Historically, in sharp contrast with the United States, the Australian state systems of public education have always been extremely centralized and hierarchical in structure. While these highly centralized systems served the sparsely populated Australian states well during the early years of this century in providing universal free education and…

The growth of federal influence on American higher education and the roles of state and local governments are discussed. The shift of power to a central government and precedents that over the years have established federal involvement in educational issues that are not directly enumerated in the Constitution are addressed. A decision that…

Decentralized school systems make the principal's role more complex in the U.S. than in Australia's highly centralized system. Principals are pivotal to school success in both countries. A principal sets a school's climate, affecting decision-making, communications, educational innovations, and teacher morale, while performing formal tasks…

The contents of H.R. 15643 and the transcript of hearings held on it are presented. The bill proposes consolidation of Federal City College, the Washington Technical Institute, and the District of Columbia Teachers College into a single land-grant university. Witnesses include faculty members, administrators, and trustees of the three original…

An analysis presents the many factors which enter into the process of reorganizing two central school districts into a larger, more effective district. The analysis follows the two districts through the reorganization procedure and into resulting administrative and financial problems. The involvement and influence of the State Education Department…

A survey of library service in Vermont, financed with Library Services and Construction Act funds, was conducted in two parts: (1) an examination of the procedures used by the Free Public Library Service in its role as the focus of interlibrary cooperation in Vermont and an evaluation of library resources in the state and (2) an evaluation of…

The author sought to evaluate the feasibility of developing a centralized instructional television (ITV) production facility for institutions of higher learning in the state of Utah. He considered economic factors, availability of qualified personnel, space and physical plant, potential to provide the required service, and the degree of acceptance…

Case study of a poor, rural Pennsylvania school district's experience with the Reading First initiative illustrates how the No Child Left Behind Act confines districts to a few federally prescribed, "scientifically proven" curricula that ignore local conditions. Sanctioned schools are negatively labeled but receive inadequate funding,…

In this essay, the author explores the nationalization and secularization of the Iraqi educational system during the period between the two world wars, while demonstrating how various intellectuals championed pluralist educational models. Iraqi social and intellectual history has focused on education as an important prism reflecting approaches to…

National survey data are used to address questions about the centralization and decentralization of decision making about computer use in American schools. Settings in which centralization and decentralization in decisions about computers are greatest are considered. The consequences of alternative decision-making structures are also considered,…

This paper presents the remarks of the President of Indiana University (IU) concerning the state of the university in 1995. It discusses excellence in education and research at IU, noting the contributions of various nationally-recognized faculty, graduates, and current students. The speech also reviews the rapid growth of IU in recent decades,…

The Educational Priorities Panel undertook a study to find out how funds are distributed among community school districts in New York (New York) and how resources are distributed to individual schools within the system. District decision making was also studied. In Part I, interviews were conducted in 10 representative school districts to learn…

This is the report of a study that examined the relationship between the New York City school system and the external (social and political) environment of which the school system is a part. The study had two purposes: first, to determine the impact that external constituents of the school system have on internal policymaking and implementation;…

Issues related to the authority structures governing local public school districts are presented in this volume, which includes a paper and three discussant comments. The thesis of the main paper is that school organization affects the outcomes of public schools. The relationship between features of the formal authority structure to central reform…

An analysis of Australia's two conflicting trends in school governance and their effectiveness in meeting two major educational challenges is the purpose of this paper. Nationalization, which refers to greater centralization and increased national regulation; and privatization, which refers to decentralization, deregulation, and increased local…