance of education: an analysis of the restructuring of the state education responsibilities. In: Halsey AH et al (eds) Education, culture, economy and society. Oxford University Press, Oxford, pp 273–282
Guttman C (2000) Education: the last frontier for profit. UNESCO Courier, November
Labaree DF (1997) Public goods, private goods: the American struggle over educational goals. Am Educ Res J 34(1):39–81
Lindbloom CE (1997) Politics and markets: the world’s political-economic systems. Basic Books, New York
Lockheed M (1997) Decentralisation of education: eight lessons for social effectiveness & improvement. (Power point presentation). www1.worldbank.org/education/global/educationreform/ppt/m.lockheed.ppt.Accessed 11 Jan 2006
Majhanovich S (2003) Making sense of decentralisation using a comparativist lens. Can Int Educ 32(1):1–18
McGinn N, Welsh T (1999) Decentralisation of education: why, when, what and how?. UNESCO, Paris
Robertson H-J (1998) No more teachers no more books: the commercialization of Canada’s schools. McClelland & Stewart Inc., Toronto
Robertson H-J (2005) The many faces of privatisation. Our Schools Our Selves 14(4):43–59
UNDP (2003) World Human Development Report 2003. United Nations Development Program, New York
UNESCO (2003) EFA Global Monitoring Report. Gender and education for all. the leap to equality. UNESCO, Paris
UNESCO (2005) Decentralisation in education: national policies and practices. UNESCO, Paris
Wallace J (2004) Educational purposes economicus: globalisation and the reshaping of educational purpose. Can Int Educ 33(1):99–117
Wells AS, Slayton J, Scott J (2002) Defining democracy in a neo-liberal age: charter school reform and educational consumption. Am Educ Res J 39(2):337–361
Whitely R (2004) The trouble with accountability contracts. Our Schools Our Selves 14(4):43–59
Zajda J (ed) (2006) Decentralisation and privatisation in education: the role of the state. Springer, Dordrecht
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2009 Springer Science+Business Media B.V.
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Majhanovich, S. (2009). Decentralisation of Education: Promising Initiative or Problematic Notion?. In: Zajda, J., Gamage, D. (eds) Decentralisation, School-Based Management, and Quality. Globalisation, Comparative Education and Policy Research, vol 8. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-90-481-2703-0_7
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-90-481-2703-0_7
Published:
Publisher Name: Springer, Dordrecht
Print ISBN: 978-90-481-2702-3
Online ISBN: 978-90-481-2703-0
eBook Packages: Humanities, Social Sciences and LawEducation (R0)