This paper presents findings of a case study that identified the new forms of accountability and control being constructed locally in the education service of England and Wales since the major legislative changes made in 1988. The changes include local school management, grant-maintained schooling, and competitive contract tendering. The 1988,…

This report explains how welfare reform in New Jersey has served as an occasion for attempts to restructure the relations between public agencies and private service providers, and that these attempts raise important questions about who will and ought to play a part in the state's welfare programs. The historical context for privatization has…

A study examined the issue of contracting out traditional government services and its effect on government employees. It found that local governments contract out for two principal reasons: to cut the cost of providing services and to employ specialized skills and resources unavailable within the government. Findings from a review of the…

This brief examines how No Child Left Behind (NCLB) dollars flow from the federal government through states and districts and into the coffers of companies, mostly for-profit companies. The brief makes the case that the law enriches many private companies and individuals, especially those close to President George W. Bush and his family. The brief…

There is an increasingly popular view of government to shift costs of education formerly borne at the national level to the states, and the states, in turn to shift costs and risks to individuals that has created a "perfect storm" of economic and political trends. The idea of privatizing a portion of Social Security and the continuing press for…

This report discusses problems reported by lenders participating in the Federal Direct Loan Program (FDLP) and the Federal Family Education Loan Program (FFELP). The study examined the nature and the source of the problems experienced by the lenders, how they affected lenders, and what steps the Department of Education and Electronic Data Systems…

This study examined the role of subcontractors and consultants in California's Employment Training Panel (ETP) program. Methods included interviews, focus groups, a phone survey, and a survey of projects without subcontractors. Results indicated that the market in which administrative and training consultants sell their services to employers is…

This report offers numerous cross-sectoral explorations in the context of health and human resources analyses in Africa. Intended as a resource document for funding agencies, program managers, and policy makers in Africa, the study aims to spark interest in using basic education to foster behavior conducive to broad-based, sustainable economic…

Political and economic developments are reshaping traditional social work practice. Government funding cuts, privatization, and cost containment in human services have altered service organization and availability. Programs have closed or downsized and critical services have been reduced. These changes have altered the environment for social work…

The University of Maryland at College Park has taken an unusual step in turning over management of some student residences (two graduate student apartment complexes) to a private property management firm. The realty group found ways to convert necessary expenditures for property improvement into substantial revenue for the university. Suggestions…

Discusses the growing phenomenon of private college counseling services (independent educational consultants, or IECs), using survey results (n=157 IECs) to document their characteristics and those of their users, and considers the implications of the privatization of college counseling for admissions, students' college choice behaviors, and…

Discusses the future of librarians from public and academic library perspectives and describes the potential impact of home computer services on information seeking in public libraries. Notes the importance of the effects of copyright and privatization issues on future Internet use. Examines the future of electronic books and the need for and role…

Argues that education is a public good and cannot fit into the privatization model. It provides a critique of the first large-scale contract signed in the country by the Baltimore Public School District and a private company, Educational Alternatives, Inc., revealing political difficulties surrounding school control and dissatisfied teachers who…

Criticizes a World Bank policy paper that views private-industry provision of vocational education as an ideal toward which all countries should move, while ignoring the need for relativism in policy formation. Discusses flexibility in delivery of training, importance of general education, relevance of prevocational education, and equity issues.…

This fictional review of a book on vocational education, 1980-2033, suggests that (1) vocational educators failed to track signs of change; (2) deregulation transferred educational responsibility from the public sector to corporations with an underlying need to affect learning and work productivity. The "author's" response questions…