The combined effects of standards-based reforms and accountability demands arising from recent technological and economic changes, say Tom Corcoran and Megan Silander, are requiring high schools to accomplish something they have never been required to do--ensure that substantially all students achieve at a relatively high level. Meeting that…

In many countries, education policies are shifting towards inclusive education. Human rights have always been an important argument for this development, but the effects on students should be an important factor when designing policies. In this review, therefore, literature on the effects of inclusion on both students with and without special…

In 23 states, members of the high school class of 2008 were required to pass a state high school exit examination (HSEE) to earn regular high school diplomas. Proponents of these policies claim that they improve student academic achievement, although critics argue that they reduce the quality of instruction without raising academic achievement.…

This cross-state empirical study focuses on the National Science Foundation's (NSF) Experimental Program to Stimulate Competitive Research (EPSCoR) and examines its impact on the academic research and development (R&D) expenditures financed by state governments. Based on a panel of 50 states during 1979-2006, the empirical results indicate that…

This article contextualises "Education in Pakistan, a White Paper" (2007), an influential education policy paper in Pakistan. The focus is on the ways the White Paper constructs its own contexts as a complement to the policy solutions proffered. Here we recognise Seddon's point about the discursive work of policy in constructing context.…

European policy-makers hope that by 2010 tertiary education in European countries will be "connected" and become the much sought for European Higher Education Area. The reforms currently unfolding will modernize the daily practices of European higher education institutions. From transferability of degrees, employing a credit-based system…

Muslim schools in Britain have emerged as a highly salient issue that at times reinforces, and at other times cuts across, political and philosophical divides. It therefore comes as some surprise to learn that despite a general proliferation of literature on "Muslims" in Britain very little research has explicitly investigated how…

This paper explores the policy implications of experiences of African international students (AIS) studying at post-apartheid South Africa universities. It argues that given the spirit and tone of continental, regional, and domestic policies to which South Africa has committed that at the very least there is an implicit expectation of…

This article draws upon a research project funded by the ESRC (R000239387) that tracked the development of adult literacy, numeracy and English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL) from the 1970s to 2000 in England using life-history interviews and documentary policy analysis to compare policy, practitioner and learner perspectives. The article…

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…

This study seeks to compare the mission statements of higher education institutions in Wales as well as to compare these with regional level policy statements and demands from the market. The underlying idea is to reveal the extent to which mission statements actually differ and are (or are not) in line with such regional policies and market…

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…

The study was concerned with the range of public and private provision of secondary education and how it is configured in terms of key dimensions of participation, staffing, curriculum, management and costs. It sought to explore how private schools have been developing to meet rapidly growing demand for secondary education of different types in…

This article relates key findings from an ethnographic study into the implementation of the Rights-Based Approach in Tanzania. The Rights-Based Approach is a burgeoning approach in international development that emphasises the rights of citizens and the duties of the State to provide services to the poor. By using the theoretical frameworks of…

This article examines the changing nature of comprehensive schooling in Finland since the 1990s and focuses on analysing the impact of the changes on equity and equality of opportunity. Comparisons are made between the development of "school markets" in the south of the country and the situation in the north of the country where the case…