Saying What We Mean, and Meaning What We Say—Unpacking the Contingencies of Decentralization
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 11366289 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Heinz‐dieter Meyer (Albany State University, corresponding author) |
| Year | 2009 |
| Volume | 115 |
| Issue | 3 |
| Pages | 457-474 |
| Publication date | 2009-05-01 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | No |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | American Journal of Education (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0195-6744 • E-ISSN: 1549-6511 |
| Publisher | University of Chicago Press (PUBLISHER • US) |
| DOI | 10.1086/597487 |
| OpenAlex | W2113954764 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 7 |
| References cited | 23 |
During the 1980s and 1990s, administrative decentralization was a prominent reform theme in public education. Revisiting those efforts today reveals a conceptual landscape often governed by ad hoc theorizing, untested assumptions, and an overall lack of consistency and coherence. It provides an example of how terminological ambiguity on the part of researchers and policy makers can stifle a policy’s impact and obstruct attempts to learn from failure. In this article, I propose to surface and spell out some of the unarticulated contingencies that marred many decentralization efforts. Drawing on recent organizational theory, I first update the theory of decentralization, especially the relationship between decentralization and recentralization and the evidence for structures that mix both. Next, I discuss three illustrative examples of decentralization in education to identify the ambiguities associated with the casual use of the term. I end by considering how the concept of decentralization can be returned to more effective use by specifying the situational and functional contingencies of decentralization
Ambiguity · Casual · Decentralization · Economics · Epistemology · Political science · Positive economics · Situational ethics · Sociology · Computer Science · Law · Local Government Finance and Decentralization · Politics and Society in Latin America · Public Administration · Public Policy and Administration Research
International political context and institutional authority over the curriculum
Policy capacity, local autonomy, and human agency
Increasing school autonomy in Western Europe
When does a nation-level analysis make sense? ESD and educational governance in Brazil, South Africa, and the USA
Situating School District Resource Decision Making in Policy Context
Goals, Rhetoric, and (In)Equity
Conceptualising multiple hazards and cascading effects on critical infrastructures
Spinning wheels
Democracy in America
Administrative behavior
Centralization Versus Decentralization in the Design of Human Service Delivery Systems
The Structuring of Organizations
The Logic of Collective Action
Democracy in America
Economy and Society
Four Philosophical Perspectives on School Inspection
The Institutional Sources of Educational Reform
Accountable Autonomy
Associations and Democracy
| Unique citing works | 7 |
|---|---|
| Citations per year | 0,54 |
| Citation span | 2013 - 2026 (14) |
| Citation velocity | current |
| Highly cited | No |
| Citation types | Neutral: 7 |