An Analytical Review of Education Policy-Making and Implementation Processes Within the Context of “Decentralized System of Administration” in Ghana

A critical assessment of education policy and practice in Ghana suggests that despite the initiation of the concept of decentralization, education policy making and implementation is still perceived as adopting a hierarchical structure with its inherent practice of concentration of power at the center. This article conducts an analytical review of the processes of education policy making and implementation within the context of decentralized system of administration in Ghana. This is done with the view to illuminating the theoretical and practical challenges and limitations that this “top-down” and rationalist approach to policy processes imposes on the functioning of the education system. In pursuit of this agenda, useful proposals for democratizing and decentralizing the processes of policy formulation and implementation are presented. The article contends that this critical review is necessary to provide analytic information for facilitating and informing national education policy dialogue and policy formulation to improve the Ghanaian education system.