Governments restrict choice about what students learn within the public school system in the name of improved performance and accountability, but have simultaneously introduced choice among schools by enabling "exit" from the public system. Defenders of public education need to consider how public schools can provide citizens with…

The gradual shift to state control of schools has spawned unintentional results, including a negative impact on teacher autonomy and professionalism. Although states' major role should be establishing a core curriculum, local flexibility is essential for adapting school policies to varied needs and utilizing staff abilities. Local school boards…

Examined is the fairly broad consensus that the break with the traditional centralism of Australian public schooling is a progressive move. The social and ideological meaning of this change in the direction of administrative policy against the background of contemporary Australian society is discussed. (13 references) (SI)

"People's education" in China is rooted in the mass education movement lasting from the 1920s to the 1940s. This article summarizes the Chinese educational system from 1949 to present-day reform efforts. Traditional spoon-feeding and rote learning must yield to a system encouraging sef-understanding and independent, innovative, and…

The Greek education system reflects the principles and key characteristics of corporatist state education, including a uniform curriculum, teachers' civil-servant status, and strict central control over all education matters. Attempts during the past decade to devolve educational control to regional and local levels have only succeeded in…

Ireland's computerized, national system of university admission, which assigns all students to institutions simultaneously, and Britain's system using a single set of admissions forms and centrally coordinated admissions, suggest that centralization can be an efficient and cost-effective method of linking students with colleges in the United…

A Deming expert explains that his 14 principles are no recipe but must be combined with the theory of profound knowledge, which poses essential questions and recognizes the importance of human variation, intrinsic motivation, and external rewards. She also debunks grading, formal teacher evaluation, tracking, and decentralized management. (MLH)

This article reviews the structural differences in vocational training between East and West Germany; describes a large-scale program establishing suprafirm training centers; notes the shift away from centralism; and considers personnel needs, legal aspects, industry responsibility, attitudinal differences, and European perspectives. (DB)

Explores the nature and possible consequences of benign and detrimental aspects of defamiliarization occurring in Northern Ireland's schools. Recent legislation, although apparently sharing power, centralizes power by providing for curricular form and content, promoting a certain management ethic, and relocating some key control mechanisms in the…

Five college and university fund-raising professionals discuss ways in which uncoordinated solicitations of gifts from the same prospective donor(s) by different schools or departments can be avoided by planning, coordination, and communication. Advantages and disadvantages of centralized and decentralized administrative approaches are considered.…

The Single European Market will have serious effects on employment, production, and consumption in the United Kingdom. Of particular concern to voluntary and community organizations are the skills, gender, and racial gaps in the labor force. Organizations must develop the capacity to think and work within a European framework. (SK)

Explores historical and current trends in public education policy to "improve" rural schools by making them more "urban-like" and more responsive to the needs of an economic world market. Describes a rural school district in Texas and predicts negative effects of present state reforms. Presents organizational alternatives for…

Argues that the Association of Governing Boards of Universities and Colleges' statement on governance calls for more centralized authority, rejecting both the principles and the practice of shared governance and diminishing the role of faculty. Suggests that the association revise its statement to include a better understanding of how academe…

Historical data are presented to show that teachers and schools are affected by the financial incentives of the systems in which they operate. Economic pressures have forced schools in competitive markets to meet the needs of families, while centralized bureaucratic systems have been coercive and pedagogically stagnant. (Author/SLD)

The "first wave" of educational reform has applied "top-down" mandates to raise standards and ensure accountability. These reform strategies often fail because they ignore the necessity of changing people's behavior and the everyday realities confronting schools. According to 16 superintendents participating in the National…