Philosophiae Doctor - PhD / This study was initiated while the researcher was still an educator at' a secondary school in Cape' Town, South Africa. This was the period of the mid-1990s soon after the first democratically elected government assumed power in -South Africa: During this period of transition, large-scale reforms were expected on', the, education- front. Educational management and specifically school management were an integral part of these reforms. In terms of school management the idea of parents taking. on a greater .role was receiving wide support. School governing bodies (SGBs) comprising various constituencies and with greater powers were supposed to be the instrument spearheading change III school management. . This study traverses three levels of policy development: national, provincial and local (that is, school). It seeks to understand how school governance policy is developed and implemented using the principle of contestation to guide the analysis. The following questions guided the research: What were the contestations which led to the development of school governance policy at national level. How was provincial school governance policy developed from national policy and what were the areas of contention between the two. What were the contestations resulting from implementation of school governance policy at the school level. At all three levels the discussion of the contestations was limited to the powers and functions of SGBs. By shedding more light on the above questions, it was hoped that the nature of policy contestation would become clearer. This in turn could enhance the study of policy analysis and development.