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…

The current state of student assessment in higher education in the United Kingdom is examined, particularly in light of the introduction of government-sponsored, standardized national vocational qualifications, marking a new stage of government intervention. A review of current practice finds confusion about what to assess, how to assess it, and…

Explains and advocates a reform package (SuperHECS) for financing Australian undergraduate education, designed to give institutions more autonomy and more incentives for efficiency, generate more student choice, enhance teaching quality, and be fair to all eligible Australians. The program should cost the government no more than current…

A common set of economic pressures has led the various sectors of higher education to adopt entrepreneurial models of financing and service.

Higher education in Flanders has seen some major changes in the 1990s. One of the key elements of the new higher education regulations was the quality assessment system. This exemplified best the government's policy of granting all institutions of higher education autonomy, making them responsible for their policies, while still keeping the…

This article looks at policies of the British Government relating to teaching, the curriculum, and research and how they impact Theology and Religious Studies (TRS). It reflects on the use of Government funding to steer research outputs and to focus such activity on a small number of selected institutions. It further discusses Government attempts…

Accountability involves holding individuals and organizations responsible for agreed-upon promises to perform. This relationship between two or more parties includes formal structures that track results to determine if the parties who have entered into an agreement live up to that agreement. From the mid-1980s, states and districts in the U.S.…

Most policymakers, charter school operators, and others immersed in the charter school movement since it began in the early 1990s have focused their attention primarily on charter schools, not on the public bodies that license these schools to operate. As the charter school movement has grown, there has been increasing recognition that effective…

The leadership of the Arabian Gulf nation of Qatar, like that of many other countries, views education as the key to future economic, political, and social progress. Many have concluded that a country's ability to compete in the global economy and enable its citizens to take full advantage of technological advances relies on upgrading the quality…

Evander Childs High School and Morris High School are two of the largest and most challenged secondary schools in the Bronx. Despite decades of political handwringing, many attempts at school reform, an array of corporate and community partner programs, and efforts to recruit highly qualified faculties for the long term, many of the students in…

Charter schools may provide part of the answer to increased demand for restructuring and school accountability/autonomy. This handbook describes in detail the organization and operation of charter schools. Chapters define charter schools, describe their appeal and the approval process, present a model charter-school structure, discuss innovative…

This paper presents findings of a study that explored effective school-based budgeting practices within effective school-based management (SBM) contexts. The sample was comprised of 18 schools across 9 school districts (7 in the United States, 1 Canadian, and 1 Australian)--that had used SBM to improve school performance. During onsite visits,…

Before undergoing restructuring in 1991, the Kentucky Department of Education (KDE) was perceived as a model of bureaucratic inefficiency, an impediment to school reform. This paper presents findings of a study that investigated the typical operating procedures of the new KDE. Surveys were sent to a total of 293 randomly selected Kentucky public…

The successful implementation of site-based management (SBM) requires time and changes in the role expectations among all members of the school community. Because needs and achievement levels differ among schools, there is no one best way to implement SBM. Schools are better off developing their own self-starting, working models. This paper…

Today, the division of large schools into subschools or subunits is often recommended as the answer to a number of problems in education. This paper examines the several forms of school-downsizing efforts and the somewhat diverse purposes for which they are being established. The data come from a review of literature and an evaluation of 22…