The opportunity for and expectation of parents' involvement in the education of their children is a staple of the American educational system. The absence of parent participation in their children's education has been decried by educators as a contributing factor to a range of problems in schools, from poor academic performance to disciplinary…

In remarks to members of the NAS affiliate in California, Martin Trow reflects on goals and missions. The push for intellectual diversity does not resonate as did the message of equal opportunity that once drove the California Civil Rights Initiative. Our campaign at the national level to create new havens of serious scholarship is promising, he…

Many commentators have argued that Canadian university continuing education has gradually abandoned its historical commitment to social justice in educational programming in favour of a market-oriented approach. Although such literature clearly expresses a deeply-felt sentiment among continuing educators, it has tended to have two problems. First,…

The accreditation systems of higher education institutions and/or programs are becoming a policy measure used to find a balance between their autonomy and public assurance concerning the quality of the qualifications they award. This article analyses, from the point of view of this balance of power, the process of development of the Portuguese…

The Macpherson Report argued that all major organizations in British society were characterized by institutional racism. This paper examines the response of two organizations, a police force and a university, to this charge. Although earlier studies suggested that Midshire Police and Midshire University exemplified good practice in race and…

Recent legislation from IDEA 1997 to the Elementary and Secondary Education Act--Revised of 2002 (No Child Left Behind) and the pending reauthorization of the IDEA--present challenges for administrators of special education programs and building-level administrators that oversee educational programs for all students on a daily basis. This article…

This case presents an educational leader attempting to institute cultural change in a university department that has long been marked by turbulence, turmoil, and trauma. The case examines the well-intentioned efforts of the newly appointed department chair, John Nitsky, in his quest to "reculture" the department. (Contains 2 notes.)

The author learned that the book "The Catcher in the Rye," so important to him as a young man, had been challenged by adults and could easily have been barred from his school's reading list. He started thinking about who had the power to tell him what he could and could not read as a teenager and as a high school student. What were the…

Emerging from the entanglement of tensions with the perception that if one is a minority, female, and short, it would appear that one is likely never to get to the top of the corporate ladder. In addition to what people already know about the stark realities of gender and racial discrimination in the workplace, some studies suggest that physical…

This article reviews trends in school-to-work transitions since the 1970s and argues that educational expansion (more young people extending their school and college careers) is a large part of the problem, rather than an actual or potential solution to young people's transition difficulties. The causes of educational expansion are identified as…

Almost 50 years ago, a New England Board of Higher Education (NEBHE) newsletter editorialized that "institutions of higher learning must not become devices to reverse our historic trend away from a class society. We should continue to open wider doors of opportunity for students of genuine ability without regard to (family) income." The…

This article arises out of a research project that sought to assess the development of regulation within the public sector. It examines the forms and impact of the regulatory systems that now operate within the public sector focusing on the further education sector. The research project developed out of an awareness that the increase in various…

Interviews conducted with individuals involved in the early development and current operation of the Western Governors University allowed identification of 12 themes concerning early, formative decisions and decision-making processes. These themes were subsequently grouped into 5 categories: (1) politics, (2) organizational models, (3) changing…

In 2000, South Africa implemented a levy-grant policy (Skills Development Levies Act, 1999) to give an incentive for workplace training across private and public sector workplaces alike, but the impact of the levy-grant scheme in the public sector was restricted by financial and management processes unique to that environment. This article shows…

After nearly two years in development, a new federally backed research service on "what works" in education began rolling its first products off the assembly line. Launched with $18.5 million in funding from the U.S. Department of Education, the newly operational What Works Clearinghouse is the department's electronic version of a "Consumer…