Background/purpose: This research paper investigates the lessons Taiwan can learn from Indonesia's bilingual education policy, especially regarding abolishing the "Rintisan Sekolah Bertaraf Internasional" (RSBI) initiative. In line with this objective, the paper presents recommendations based on these lessons. Materials/methods: This…

The final decades of the twentieth century were rife with education reform. "A Nation at Risk" (1983) compared American schools to their counterparts in other countries, and found America wanting while E.D. Hirsch and others decried Americans' lack of knowledge of their own institutions and heritage (Hirsch 1987). These alarms caused…

After recent experimental evidence suggesting that private school students using the Louisiana Scholarship Program (LSP) performed worse than their public school peers in math, some legislators discussed cutting the program as a way to reduce state education expenditures in Louisiana, spinning it as a way to save taxpayer money. While cutting the…

This study examines which school factors schools report influence their (dis)continuation of lesson study, a professional development initiative, and how after a four-year, cross-school lesson study project ends. To examine this, the framework on three types of school factors (features of employment, malleable school processes and fixed school…

The Arizona Advanced Manufacturing Institute (AzAMI) is still a year away from the end of the U.S. Department of Labor grant that expanded the program, but already, AzAMI Executive Director Leah Palmer at Mesa Community College (MCC) in Mesa, Arizona, is fielding calls from companies that have hired her students through the institute. As state…

Three big-city districts--Chicago, Milwaukee, and New York--have terminated federal grants aimed at promoting performance-based compensation plans and professional development for teachers and principals. Overall, the 2010 Teacher Incentive Fund (TIF) grants to the three districts would have provided an $88 million payout over five years--nearly 7…

Many schools around the world are struggling in the face of reduced funding and fluctuating enrolments. Often, the solution to this unhappy equation is quite simply to shut down facilities. But when all the costs of closing a school are considered--financial, material and human--implementing this policy calls for caution. (Contains 3 footnotes.)

Emphasizes the need for music teachers to defend school music programs. Suggests developing advocacy objectives in the areas of communication, visibility, and classroom follow-through. Argues that children's cultural heritage and musical future are at risk if further cutbacks in music education programs are not avoided. (SG)

This article reports on a nationally-watched case by educators and families which is scheduled to be heard by the Florida Supreme Court. The court is to decide whether Opportunity Scholarships, available to students enrolled in Florida's persistently lowest-rated public schools, run afoul of a prohibition on using public money in religious…

Describes how a federal program let a California for-profit institution, the Masters Institute, expand its distance education offerings, but then led to its closure because of findings of financial aid fraud. (EV)

Escalating costs are causing universities to postpone faculty hiring, consolidating offices into one, and entire academic departments are being phased out. The extent of the financial problems facing major research institutions is indicated in an internal survey prepared by the Association of American Universities. (MLW)

In Alberta, reductions in educational funding and a "back to basics" mentality have resulted in reduced support for outdoor and environmental education. Elementary/secondary programs have responded by taking the programs directly to the schools to avoid transportation costs, and by cutting the more adventurous programs. Postsecondary…

A challenge now faced by dental school administrators is to maintain the feasibility of federally funded postdoctoral general dentistry residency programs when institutional, educational, and economic priorities stretch institutional limits. Some existing programs can offer ideas and insights through their diverse and nontraditional funding…

The processes used by the University of Washington to meet severe budget reductions mandated by the state are described. A planning philosophy of smaller size and higher quality was adopted, and program elimination occurred consensually, with faculty and student participation. (Author/MLW)

Summarizes the most important economic factors that have had an impact upon kindergartens in Kazakhstan in recent years. Provides city-specific data detailing the effects of the collapse of communism and the rise of market-oriented economic reform on kindergarten closures. Discusses policy responses to declining enrollments and school closures.…