Summary: Since the beginning of the 1980s, decentralization has become a globalized policy and catchword in education: a large number of countries around the world have formulated such a policy and many have also implemented it.The policies and the changes at the national level have been researched but what has taken place and is taking place at the grassroots level has not received attention until recently. This book presents "grassroots cases"from different countries against the background of the overall changes in governance philosophy and applications. It uses case studies from countries in Africa,Asia, Europe, and Latin America and describes what is occurring at this level.The book gives an account of different types of decentralization and their impact.The first two chapters describe principally structural and organizational educational changes in the broader context of globalized models and the pressure to create a competitive education system and changing governance. Decentralization is one of the strategic aspects of this new mode of governance.