Recent reforms in England's education system have been justified on the grounds that other countries have pursued similar approaches to education reform. Many such policies that by-pass or otherwise diminish meso-level institutions demonstrate a commitment to the idea of devolving authority to local actors. The current reforms in England and…

Since the 1990s, federal programs for workforce training have aimed to transform the role of community colleges from narrow contract training to a broader role that encompasses strategic instructional program planning and innovation to support lifelong learning for a changing workforce and economic development (Jacobs & Teahen, 1996). Yet, to…

Active participation of parents in every step of their children with special needs' education is crucial, and it begins with the educational assessment of the children. The parents experience with the professionals who are responsible of assessing children's abilities might be crucial for the services that will be provided for the…

Intramural funding programs within both large and small research institutions are an essential mechanism to foster collaborative, novel, or preliminary research activity, and to further institutional research strategic goals. At most research institutions in the United States, these funding opportunities are managed by each funding agency or…

This article explores the nature, scope and form of third-sector involvement in education in New Zealand as demonstrated through a comparison of its relationship with the state in two distinct periods of state and educational development. It begins with an analysis of the period of state expansion from crown colony to centralised administration in…

This article will particularly focus on Norway and the consequences for academic work. Frequently in studies of academic work, focus has been on academics' individual autonomy and to what extent the latter is challenged (Altbach in "Ann Am Acad Pol Soc Sci" 448:1-14, 1980; Shattock in "High Educ" 41:27-47, 2001). One of…

The purpose of this study was to assess the equity and adequacy of the NYC schools through analysis of the distribution of key resources before and after its 32 decentralized community school districts were recentralized into ten administrative regions in 2003. The study used a framework for assessing adequacy based on economic, sociological, and…

Across Canada there have been numerous recent examples of incidents where the political and ideological interests of provincial governments have run counter to the mandates of school districts. In this pan-Canadian study, focus groups were conducted with school board trustees and school district superintendents to examine the relationships between…

This paper examines the hypothetical cost-savings that might ensue from a merger of most of Australia's major research universities. The results of the textual analysis show that a merger of these universities has the potential to reduce expenses and professional and support staff salaries, increase comprehensive income returns and improve…

Most public universities in the United States are formed into systems, containing more than one university or campus. There are clear rationales for these systems, including overall planning and coordination, budgeting efficiency, and effectiveness of dealings with the state government. The distribution of internal governance functions between the…

Timely identification and reporting of rare infectious diseases has important economic, social and health implications. In this study, we investigate how different stakeholders in the existing reporting system influence the timeliness in identification and reporting of rare infectious diseases. Building on the vision of the information supply…

This paper considers professional development in a context that is familiar and problematic to teaching teams in tertiary education everywhere, that of delivering online programmes with an ever-decreasing complement of staff. The Teaching Qualification Further Education (TQFE) teaching team at University of Dundee confronted the reality of reduced…

American public education has become increasingly centralized over the last hundred and fifty years. Everything from curricular objectives and assessment tools to teacher certification criteria (and, often, textbook decisions) are being made at the state level rather than the county, district, or school level. Increasingly, teachers are told what…

Nationwide, states and districts are implementing programs that involve linking teachers with student data. These initiatives range from educator evaluation systems that consider student growth to data-driven professional development decisions and large-scale program evaluations. Establishing accurate links is crucial in any initiative that links…

Interactive relationships in online learning communities can influence the process and quality of knowledge building. The aim of this study is to empirically investigate the relationships between network structures and social knowledge building in an asynchronous writing environment through discussion forums in a learning management system. The…