The first part of this paper addresses two broad aspects of the current reforms in Croatian higher education. The reforms are largely driven by the desire to achieve harmony with the European Area of Higher Education. Special attention is paid to presentation of the first experiences with implementation of the Bologna process in Croatia, which…

This paper uses March Current Population Survey data from 1985 to 2004 to explore whether social policy reforms implemented throughout the 1990s have different impacts on employment and welfare use depending on economic conditions, a topic with important policy implications but which has received little attention from researchers. I find evidence…

The Bologna process is a comprehensive concept for European higher education reforms of the 20th and 21st centuries. However, it means something else in Central European countries than it does in the rest of Europe. It has been combined in Central Europe with a major social change referred to as the "political transformation" (Johnson…

The context for this paper relates to the policy and practice implications of efforts to achieve social justice for Scotland's 12,000 children and young people in the care of local government authorities. The paper is located within a growing evidence base of the educational experience of young people in care and leaving care. The data on…

This paper has developed from research that the author initiated. The data were derived from an outreach project that aimed to increase awareness of and participation in higher education amongst Muslim women within a major English city. The paper elevates some of the author's findings into a general discussion on the role of higher education (HE)…

This article evaluates changes in racial and ethnic composition of three Texas universities following the ban on affirmative action imposed by the 1996 "Hopwood" decision. The authors estimate the extent to which universities practiced affirmative action before the ban and evaluate how officers at these universities responded by changing…

Public concerns regarding illegal immigration are currently polarizing the United States. Regardless of one's position, the children of illegal (also referred to as undocumented) immigrants are in a particularly vulnerable situation. While undocumented children are allowed free public primary and secondary education, their path to skills…

Albeit science is clear in its support for early childhood, the developmental outcomes for young children, globally, are poor. It is hypothesized that evidence-based policies may be a potential mediator of the application of science to improve the lives and well-being of young children. However, the question arises--at what stage of policy…

Beginning in 2006, the "two exemptions and one subsidy" (TEOS) policy was integrated into the New Mechanism for Assured Funding for Rural Compulsory Education (hereafter the "New Mechanism"). The New Mechanism includes TEOS, raising the standard of public expenditure guarantees for rural compulsory education stage schools,…

Ghosts haunt the school curriculum. Charles Dickens' "A Christmas Carol" provides a starting point for thinking about these curriculum ghosts. In the Preface, he states that he has "endeavoured in this Ghostly little book, to raise the Ghost of an Idea". In this article, the author seeks to raise the ghost of an idea, and to…

"Choice" and "freedom" as measured by the ability of parents to select their children's schools are deeply embedded in the national ethos of the United States of America. Wealthy American parents have always exercised school choice but minority and low-income students are often trapped in failing schools. This paper is based on…

The present paper tackles the issue of the higher education funding system in Slovenia. Its main attribute is that institutions are classified into study groups according to their fields of education, and funds granted by the state are based on their weights or study group factors (SGF). Analysis conducted using data envelopment analysis tested…

This chapter describes the relationship between federal student privacy laws and state privacy laws, and identifies the changes in the federal law over the last ten years affecting disclosure to parents of college students. Recent litigation on health emergencies is outlined and the limited rights of college students not yet eighteen years of age…

High stakes accountability (HSA) reforms were enacted in state after state and federally through the No Child Left Behind law, based on the belief that incentives that have consequences attached are effective ways to motivate educators to improve student performance. Our focus for this article is on school district level responses to HSA reforms…

This paper is based upon two empirical studies, which identify care-giving responsibilities as a key mediator of mature students'--a target group within the widening participation strategy--experiences of higher education. Employing a feminist lens on care, we identify a disjuncture between how students experience the challenges of negotiating…