Accelerating threats to a sustainable relationship between economic growth and the capacity of the global social-ecological system to support it require that the implications of competitiveness be reassessed. Today, the capacities that underlie economic competitiveness must also be brought to bear on policy and pedagogy to prepare the coming…

The unique contribution of grandparents to families of children with and without disabilities is often overlooked in the clinical and empirical literature. Perceptions and practice of teachers regarding grandparents were examined. Eighty-two special education teachers and 80 teachers from regular classes completed a 30-item questionnaire tapping…

Assesses the "evaluative state"--the historic background, the process and procedures used to evaluate institutions of public higher education in European Union countries. Reviews various types of evaluation used, changes in the concept and purpose of evaluation, and looks at some of the basic and long-term issues for the future, from its operating…

Reviews development of evaluation studies together with key epistemological and conceptual issues. Uses identified concepts to analyze peer review, the traditional mode of evaluation in higher education institutions in the United Kingdom and other European countries. Lists criteria for improvement, including: range of knowledge; critical analysis…

Suggests that the introduction of corporate management ideals signals profound changes in the way public authorities understand academic activity and discusses the impact of these changes on institutional autonomy and academic freedom. Examines these changes from the perspective of a Norwegian university, focusing particularly on normative ideals…

Analyzes nature and effects of public-management evaluation concepts on institutions of higher education, using as an example Tennessee's policy of monitoring performance of its institutions by linking performance indicators to public funding. Concludes that while policy has been successful overall, allowing a "firewall" between government…

Explores quality-assurance mechanisms for higher education and their use as a government policy instrument. Outlines several national or system-level approaches adopted worldwide; reviews an Australian quality-assurance program conducted from 1993 to 1995 and its successor program; and comments on ways in which the government used quality…

Discusses changes implemented in Italian higher education during the last 10 years to bring it into line with other European systems. Main changes included the introduction of short-cycle courses, changes in the mechanism related to public financing of universities, greater pedagogical self-regulation, and establishment of a system of periodical…

Examines the "evaluative state" that is, public management-based evaluation systems--in the context of experiences in the United Kingdom and New Zealand, and suggests that further research is needed to examine problems in the evaluative state itself, in how market competition impacts upon it, and how academic oligarchies influence the process. (CH)

Educational systems have been based on the assumption that the purpose and preferred activity in life is work, with the role of education to prepare students to make a living. Social and technological change forecast a world in which few people work, requiring drastically altered social and educational values. (Author/MSE)

The reduction of lifetime working hours in Western industrialized countries is increasing the need for research, particularly qualitative, on the leisure of the elderly. This approach has been taken in planning a new empirical study. (MSE)

The United Kingdom's system of apprenticeships and its relationship to vocational education and employment are discussed, with focus on recent government initiatives, access to apprenticeships, and efforts to coordinate training with labor market needs. (MSE)

This study of the composition and operation of both "top down" and "participative" school management teams in 18 Israeli elementary schools considers (1) how management teams are organized, solve problems, and make decisions; and (2) how the operation of the management team influences school effectiveness. No relationship between the team approach…

Interviews with faculty at 10 European universities examined 2 issues in developing effective staffing structures: (1) possible barriers to vertical and horizontal mobility caused by a worsening environment; and (2) the possibility of value-dissonance for staff as a consequence of new requirements. Clear identification of responsibility for…

Some considerations that educators must take into account when planning educational programs for older persons who are about to retire or who have retired are described. A number of programs currently offered in some European countries (including the Universities of the Third Age) are presented. (Author/MLW)