Restructuring Educational Governance at Sub-National Levels in South Africa. EPU Research Paper.

This report covers two interrelated research projects, both dealing with questions of decentralization in the governance of education in South Africa. The first subproject examines the restructuring of educational governance at the level of provincial departments. Research at the institutional level forms part of the other subproject, which investigates governance in the well-endowed, formerly all-white schools now known as Model C schools. Data for the study were obtained from various sources, including a survey of international theoretical literature and policy statements in South Africa, and interviews with representative of major stakeholders, role players, and representatives of the different constituencies in Model C schools. The findings show that elements of both centralization and decentralization will be present in South Africa's new education system. Although the results suggest that greater school autonomy can lead to more innovative teaching, this is not an inevitable result. To distribute resources and governance in an equitable manner, a level of governance between the provincial and school levels is necessary. This would improve communication and contact between the province and the schools and among the schools themselves. The report concludes by stressing the importance of transitional mechanisms as school governance moves toward greater democratic participation. (Contains 55 references.) (RJM)