This book describes and analyses the organisation, functions and development of national educational authorities and agencies and the influence they have on local schools in 20 countries around the world. It examines the governing chain in the respective countries from both a theoretical and descriptive perspective. It does so against the background of the stability and rigour of the governing chains having been challenged, with some researchers considering the chain to be broken. However, the view that comes to the fore in this book is that the chain is still present and contains both vertical implementation structures and intervening spaces for policy interpretation. How schools become successful is important for the individual students as well as the local community and the national state. A vast quantity of research has looked at what happens in schools and classrooms. At the same time, national governance and politics as well as local prerequisites are known to exert influence on schools and their results to a high degree. Societal priorities, problems and traditions provide variety in how governance is executed. This book provides an international overview of the similarities and differences between educational agencies and how their work influences schools. 

1. Introduction: Governing Chains - Support, Control and Intervention  for Local Schools.- Part I: The Nordic Countries.- 2. Denmark: Contracts in Danish Educational Governance.- 3. Finland: Changing Operational Environment Changing Finnish Educational Governance,- 4. Iceland: Challenges in Educational Governance in Iceland: The Establishment and Role of the National Agency in Education.- 5. Norway: Educational Governance, Gap-Management Strategies, and Reorganizational Processes of the State Authorities in Norway.- 6.  Sweden: High Policy Ambitions with Soft Accountability.- Part II: The Middle European Countries.- 7. England: Autonomy and Regulation in the School System in England.- 8. Estonia: School Governance in Estonia – Turnaround from Order-Oriented to Inclusive and Evidence-based Governance.- 9. France: The French State and its Typical “Agencies” in Education - Policy Transfer and Ownership in the Implementation of Reforms.- 10. Germany: School Governing in Germany:Organization of Educational State Agencies and their Role and Function as to Quality Management.- 11. Scotland: The Scottish School System.- Part III: The North American states – Canada and the US.- 12. Alberta, Canada: School Improvement in Alberta.- 13. Ontario, Canada: Education in the Echo Chamber: Understanding  K-12 Education Governance in Ontario, Canada.- 14. California, USA: “The California Way”: The Golden State’s Promise to Empower Principals and De-emphasize Testing.- 15 Minnesota, USA: Minnesota: Finance and Policy in a High Performing U.S. State.- 16. South Carolina, USA: Educational Authorities and the Schools: Conflict and Cooperation in South Carolina.- Part IV: Commonwealth Countries.- 17. Australia: The Australian Education System.- 18. Kenya: Robust or Burst: Education Governance in Kenya after Promulgation of the 2010 Constitution.- 19. New Zealand: New Zealand – Steering at a Distance and Self-Managed Schools.- 20. South Africa: Education Authorities and Public Schools: The Organisation and Impact of Policies in South Africa.- 21. Singapore: Singapore’s Education System: A Centralised–Decentralised Model.- 22. Comparative Analysis of Central Aspects.