Deep changes in educational governance become visible in places (schools, cities, regions) where all levels conflate into concrete practices, and where homogeneous supra-national discourses result in an adaptation to the contextual specificities. The increasingly varied and complex forms, outputs and outcomes of governance involve different actors, working at different levels, carrying out a multiplicity of activities and tasks. In this chapter, two mechanisms inherent to current structures and processes of educational governance in eight countries (Finland, France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Poland, Slovenia and the UK) are analysed: the translation of apparently universal concepts and trends into local policies and the negotiation between different actors involved at the local level. While the mechanism of translation is analysed with regard to the issue of school autonomy, the negotiation one is discussed with regard to the implementation of social support for students and the participation and influence of parents and students in school.