This study explores the perceptions of government officials, teachers, and parents in Scotland regarding the use of Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) results to evaluate national education performance. International large-scale assessments (ILSAs) such as PISA have been increasingly influencing education policymaking worldwide,…

While the European Parliament is increasingly involved in EU governance, its role in policy developments in domains of strategic importance for the EU has not been the focus of many studies. In this article, we analyse a new digital dataset containing more than 10,000 speeches delivered in the European Parliament plenary between 1999 and 2014 and…

This case study analyses the events and debates between 2012 and 2016 leading up to the adoption of a Legal Framework for early childhood development in Brazil, focussing on advocacy efforts of the National Network of Early Childhood (RNPI), while recognising the active roles played by the Brazilian government's legislative and executive powers,…

This study examines the Korean Government's policy scheme of setting up the World-Class University (WCU) Project by investigating the perceptions of major actors, including WCU scholars and government officials. In-depth interviews were held with 18 WCU scholars and three government officials. Our findings suggest that the limits of the…

"One who rides a tiger is afraid to dismount," says a colorful proverb from an earlier time. This may be an apt saying for the situation facing the new head of the Federal Reserve, Janet L. Yellen, who takes over at a time when successive rounds of Fed policy have taken the central bank into uncharted territory. By historical standards,…

Researchers are guided by their ideological and ethical viewpoints when conducting research. Doing research for government challenges them to confront these ideals head-on. This article explores the uncertain terrain researchers sometimes have to negotiate when conducting research for government, and discusses relations between researchers and…

Soon after it came to power in 2008, the Australian Government adopted six key targets relating to life expectancy, infant mortality, education and employment in its policy "Closing the Gap on Indigenous disadvantage". As it became apparent in 2011 that these targets were not being met, the Prime Minister, Julia Gillard, in her annual…

Democracy has been weakened in the United Kingdom with citizens increasingly frustrated at not being able to shape government decisions in any meaningful way. State actions at the local and national level are at risk of becoming even more influenced by vested private interests. This poses a major challenge to the democratic health of the country.…

Considerable controversy surrounds discussion of a mayor's role in public education. From a policy perspective, however, it is essential that every mayor help improve schools. This issue of the quarterly newsletter of the Center for Mental Health in Schools includes the following features and regular segments: (1) Open letter to the Mayor--A…

Clarifies the nature of rhetorical fictions by contrasting them with poetic and dialectical fictions and demonstrates the ways in which the office and role of the Presidency are rhetorical. Proposes an expanded notion of rhetorical fictions that encompasses the Presidency. (JMF)

In 1970, President Nixon created the White House Office of Telecommunications Policy (OTP) and appointed Clay T. Whitehead as its first director. This young office has attained influential power in the broad field of telecommunications and, some say, has jeopardized the independence of the public's communications custodian, the Federal…

This document is a compilation of selected laws of the state of Mississippi that pertain to or impact libraries. Excerpts from the Mississippi state constitution, from the Mississippi Code of 1972, and from relevant amendments are all included. Coverage of the statutes extends to issues such as: (1) legal holidays; (2) liability; (3) zoning; (4)…

Communication between Congressmen and their constituents could be improved by the use of advanced telecommunications. Interviews with representatives and senior staff from a sample of 40 House offices show concern that the current communication systems are either too narrow--letters, telephone calls, physical conferences--or too broad--television,…

Child care policymakers in Ontario and Michigan were compared in a study of provincial and state political processes and structures that affect child welfare. The two regions were selected due to similarities in their demographic characteristics, economic structures, and Anglo-American cultural commitments. The rationale for the study was that an…

This outline contains a description of how the federal role in education has changed in the past year and the implications of this change for future federal activities designed to achieve educational equity. Policies and program functions that are allowed under the new federal role and which may influence the Department of Education's support for…