"Decentralized-Centralism" Governance in Education: Evidence from Norway and British Columbia, Canada

Abstract

This article focuses on decentralization as a governance strategy in education. The author, Gustav Karlsen, first presents theoretical aspects of the phenomenon of decentralization and contextualizes them within the education research literature. He then analyzes the dynamics of decentralization that normally take place when governing strategies designed to decentralize authority and power are implemented. In particular, he emphasizes four aspects of that dynamic interactive process. In support of his argument, he provides evidence gathered from Norway and, to some extent, from the province of British Columbia, Canada.1 The dynamic interaction in the decentralization process, Karlsen contends, is implicit in the title of the article, "decentralized centralism."

Decentralization has appeared on the political agenda for almost three decades and has become a worldwide trend. As a government initiative, decentralization has been evident in Western societies as well as in developing countries (Rondinelli et al. 1983). Governments have used decentralization as a strategy in various institutions within the public sector, including education where there is a prevalent belief that decentralization will bring about desired large-scale educational reforms.