The birth of the Educational Policy Units (EPUs) in South Africa can be traced to the intensification of mass struggles against apartheid between 1984 and 1986. This text is a compilation of the works that appeared during the first decade of the Natal EPU. It is divided into 4 sections. Section 1 describes the context of the development of the EPU and contains the following essays: "'Children of War': The Impact of Political Violence on Schooling in Natal" (B. Nzimande and S. Thusi); "School Ownership in South Africa" (J. Pampallis); and "People's Education for People's Power" (B. Soobrayan). Section 2 looks at the role of parent-teacher-student associations (PTSAs) in the emerging democratic society. Essays in this section include: "Parent-Teacher-Student Associations (PTSAs): Present State and Future Prospects" (S. Sithole); "The Relationship between PTAs/PTSAs and the State (T. Dlamini and B. Nzimande); and "'Civil Society' and the Role of the National Education Coordinating Committee" (B. Nzimande). Section 3 details the unfolding of a democratic governance debate and includes the following essays: "Towards a New Structure for the Governance of Schooling" (B. Nzimande, J. Pampallis, T. Dlamini, L. Ntuli, and M. Berger); "Restructuring the Education System: Debates and Conflicts" (J. Pampallis); "The Participation of Students in Democratic School Governance" (S. Sithole); "Restructuring Educational Governance at Sub-national Levels in South Africa" (J. Karlsson, J. Pampallis, and S. Sithole); and "The Role of Governance Structures in the Sustainability of Learning Spaces" (J. Karlsson and J. Pampalis). The last section examines the new context and features the following essays: "Racial Integration of Public Schools in South Africa: A Study of Practices, Attitudes and Trends (J. Naidoo); Local Government Partnership with Public Schools in South Africa: Some Stakeholder Perceptions" (L. Jita and J. Karlsson); and "Decentralisation in the New Education System: Governance and Funding of Schooling in South Africa 1992-1997" (J. Panpallis) (Contains an index.) (RJM)