Anatomy of a reform: Decentralization of public education and institutional change in the state of Minas Gerais, Brazil

This study deals with the reform of the State public school system in Minas Gerais, Brazil. The central aim of the reform is to establish decentralized spaces for participation by the population and professional educators in school management as a way of neutralizing the use of schools for political cronyism. The reform involved a process that spanned the terms of three different Governors, with participation by various actors displaying distinct political perspectives, interests, and ideologies. The study attempts to explain the causal factors affecting the decision-making process. As explanatory factors, the case study suggests the actors' capacity to establish common objectives and utilize available power instruments, the characteristics of the institutional context in which they acted, and the learning process developed with the legacy of previous policies.