This article explores policy and curriculum diffusion in southern and eastern Africa through an examination of the National Qualifications Framework (NQF) and outcomes-based education. The article argues that the NQF was adopted for different reasons in different contexts, but that discourse coalitions and conferences have been critical in…

Holding public schools accountable for students' academic achievement is the centerpiece of educational reform policies in the United States (U.S.). Two dominant accountability frameworks are standards-driven and market-driven. A significant challenge associated with these 2 frameworks is how to include children with disabilities. We assert that…

In this article, the author revisits a case study presented in "Arts Education Policy Review" 105(1) in September/October 2003. The author discusses Arts Collaborator's Incorporated's (ACI) efforts to educate the community about art and about arts opportunities in River City. Themes visited in the discussion are community development through the…

In 2006 Vietnam had experienced more than two decades of reform. However, while the reforms have transformed the entire Vietnamese economy and opened the country to globalization, the education system is still very much under the Vietnamese Communist Party's control. The schoolbooks are published under close supervision of the authorities. The…

In this article, the author explores the features of the higher education (HE) industry (nationally and globally) in terms of an industrial economic analysis. Specifically, the author explores the following questions: (1) Can HE as an industry and HEIs as service-providers control costs in the absence of a free and genuinely/ruthlessly competitive…

On October 6, 1957, most Americans had concluded that Sputnik, a manmade satellite that the Russians had sent into orbit, was not a hoax nor an electronic Potemkin Village, a product of what is called today as "special effects." Initially, the idea that Russian technology could surpass the American's was unthinkable. And the brains'…

Governing boards and administrations wrestle with complex endowment policy decisions that will determine current institutional quality and future institutional viability. This chapter presents data from the 2006 NACUBO Endowment Study (published in 2007), divided into the following issues of endowment management: historical returns; endowment…

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to demonstrate the need for accessible learning within the online environment by investigating disabled students' levels of engagement with a virtual learning environment (VLE) and the extent to which lecturers' use of the VLE made learning accessible. Design/methodology/approach: A small focus group of…

This article is concerned with how and to what extent cultural diversity and difference are promoted in early childhood education and the curriculum. With reference to the "Curriculum Guidance for the Foundation Stage in England" (2000), I argue that dominant discourses of cultural homogeneity continue to powerfully inform the…

User-led disability organizations have emerged as an important force in the non-profit sector. While much is known about the traditional disability organizations that began to proliferate in the 1950s (e.g. National Institute for the Blind), relatively less is known about the user-led organizations that emerged in the 1970s. Using a collective…

The sharp decline in voter participation among Canadian youth requires an examination of how our students are being prepared for democratic citizenship. Public schools, including programs falling under the purview of career education, provide the means to prepare learners for vocational, community, and political participation. In Canada, career…

In 2001 the Church of England published "The Way Ahead," a confident report on its role in education, boldly asserting that its schools are "at the centre of the Church's mission to the nation" and recommending the establishment of another 100 church secondary schools. In an empirical investigation into the distinctiveness of…

This article provides an updated analysis of the institutional and organizational landscape surrounding the advocacy of and opposition to vouchers and other forms of school choice over the past decade at federal/national, state, and local levels. The politics of choice grew far more complex during the 1990s, with Republican control of Congress and…

The field of adult literacy in England has a long history, but has particularly developed during the last three decades. Along with the rest of post-school education and training, it has been substantially reshaped by national policy initiatives since the 1970s. During this period it has struggled to assert itself as a legitimate area of policy…

This paper discusses the sociological issues raised by a recent study on school councils in England. This study revealed a lack of clarity among policy-makers and schools regarding the purpose of provision for pupil voice. The paper argues that this allows important questions about the functions of pupil voice to be avoided. While suggesting ways…