This article raises the question, "Is the rapid expansion of the school Academies programme consistent with the Government's policy of enabling socially disadvantaged local communities to participate in making decisions that shape the quality of their lives?" (Contains 1 note.)

State and federal governments in Australia have developed a range of policy instruments for rural areas in Australia that are infused with a new sense of "community," employing leading concepts like social capital, social enterprise, community development, partnerships and community building. This has encouraged local people and…

A 1958 New York community study dramatized the thesis that macro forces (urbanization, industrialization, bureaucratization) have undermined all small communities' autonomy. Such "oppositional case studies" succeed when they render the dominant view immediately obsolete, have plausible origins, are testable, and generate new research.…

In 1989, Chicago (Illinois) Public Schools began an experiment with the radical decentralization of power and authority. This book tells the story of what happened in Chicago's elementary schools in the first four years of this reform. Implicit in the reform was the theory that expanded local democratic participation would stimulate organizational…

A case study of site-based governance councils in Salt Lake City (Utah) is described. The study was a test of whether building-based councils actually enable teachers and parents to exert substantial influence on school policy. The reason why research findings did not fit expectations is discussed. (SLD)

The Chicago (Illinois) public school system has been undergoing a major restructuring that has shifted responsibility for running the schools to local school councils. The nine articles of this issue bring together opinions and research of a diverse group of authors with multiple perspectives on the effort. (SLD)