The need for performance-based management in Kenya has brought in itself changes in the approach of management of institutions. Strategic planning is very crucial in realization of this important management outlook. The purpose of this study was to establish availability and the level of implementation of strategic plans in schools in Nandi…

"New Directions for Higher Education" examines emerging issues, trends, and ideas that have an impact on higher education policies, programs, and practices. In this article, DiSalvio inteviews Jamie P. Merisotis, president and CEO of Lumina Foundation, about Lumina's commitment to enrolling and graduating more students from college, and…

This article considers the overall success of the quality movement in the context of questions about the political status and role of quality assurance agencies. These agencies have gained a significant degree of legitimacy and respect among major stakeholders but the political reality is that their long-term sustainability depends on whether…

Policy briefs written by academics--the kind typically published in "Education Finance and Policy"--should be a crucial source of information for policy makers. Yet too frequently these briefs fail to garner the consideration they deserve. Their authors are too focused on the potential objections of their fellow academics, who are…

Governments make policy decisions in the same areas in quite different institutions. Some assign policymaking responsibility to institutions designed to be insulated from myopic partisan and electoral pressures and others do not. In this study, we claim that differences in political context and institutional design constrain the policy choices…

Written for the general public, this article unpacks the "dialogue gap" in education and raises concerns about what can happen when groups dependent on one another are not talking. Part of the problem involves a matter of scale; policymakers rarely talk about children as individuals as opposed to as aggregates. The larger policy context…

This study aims to understand the perceived learning experiences and gains for Japanese government officials from US and Japanese graduate and professional schools, and how applicable their continuing professional education (CPE) is to professional performance. Interview participants were drawn from long-term overseas and domestic fellowship…

Mayor-elect Bowser assumed control at a delicate juncture in the turbulent history of DC schools. In the 2008-09 school year, public school enrollment--in both traditional and charter schools--increased for the first time since the 1960s. In 2013-14, the District had the largest student body in over 25 years, and over the past 15 years, public…

The strength and effectiveness of the American public school system has risen to the top of our national agenda in a way not seen since the Cold War. In short, the civic health of communities, the states, and the nation is inextricably entwined with the capacity and the potency of public schools. In this brief, the authors argue that mayors, as…

Formality has long been of interest in the study of discourse, with periodic discussions of the best measure of formality and the relationship between formality and text categories. In this research, we explored what features predict formality as humans perceive the construct. We categorized a corpus consisting of 1,158 discourse samples published…

In 1999, the Province of San Luis (Argentina) approved the creation of the so-called 'Escuelas Experimentales Autogestionadas' (SelfManaged Experimental Schools) inspired by the US charter schools, but with important differences. This article explores the circumstances under which the project was dismantled and abandoned prematurely. The study…

Policy makers and researchers are intrigued with but also frequently frustrated by each other. Although these differences are understandable and predictable, it is clear that research on a variety of educational issues has been both influential and valuable in the development of policy and practice. There is much to suggest that researchers and…

In the fourth and final year of the first term of the Obama administration, enough time has elapsed to provide an opportunity for at least an interim assessment. Senator Lamar Alexander has commented that he has "a lot of admiration" for Obama's education secretary, Arne Duncan, and "respect" for the president's "positions…

According to Halliday, it is language that enables human beings to form the impression of experience, which consists of "goings-on"--happening, doing, sensing, meaning and being and becoming, either internally and externally. This is the experiential metafunction. With the focus on Transitivity, a political discourse has been studied…

The educational theories and policies promoted by Ernest L. Boyer (1928-1995), who served as chancellor of the SUNY system, U.S. Commissioner (Secretary) of Education, and president of the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching, were significantly influenced by his affiliations with the Brethren in Christ Church and the Society of…