Decentralized centralism: framework for a better understanding of governance in the field of education

The article focuses on decentralization as a governance strategy in education and the dynamic interaction in the decentralization process. The first part outlines some theoretical aspects of the phenomenon of decentralization, based on research. The following part gives an analysis of the dynamics of decentralization that normally takes place in a decentralized government strategy. In connection with this, the article presents some empirical data from Norway and, to some extent, from the province of British Columbia in Canada. The dynamic interaction in the decentralization process is embedded in the term ‘decentralized centralism’. The article distinguished four dynamics processes in decentralized centralism; the dynamics of initiation, the dynamics of content, the dynamics of levels and the dynamics of simultaneity.