Enhancing effective education governance

Effective multi-level governance of complex education systems is a policy priority. As educational systems have decentralised, countries are increasingly looking for ways to balance responsiveness to local diversity with national attainment goals. The first part of this chapter explores the importance of trust for the governance of complex systems and highlights its interaction with the main themes of this volume. It shows that trust is indispensable for change and reform but also raises important questions about the right levels of trust for the governance of educational systems. The second part of the chapter suggests a way forward. It summarises the main findings on governance systems that emerge from this volume, focusing in particular on issues of complexity, accountability, capacity building and strategic thinking. It then ends with a look at the key elements of modern educational governance.