Future recreation professionals need the ability to analyze the effects of proposed management actions and stakeholder concerns to make good decisions, maintain public support, and comply with state and federal laws. Importantly, when federal funds, lands, permits or licenses are involved, federal law requires consideration of environmental and…

For nearly four decades, school finance has become progressively more central in school reform efforts aimed at improving student performance. At the same time, the focus of many school business officials and policymakers has turned to efficient uses of current resources in lieu of uniform increases in school funding. With regard to improving…

Purpose: The aim of this paper is to analyse critically the youth labour market (YLM) and the YLM policies in Portugal. The analysis covers essentially the period after 1986, when Portugal entered the European Union. Design/methodology/approach: The paper consists of three main sections. In the first the main players dealt with (government,…

This paper examines the strengths and limitations of the Ontarians with Disabilities Act (ODA) accessibility plan prepared by one post-secondary education institution in Ontario, Canada, during the 2004/05 academic year. The paper focuses on ways the intersectionality between disability and gender is not voiced in the plan and its implications for…

This study examined whether instructional policies at the local level are becoming standardized as a result of state and federal accountability initiatives. A stratified random sample of 21 Virginia school districts was used, and the policies reviewed covered seven topics: class size, student grouping, homework, remedial instruction programs,…

In 2002 the New Labour government launched the Academies programme (known initially as City Academies) with the target of 400, of which 200 are to opened by 2010. The espoused aim has been to tackle underachievement and encourage diversity of provision. However, it continues to be a controversial policy that is being driven by the Specialist…

This paper provides a commentary on education for sustainable development (ESD) within higher education (HE) in England, set against the wider international and European background. The recent history of attempts to clarify ESD and its implications for higher education institutions is outlined, and some of the tensions between a developing agenda…

Early childhood education in China has gone through a century-long development process and has made great progress in the past two decades. Contemporary early childhood education is becoming diverse in its forms and educational approaches, and is aligning itself with the increasingly open and diversified society. It is clear that early childhood…

The 2007 reauthorization of the No Child Left Behind Act in the United States has provided additional incentive to sustain attention on this law. Based on a review of the literature, this article highlights some objectives of the act and identifies shortcomings associated with the type of assessments the act endorses. Because these assessments…

In Britain, and Wales particularly, inclusion and equal opportunities for all became key principles guiding the work of the many partnerships that were established at the beginning of this century. A primary objective of this paper is to develop a greater understanding of the politics and processes within "partnership" as a widely used…

In 2003 the Ethiopian education system experienced wide-ranging reform that touches every aspect of the system. This reform is called TESO (Teacher Education System Overhaul). Designed to address educational problems in Ethiopia, TESO introduced significant structural changes and promised to bring a "paradigm shift" in the Ethiopian…

Compulsory education in China's rural areas has come a long way since China adopted the policy of reform and opening up to the outside world toward the end of 1978. By 2004, compulsory education had become available and illiteracy had been eliminated among 93.6 percent of the nation's total population; the enrollment rate of school-age children…

Since 2001, the Chinese central government has begun to take on more financial responsibility for basic education beginning with a modest RMB100 million to provide free textbooks to poor students in western rural areas. This practice has been gradually expanded with the central government providing free textbooks to a widening pool of poor rural…

The present paper starts by discussing the principles of public funding of universities. The size of the social returns to investment in education gives an indication regarding the most efficient use of resources, while the difference between the private and the social rates relates to issues of equity. The available evidence is contrasted to…

The era of New Labour government has witnessed unprecedented growth in inclusive education policies. There is, however, limited evidence that policies have increased disabled children's inclusion. This article explores reasons for this contradiction. Drawing on sociological insights, it is argued that New Labour policies on inclusive education…