Governing Education in an Antigovernment Environment

This article examines how negative views of government and the public sector are impacting educational governance. Social and political trends undermining support for public programs and school systems are reviewed. In response to the anti-government environment of the 1990s and the apparent aversion toward politics among many educators, a new definition of governance is presented to more constructively portray the politics of educational leadership. The article concludes with considerations and recommendations for school leaders who are both at the center of the action of governance and the targets of reform by groups within and outside the public system.