The author argues that there is a critical need for research and scholarship into the impact of educational governance structures (the formal arrangements for making and administering public policy on education) on the native and quality of decisions made and the degree of success in implementing those decisions. The author notes the new directional shift of the current educational reform movement from a centralized bureaucratic emphasis to a more decentralized quasi market orientation and links them to similar societal trends associated with the information age revolution. A framework for conceptualizing the problem of allocating decision-making authority about education among interested parties is presented an (discussed using illustrations from the United States, England, and Australia. Research issues are identified.
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