Understanding Educational Decentralization in Post-Apartheid South Africa

Abstract

This article examines the discourses of educational decentralization in the South African context. It considers the shifting and contested definitions of the concept as it relates to three broad dimensions of the policy: administrative, political, and ideological. Further, it discusses understandings of educational decentralization as they are being evidenced in current policy development in South Africa. It also critically examines notions of educational decentralization embedded in recent legislation and the tensions and contradictions contained therein. Last, it highlights a particular manifestation of educational decentralization in the South African context: the tension between national and provincial educational competencies and decision making