A report on decentralisation has now been published on the Agency website. The report builds on discussions held within a Thematic Seminar on Decentralisation in Education Systems that took place in Reykjavík in October 2016.
The seminar, which built on research conducted for the Agency Audit in Iceland, was jointly organised by Iceland’s Ministry of Education, Science and Culture and the European Agency. Representatives from 29 European countries, along with key decision-makers from national level and local municipalities in Iceland participated in the event.
The seminar included keynote inputs and workshops where the strengths and challenges of countries’ different approaches were explored through discussions linked to four key topics. These key topics – governance, regional disparity, quality assurance and data collection – are important issues arising within decentralisation debates in all countries.
The extent to which national education systems are decentralised has a clear impact on policy and practice for inclusive education. Decentralisation can be considered a key variable in the analysis of context and management of change at all levels of the education system. The report presents country examples and the key issues raised, in line with discussions around the need for building capacity across and between levels within education systems and the need to further examine the ‘dimensions of decentralisation’.
The seminar report is available for download.
