Globalization has brought dramatic changes to the character and
functions of education in most countries around the world. However, the
impact of globalization on schools and universities is not uniform. One
public-policy strategy that has been widely adopted is decentralization;
but there is no consensus on whether centralization or decentralization
is more effective to improve organization and management in education.
This book is contextualized in the literature on globalization, and
examines how policies of decentralization have affected the running of
education in Hong Kong, Taiwan, Shanghai, Singapore, Macau and Mainland
China. It analyzes the strategies that the governments of the selected
societies have adopted in reforming the structure of education systems,
mobilizing different forces to create more educational opportunities,
and devising new measures to assure quality in the education sector.