In Germany there is a working cooperation between the university and the state. Ideally, the task of the state would be one of global regulation, with universities filling the framework set by the state in their own, autonomous way. (RM)

How financial restrictions and conservative policies have affected the quality and the functioning of higher education in England and West Germany is analyzed. Also discussed is how in both countries the institutional dependency on the state has increased or is being enlarged through changes in the politics of higher education. (Author/RM)

British universities remain autonomous and continue to act as effective agencies of political socialization. The historical ambivalence in the structure of the German university between academic freedom and state regulation remains, inhibiting the German university's value as an agency of political socialization. (Author/RM)

Universities in West Germany are being urged by the state and by politicians to enlarge their scope of services, especially to provide continuing education in the areas of science and technology. Implications are discussed. (Author/RM)

Posits that compensatory legitimation is the modern state's response to its legitimation crisis and is manifested through educational reforms. Delineates how the state interprets society's norms and values through the curriculum. Offers the West German curriculum reform debates of the 1960s and 1970s as an example. (SLM)