Characterizes resource-allocation patterns across states and across districts within states using data on financial allocations to estimate the relationship between differences in state aid allocation policies and practices, district financial and demographic influences, and district-level allocation of financial and human resources. (Contains 46…

A report by the National Committee for Responsive Philanthropy finds higher education institutions have received $88.9 million from 12 conservative foundations in 1992-94, with $51.3 million going to just 16 universities seen as committed to influencing public policy. Limited evidence suggests liberal foundations are not taking a similar approach.…

Discusses diversity in the workplace and offers guidelines for practitioners in designing, developing, and implementing diversity training. Highlights include linking the diversity initiative to the organization's mission, cultural climate assessments, reviewing policies and procedures, needs assessment, learner analysis, establishing objectives,…

Concerned with Stephen Ball's theoretical and empirical contribution to contemporary "education policy sociology," this article examines the efficacy of his theoretical eclecticism, highlighting incompatibilities in his interpretation and application of certain social and political theorists. Ball's representation of the policy cycle, as…

Suggests that neoclassical economics has dominated educational planning and policy analysis for 20 years, despite ongoing economics debates generating different positions on planning issues. Considers the views of radical and institutionalist economists and implications for educational planning. Questions both the validity of the efficiency…

Methods of evaluating college and university student financial aid policies are examined in two case studies of institutions using different aid strategies: one that rewarded a few high-achieving students and one that emphasized student self-help. It is concluded that such research can be helpful to institutions in determining appropriate…

Describes efforts by the LBJ School of Public Affairs to draw on the strengths of the University of Texas at Austin while cultivating external relationships crucial to its research and service programs. Discusses its research partnerships, policy research projects, research centers and programs, professional development partnerships, public…

Explores World Bank's view of early childhood as an example of the globalization of childhood, arguing that the Bank's policies exacerbate the gap between rich and poor nations and between rich and poor within countries, and affect children's lives adversely. Explores inherent contradictions of policies that draw on traditional Anglo-American…

Analysis of the policy process (expressed in seven propositions) involved in the implementation of a flexible unified system of post-16 school and college education, a reform effort that led to a political crisis in Scottish education in autumn 2000. Concludes that the process of introducing a flexible unified system is inherently conflict-prone.…

Examines views of the role of knowledge in educational policies of countries of the Mercosul (the common market of South America's southern cone) and the influence of two international aid organizations with conflicting views (productivity-oriented goals versus cultural diversity and equity concerns). Discusses Brazilian national curricular…

Administrative data from North Carolina are used to explore the extent to which that state's relatively sophisticated school-based accountability system has exacerbated the challenges that schools serving low-performing students face in retaining and attracting high-quality teachers. Most clear are the adverse effects on retention rates, and hence…

Since the early 1980s, the vast majority of states have implemented enterprise zones. This paper analyzes urban zones in six states, examining the factors that states use to choose zone locations and the subsequent effect of the zones on business activity and employment. The source of outcome data is the U.S. Bureau of Census' longitudinal…

One of the primary objectives of Colombian social health insurance reform was to increase competition among for-profit insurers. Unfortunately, the flat capitated formula creates an opportunity for sickness funds to maximize reimbursement gains by "cream skimming"--selecting against unhealthy individuals. This paper explores sickness…

In this paper, we explore whether the specific design of a state's program has contributed to its success in meeting two objectives of the Children's Health Insurance Program (SCHIP): increasing the health insurance coverage of children in lower-income families and doing so with a minimum reduction in their private health insurance coverage…

Education policies from international organisations such as the World Bank and OECD are restructuring education to promote a utilitarian vision of education. By examining the experiences and opinions of teachers from countries representing north-south global regions, it is possible to identify the social and political implications of education…