The World Bank has been called the most influential organization in education reform globally. Not only is it the single largest funder of education for international development, but it also produces knowledge, circulates discourse, and structures policymaking processes in ways that extend its influence far beyond its primary role as a bank.…

State lottery policies have been created to generate additional funds to support public initiatives, such as higher education scholarships. Through 18 participant interviews and document analysis, this study examined how decision makers in Arkansas socially constructed citizens while forming lottery policy. The social construction of target…

The post-incorporation further education (FE) sector has experienced a number of quasi-markets over the past 23 years designed to incentivise college agents (managers and lecturers) to meet government objectives. To create such quasi-markets principal-agent (P-A) solutions have been introduced in the form of a series of funding incentives and…

This paper traces the origins and development of coal mining education and training in Britain from 1900 to the 1970s, by which time the coal industry had substantially declined. It looks at the progress from working-class self-help to national policy in support of education and training. The research makes use of college prospectuses and…

Compared with the former policies on early childhood education, the policies recently issued in mainland China clearly defined early childhood education as an integral part of education and social public welfare and stipulated the responsibilities of the government in its development, shifting the developmental orientation to promoting social…

The report summarizes evidence from five studies of student achievement in oversubscribed charter schools and two studies on charter school revenues and outlines a number of recommendations relevant to the federal role in charter schools. While many recommendations are reasonable, those related to charter school facilities and charter school…

Synthesizes lessons from school finance research that employs computational structural models to investigate different policy proposals. Suggests that full equilibrium analysis may lead to outcomes that differ from those predicted by partial equilibrium models. (Contains 50 references and 47 notes.) (JOW)

This paper notes that financing policy is potentially the most powerful policy tool states can use to influence how institutions, students, and employers behave in ways consistent with broader public purposes. It is often not wielded effectively. After identifying elements of financing policy and major issues that relate to these elements, the…

Examines the resource decision processes of English education, with emphasis on decisional freedom and constraints, government influence, budgeting processes, fiscal accounting, and allocative mechanisms. (DB)

Reviews issues involved in shaping institutional financial aid policy, including tuition discounting, student aid packaging policy, and merit scholarships. States policymakers cannot ignore the trend towards reducing public subsidies. Suggests colleges and policymakers: (1) develop new ways to make college more affordable; (2) give families…

Until the 1950s, Canadian economists demonstrated little concern about the relationship between education and society's economic performance. In the 1960s, the neoclassical school became preoccupied with education's investment potential and, with the Keynsians, formed a consensus on greatly increased expenditures. In the 1970s, this judgment was…

This study examines the structures of state funding and describes the ways 11 states govern, administer, and pay for student aid, including eligibility criteria and accountability strategies. Eleven states that are currently making some of the biggest investments in state funding for student aid are featured in this report: California, Florida,…

Using an economic framework, studies on educational costs and related policymaking issues in the area of formal public education in developing countries are reviewed. Key issues include the nature of educational costs, determinants of educational costs, how cost analysis can improve educational policymaking, and informational needs for cost…

Enrollment management has become an increasingly important function for colleges. Article focuses on the roles federal student aid legislation, changing student demographics, and research on college impact have played in shaping the concept of enrollment management. Colleges and public policymakers should not forget the original goal of student…

Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda are among the countries in Sub-Saharan Africa which have recently implemented policies for free primary education, motivated in part by renewed democratic accountability following the re-emergence of multi-party politics in the 1990s. However, it is not the first time that the goal of expanding primary education has been…