On attaining independence in 1980, Zimbabwe invested heavily in its education system to redress colonial inequalities and to ‘grow its own timber’ regarding expertise desperately needed by the new nation. Ten years later, the heavy expenditure on education was no longer sustainable or defensible. Critics noted the tumbling pass rates, the evident decline in the quality of education, and the concomitant high unemployment rates for the graduates. Furthermore, the highly centralised system of education governance made it difficult, if not impossible for stakeholders at the various levels of the system to participate effectively in decision-making. In response to these and other pressures, Zimbabwe adopted decentralised school governance. While decentralisation and school clustering have become internationally acclaimed educational reforms that are consistent with the notion of good governance, there remain outstanding questions regarding how those tasked to implement such reforms understand, experience and respond to them, and the impact this has on the success or failure of these innovations. Through a multi-site case study, this inquiry investigated teachers’, school heads’ and parents’ understandings and experiences of, and responses to decentralised school governance in one cluster of five rural primary schools in Zimbabwe. Findings suggest that decentralised school governance has developed a sense of ownership of schools on the part of stakeholders. However, the reform is hampered by the rigid national educational regulatory framework, the uneven distribution of power within schools, and lack of capacity to implement the reform. The findings imply a need for capacity building on the part of stakeholders.