The changing roles of local government in education

In this article I will explore the current discussion on the role of local governments in education in the UK. It focuses on research evidence in Scotland, especially with regard to decentralization of management to the school and reorganization of local governments. These findings are compared with the discussion and evidence of the roles of local governments in England and Wales in education over the past decade. Education and local governments throughout the UK have undergone substantial reforms, but the nature and outcome of these policies have been suggested to differ across the north-south border.

Local governments play an important role in public education in the United States. From kindergartens to community colleges, local governments and states provide substantial funding to public schools primarily through state and local tax collections. Local authorities at all levels will determine educational policies including counties, cities, towns and districts. Their mission is to make important decisions about funds and pedagogy and about the path between community and state education.

In this article I will explore the current discussion on the role of local governments in education in the UK. It focuses on research evidence in Scotland, especially with regard to decentralization of management to the school and reorganization of local governments. These findings are compared with the discussion and evidence of the roles of local governments in England and Wales in education over the past decade. Education and local governments throughout the UK have undergone substantial reforms, but the nature and outcome of these policies have been suggested to differ across the north-south border.

Central government and state government play different roles. The US government is responsible for domestic problems such as fiscal, commercial, defense, diplomacy. Each country is addressing regional issues such as education, public safety, public health. Some roles, such as taxing rights, are shared or shared at the same time. The legislature is a bicameral parliament consisting of the Senate and the House of Representatives, also called the Bicameral Council. It has the power to enact federal law applicable across the country. It also has the right to enforce the law, to establish all lower level federal courts, to overthrow the President's refusal and to use funds to impeach the president.

Since public education is often viewed as a community's responsibility, the role of the federal government in this area is limited. Today most federal education funds are used for higher education, mainly student loans and scholarships. Since the 1950's, the Federal Government has offered funds from 1st to 12th graders, especially to improve science, language and mathematics. Other projects such as head start for pre-school children focus on supporting poor children. Still, today's Federal government funds are less than 10% of total US education expenditure.