Suggests that analyses of government policies that focused on sectoral analysis are no longer adequate. Compares flexible learning policy in higher education and vocational education, suggesting that sectoral boundaries have broken down. Describes implications for social and economic policy agendas. Contains 37 references. (SK)

Scientifically derived environmental indicators are central to environmental decision analysis. This article examines the interface between science (environmental indicators) and policy, and the dilemma of their integration. In the past, science has been shown to dominate many policy debates, usually with unfavorable results. The issue, therefore,…

The new South Africa has formally embraced the concept of 'lifelong learning' in its education and training policies. But what is the concept of 'lifelong learning' that has informed these policies and what progress has there been in implementing them? Have these new policies brought significant changes to education and training for adults?

This paper presents an analysis of the Nigerian National Policy for Information Technology. The analysis reveals that the policy is inadequate to impact positively on the Nigerian education system, and that the philosophical frame of reference is market driven. The policy places little emphasis on the integration and infusion of ICT in the…

Some see the George W. Bush administration's American Competitiveness Initiative (ACI) as the perfect complement to the No Child Left Behind Act's (NCLB) equity focus. The authors believe, however, that the prospects for synergy of these two agendas are not bright. In this essay, the authors discuss the history behind NCLB and the ACI, and argue…

Students and their families must cover, on average, 83% of the roughly $16,000 cost of attendance for a full-time, in-state undergraduate at a state university in Florida. On average, 75% of the cost of attendance in Florida's public universities is from expenses other than tuition and fees and books. The largest expense is room and board,…

Although mental health in schools is discussed at many levels, fundamental differences in varying perspectives, attitudes, and vested interests result in divergent agendas for policy, practice, research, and training. This may confuse stakeholders and provide a source of conflict between policy and practice. This brief highlights a starter list of…

We examine the effects of governments' use of alternative service provision on public employment using panel data from a nationally representative sample of local governments. We model the effects of alternative service provision on the size of the public workforce and hypothesize that alternative provision jointly impacts both full- and part-time…

Swedish compulsory schools are the most autonomous in Europe regarding time allocation and time management. Still, the Swedish state decided to take this even further, when introducing an experiment that permits some compulsory schools to abandon the regulations of the national time schedule. The aim of this study is to explore and analyse the…

This article explores the problematic tensions between schooling and environmental education in the United States, with a special focus on the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001. Today in the United States, this powerful federal legislation dominates the discourse and practice of schooling, and works against the aims of environmental education in…

This article will illuminate how public narratives about teachers within the Norwegian national curriculum documents regulating teacher education (1999 and 2003) and elementary school (1997) construct teacher identities. The aim is not to define what identity Norwegian teachers as a group or individuals possess, but to describe how teacher…

This article reviews federal policy affecting families who have children or adult members with disabilities, particularly but not exclusively developmental disabilities. It reviews the federal statutes and family-and-disability related decisions of the U.S. Supreme Court and the other courts. It then reviews the research on current family support…

Hong Kong has undergone a series of educational reforms since the mid 1990s in response to the tidal wave of globalisation. This article tries to examine the recent education reforms in Hong Kong's higher education within the global context, by putting into perspective a discussion of its policy implications of marketisation, privatisation and…

This chapter introduces the concepts of the human capital economy and the changing demography of the United States; it explores federal, state, and institutional policy choices relative to them. It points out consistent failures to address the imperatives of these concepts.

No study has comprehensively examined what types of students are attending new small schools in New York City and whether these students have different characteristics, on average, than students at the schools they replaced. This study fills this gap by comparing the characteristics of entering new small high school students with those of all…