David Hume's monetary theory has been controversial since its formulation. Lately, the focus has been on Hume's alleged misapplication of the quantity theory of money. While he appears to subscribe to a simple quantity theory with money neutrality, in a famously contested passage in the essay Of Money, he violates the neutrality condition by…

The concept of field forms the centre of Pierre Bourdieu's relational sociology and the notion of "autonomy" is its keystone. This article explores the usefulness of these underexamined concepts for studying policy in higher education. It begins by showing how Bourdieu's "field" approach enables higher education to be examined…

St. Louis University is one of a growing number of higher education institutions that are retooling their Doctor of Education, or Ed.D., programs to concentrate more on the practical skills required of district leaders. Such programs have emulated the structure of Ph.D. programs, despite the fact that they generally serve a different purpose. At…

A shifting political landscape could significantly affect the upcoming congressional review of the No Child Left Behind Act, even as states and school districts continue to grapple with the requirements of the nearly 4-year-old federal law. The law is slated for reauthorization in 2007, and that process is starting now, at least informally, as…

The 1944 G.I. Bill is often thought to have democratized higher education in the United States. This paper reviews evidence showing that the G.I. Bill's impact on education enrollments was more limited than is generally recognized. It attributes the gap between the law's perceived and documented effects to the symbolism surrounding postwar…

A number of writers have drawn attention to the increasing importance of language in social life in "new times" and Fairclough has referred to "discourse driven" social change. These conditions have led to an increase in the use of various forms of discourse analysis in policy analysis. This paper explores the possibilities of using Critical…

As with all media, the Internet structures and frames information, rewarding some information search and decision behaviors while punishing others and, thereby, strongly influences evaluation research results and possibilities. Now that the Internet is for many evaluators the information medium of choice, the impacts of the medium on evaluation…

Improving the validity and reliability of surveys is a critical part of the response to the call for improved rigor of education research, policy analysis and evaluation. Too often we create inquiry tools without validating our measures against how respondents interpret our questions, and therefore collect data of questionable quality. The purpose…

The Education for All initiative is one of the best known and most widely referenced policies in the development field. This paper investigates the extent to which the most recent EFA conference in Dakar (2000) addresses the complex issue of women and higher education. Two questions guide this inquiry. First, what are the basic concepts and…

Colleges and universities across New England are teaming up with business to prepare students for real-world jobs as both foot soldiers and critically-thinking generals by entering into agreements with business to commercialize faculty research, and contracting out their strategic expertise. Businesses are providing scholarships and internships,…

Distance education has become an important policy option for educational planners in developing countries. In the context of Nigeria, increasing population, growing national demand for education, dwindling financial resources, increasing fiscal constraints, and therefore narrowing of access to education led to the emergence of Open University in…

In recent years, there has been a growing interest in college access and with it, a growing concern about the debt incurred by students. Analysts on all sides suggest a variety of causes and solutions to this very complex problem. This paper presents a collection of informational items that can be seen as both disparate and connected. We can see…

Now as Congress and the Bush administration consider the five-year reauthorization of the law, they have the opportunity to address some of NCLB's important problems of commission and omission. The goal of closing the huge achievement gap is laudable and must be addressed effectively. The NCLB seeks to develop and implement a new federal and state…

Since 1988 the education system in England has been subjected to wave upon wave of radical change and reform. Despite significant investments and some successes, this programme contains so many serious weaknesses that it is doing more harm than good and it should be fundamentally redesigned. However, before any new programme of reform is…

This paper reports on research into how effective non-statutory guidance has been in managing the primary science curriculum in England. A small-scale qualitative study was used to elicit the views of teachers, local education authority advisors, an Ofsted inspector and a policy-maker. The findings indicate that the guidance is influencing the…