Governance and Systemic Reform --Centralization and Decentralization
Many APEC members are reforming education governance systems to meet the challenges they face in teaching the skills students require for the 21st Century.

However, their reform efforts are moving in dramatically different directions depending on their degree of centralization. The desire to achieve more consistent outcomes for students and to ensure that all students are mastering core content areas is driving the West to seek greater standardization at the national policy level. At the same time, new forms of competitive governance mechanisms are being introduced in Eastern economies, including privatized schools, publicly run charter schools, alternative teacher certification programs, and value-added school accountability systems to promote greater innovation and flexibility. Finding the right balance between centralization and decentralization in governance is a key concern for APEC leaders.

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