The international trend of shifting educational management responsibilities to the schools themselves has exerted a powerful influence on education over the past 20 years. Many reasons have been given for the emergence of the self-managing school, and an analysis of the most important reasons are examined here. The paper focuses on education in…

This paper examines some of the South Western Pacific Island nations and considers their economic and social development and the ways in which education can play a role in future development. Excluding Australia, Papua New Guinea, and New Zealand, the south-western part of the Pacific is home to 20 small nations. This paper focuses on five of…

This paper draws on studies from around the world to examine the impact of school reform over the last 30 years. It claims that there is little or no evidence that recent education reforms necessarily lead to improved student outcomes for all students. In fact, findings indicate that some reforms promote a rapid increase in the variation in…

In Australia as in many other countries, the idea of decentralization of education is an idea being widely adopted. However, it is not clear whether this has resulted in improved student achievement. A review of international research on decentralization provides clear indications that it cannot be asserted that a decentralized system, in itself,…

The international trend toward the devolution of many decisions and responsibilities for managing schools to the schools themselves is a powerful influence changing the understanding of educational leadership. This trend is also apparent in Australia, where there has been substantial change in the way schools are structured, financed, and managed.…

In all states of Australia, the move toward decentralization of education seems to have gained momentum. This is particularly true in Victoria, where the government's "Schools of the Future" program declared the importance of local community control of schools. Recent research, however, indicates that after 3 years, the reality of this…