1. SEE-ECN Meeting, Sarajevo - 15 May 2004 Report on the Regional Seminar on Decentralization in Education 6-7 February 2004

2. SEE-ECN Meeting, Sarajevo - 15 May 2004 Seminar Context – the decentralization process already started by some SEE countries – the issue of decentralization high on the agenda of education policy in SEE and in Western countries as well Organizers – Task Force Education and Youth, KulturKontakt, Austria – SEE-ECN and the Institute for Educational Sciences (Romanian country-node) Participants – experts and policy-makers directly involved with education reform issues.

3. SEE-ECN Meeting, Sarajevo - 15 May 2004 Objectives of the seminar Review decentralization concepts and implementation strategies; Present and discuss experiences and best practices; Discuss division of responsibilities and different roles in the decision-making process (government, educational institutions, the private sector, local communities, donors, NGOs etc.; Analyse legal framework, and examine various financial concepts and capacities; Assess the human resource development needs in the decentralization process; Develop tailor-made strategies for implementation of education reforms.

4. SEE-ECN Meeting, Sarajevo - 15 May 2004 Content and Methodology (1) Key-note speeches on: – Decentralization concepts and implementation strategies: why and how to undertake it? – Strategies for decision-making: deconcentration vs. decentralization. Sharing responsibilities – Curriculum: what to decentralize, how and to whom? – Strategies for evaluation and quality assurance Workshops: – Financing Education – Human Resources Management – Curricular Issues – Managing Quality: Quality control, quality assurance

5. SEE-ECN Meeting, Sarajevo - 15 May 2004 Content and Methodology (2) Case studies presentations from Norway, Hungary, Austria, Romania, Serbia and Croatia. SEE context as revealed by the case-studies: – There are intended or ongoing changes in the mechanisms of governance (regulation, steering) of the education systems in all SEE countries. – These changes are often described as decentralisation but in fact what happens is a complex process of (1) redefining responsibilities of levels and actors (2) redistributing power between levels and actors (3) redefining the content of system functions

6. SEE-ECN Meeting, Sarajevo - 15 May 2004 Seminar outputs provided information on recent developments in decentralization both in SEE countries and in Western Europe countries, strengthened the knowledge and skills of staff responsible for development and implementation of decentralization policy, provided a framework for comparison between strategies and procedures adopted by other countries and for reflection on strategies and measures that can be adopted in their countries strengthen co-operation between people active in the field of decentralization in education. the seminar website created by SEE-ECN team is an important and useful tool for those interested in decentralization issues.

7. SEE-ECN Meeting, Sarajevo - 15 May 2004 Participants evaluation regarding the seminar benefits On the organization level New, interesting, diverse and useful experiences in decentralizing education system coming from SEE countries. Useful contacts with colleagues from different countries. Opportunities to compare activities and efforts carried out by other organizations Identify organizational problems that can be prevented Opportunities for further development of organization and for supporting regional cooperation and the reform process in SEE. On the personal level Better knowledge about decentralization and its impact on financing education. (I have learned many things about decentralization. My knowledge are now more consistent and better founded). Sharing experiences and learning from each other. (I learned new things, met new people and got some useful experiences) Different approaches about decentralization Better knowledge on education decentralization state of affairs in different countries Awareness of many challenges

8. SEE-ECN Meeting, Sarajevo - 15 May 2004 Seminar follow-up dissemination activities at each country level opportunities for further cooperation between the countries in the region exchange information through the web portal enriching the section on decentralization issue on the SEE-ECN website.

9. SEE-ECN Meeting, Sarajevo - 15 May 2004 Acknowledgements Special thanks to – KulturKontakt Austria – SEE-ECN coordination unit