Two imperatives form the basis of the present paper. The first is the market-driven imperative, vital to production and value-chain development. The second is the knowledge imperative, central to the advancement of human capacity and institutional development. In view of these two imperatives, this paper argues for overhaul in extension toward a…

Neoliberalism is one of the most pervasive and contested concepts of our contemporary era. Thus, it is essential for students to gain an understanding of its history, meaning, assumptions, and policy prescriptions. In addition to recognizing the importance of neoliberalism in the current political discourse, I argue that the polarized responses to…

As state tax revenues plummet, some lawmakers and higher-education leaders are once again looking at loosening the bonds between state governments and public colleges to save money and give colleges the freedom to bolster their bottom lines in new ways. Over the past two decades, college officials have often lamented the growing need to secure…

Privatisation in higher education is not a new phenomenon for Western European countries. Authors like Geiger (1986), Levy (2008) and Altbach (1999) made challenging predictions in the 1970s and early 1980s that the private sector would inexorably diminish in size and significance. These predictions were triggered by globalisation and the…

Drawing on a study of new forms of educational privatization, this article examines how ideas from institutional theory can be useful in analyzing the complex dynamics behind interim assessment technologies. The study was based on qualitative research methods and included interviews, a small-scale questionnaire, participant observation, and…

In 2008, the Florida state legislature, by a nearly unanimous vote, rushed passage on a statute that allowed sex segregation in public school classrooms. According to the version of the bill that passed through the Florida House, sex-segregated public school classrooms would be an expansion of school choice and would be implemented only…

Public colleges and universities today are more than institutions of academic study. They play a role in the economic and social life of their communities by engaging in partnerships aimed at enhancing their scope and brand image. This paper suggests these partnered activities do more than just manage costs and replace state support during…

This paper focuses on the deregulation of university education in Nigeria, its problems and prospects. The paper commences with the recognition given to education all over the world, especially higher education. Nigeria as a country gives much credence to higher education as the means for social and economic mobility, social transformation, and as…

This article examines how notions of "child" and "childhood" are produced in relation to recent early childhood policies in Ontario, Canada. It centers on an ongoing shift from Foucauldian disciplinary societies to Deleuzian control societies where it is argued that early childhood subjects (researchers, students, educators,…

Recent state and national policy has both reflected and helped to further an image of localities as parochial, reactionary, ineffective, and appropriately marginalized in the enterprise of school reform. Growing state and national roles (on one hand) and growing market and private sector inroads (on another) have the potential to undermine…

The entrance of for-profit charter schools into the public educational system is one of the most recent manifestations of market-based reforms in public education. Previous studies raise concerns over the marketisation of education and suggest that market reforms clearly change teacher attitudes and behaviour. Taking a public administration…

Objective: To examine the results of prison privatization. Method: In an effort to provide an empirical base from which decisions about privatization might be made, we conducted a meta-analysis of reports on head-to-head comparisons between an identifiable privately managed and publicly managed prison(s). Results: Our search identified 12 studies.…

This paper explores some particular aspects of the privatisation of public sector education, mapping and analysing the participation of education businesses in a whole range of public sector education services both in the UK and overseas. It addresses some of the types of privatisation(s) which are taking place "of", "in" and…

Corruption in higher education is known but not described theoretically. Decentralization and privatization of higher education and the increasing scale and scope of corruption in higher education in the former Soviet Bloc, as well as numerous other countries, urges better understanding of the problem within the context of socio-economic…

There are currently three categories of independent colleges and universities: Those that are flush with resources, those that are stable but suffering from the effects of the recession, and those whose financial stress has been exacerbated to the breaking point. In this article, the author poses solutions that may represent useful options for…