School autonomy in the province of Buenos Aires, Argentina: evidence from two school districts

• Published in: Comparative education Vol. 42; no. 2; pp. 203 - 223
• Main Author: Astiz, M. Fernanda
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Oxford Routledge 01.05.2006; Taylor & Francis; Taylor & Francis Ltd
• Subjects: Argentina; Argentina (Buenos Aires); Argentinien; Autonomie; Autonomy; Bildungspolitik; Buenos Aires; Buenos Aires (city), Argentina; Comparative analysis; Decentralization; Decentralization of schools; Dezentralisierung; Education; Education policy; Education reform; Educational administration; Educational Change; Educational Environment; Educational Finance; Educational History; Educational reform; Educational Research; Educational sector; Elternmitwirkung; Finanzierung; Foreign Countries; Gemeinde (Kommune); Global Approach; Kooperation; Lehrer; Outcome Based Education; Parents; Partnerships in Education; Policy Analysis; Political freedom; Provinces; Qualitative Forschung; Radical parties; Region; School administration and organization; School councils; School District Autonomy; School districts; School principals; Schools; Schulbezirk; Schule; Schulreform; Schulverwaltung; Socioeconomic Influences; Sozialpolitik; Steuerung; Teachers; Argentina (Buenos Aires); Buenos Aires Argentina; Argentina
• ISSN: 0305-0068; 1360-0486
• DOI: 10.1080/03050060600628025

This article provides empirical evidence of policy adoption, outcomes and consequences of decentralization and school autonomy initiatives enacted in Argentina during the 1990s. The study examines what school autonomy meant in Argentina and how it was adopted at the provincial and school levels. Using qualitative data on school districts of the Greater Buenos Aires, the study analyzes the role that organizational and political factors play in the implementation of school autonomy reform. Given that previous studies showed that reform praxis varies across environments, this research looks comparatively at the outcomes of the reform process across organizational systems (i.e. provincial and former national) and diverse local sociopolitical environments.