The annual meeting of the ENQA (European Association for Quality Assurance in Higher Education) IQA (internal quality assurance) Group gathered some 60 participants in the premises of the Accreditation Organisation of the Netherlands and Flanders (NVAO) in The Hague in June 2009. This seminar was a successful follow-up to the first ENQA IQA…

This article examines the relationship between knowledge and policy in French-speaking Belgium. It starts by describing Belgium as a consociational democracy, i.e. a society that is largely organised around integrated pillars of society (Catholic, secular), each of which provides a wide range of services (educational, training, health, health…

This article extends understanding of the connections between education, social capital, and development through a mixed-methods case study of the Sistema de Aprendizaje Tutorial, or SAT, an innovative secondary-level education system. The quantitative dimension of the research used survey measures of social responsibility to compare 93 SAT…

This paper views seeking the optimal balance between state strengths and the scope of state functions for "good governance" as the formation of a homogenization-heterogenization matrix of policy initiatives in different social settings. Homogenization refers to a global tendency for institutional changes and governance framework to…

As Internet technology encroached on the public school classroom about a decade ago, Kim Ross, superintendent of the Houston School District in Houston, Minnesota, saw an opportunity. At first, he and his administrative team simply wanted to offer students in the district of 1,300 access to more classes via the web than what a district that size…

The primary objective of this qualitative study is to explore the impact of autonomy on the relationship between schools and districts of the school level across governance, operations, curriculum and instruction and the decision making that accompanies the each of these factors. More specifically, this study focuses the impact of autonomy within…

With reports alleging a sharp decline in student achievement in the last several years, there has been a call for higher standards in the United States education system. In response, with bipartisan support, politicians overwhelmingly passed the No Child Left Behind (NCLB) Act of 2001. NCLB, the most recent reauthorization of the Elementary and…

This policy brief summarizes findings presented at a February 2009 research conference on teacher retirement systems hosted by the National Center on Performance Incentives (NCPI) at Vanderbilt University's Peabody College. The 2009 conference was the second in a series of NCPI events focusing on findings from recent research on issues related to…

The National Council on Disabilities (NCD) undertook this study in 2007 to focus the nation's attention on the health care disparities experienced by people with disabilities, and to provide information and recommendations that can help to eliminate health care inequities for people with disabilities. Among the key findings were that: (1) People…

This policy analysis was produced for the Wyoming Department of Administration and Information by MPR Associates, Inc. Its purpose was to examine federal and state policy related to career and technical education (CTE) to determine whether existing policy (in the form of statutes, rules, regulations, and guidance) could either promote or impede…

This issue brief details shortcomings of the current Title I comparability provision and provides recommendations for how to improve it. The paper includes a detailed examination of the inequities within school districts, the loopholes in the law that allow these inequities, the repercussions of unequal distribution of resources, and…

The expectations and demands with respect to teaching and research have been changing for universities due to changes in their institutional environments. Born out of changing national research policies and modern governance arrangements, efficiency, effectiveness and output-oriented cultures have become increasingly important. In this article we…

The introduction of the Data Protection Act 1998 has presented significant challenges to counselling recording, through its detailed requirements for the processing of personal data. The impact of these changes on recording in Higher Education counselling services in the UK is explored, using responses from an electronic survey of universities and…

In 1997 Congress crafted an ambitious set of higher-education tax incentives that the House of Representatives and Senate are now revisiting. Millions of students each year receive the Hope tax credit and the Lifetime Learning tax credit. They are now firmly planted in the college-finance landscape. But according to the author, higher-education…

During the past thirty years there has been a worldwide shift toward neoliberal views of the role of national governments that has resulted in further globalization, privatization, and marketization of many formerly government provided services and activities. The effects of this global shift have been particularly felt in the areas of education…