As the nation struggles to get back on its feet economically, the colleges and universities are working harder than ever to fulfill their mission: to educate the next generation of workers and citizens. In the West that task is arguably more challenging than elsewhere. The region is highly diverse in terms of both demographics and geography, with…

This paper reports on a study at Molepolole College of Education (MCE) involving teachers and tutors in the Diploma in Primary Education (DPE) program by distance mode, an in-service program aimed at upgrading academic and professional qualifications of primary school teachers in Botswana. The study sought to understand the level of access and the…

The paper starts with a description of higher education in the United Kingdom and of reforms over the last 50 years. By reference to specified output measures, the performance of UK universities is judged to be good. The factors affecting this performance are postulated by comparing policies and approaches in the United Kingdom with those…

Background: In this article we address some of the challenges posed by the development of national assessment systems and discuss the need for high quality information on trends in attainment; support for school improvement processes and ways in which learning should be enhanced through valid assessment. Purpose: Key elements are explored,…

This report explores the infrastructure problem at the district level. Then a prototype is offered to stimulate discussion of changes that are essential to the development of a comprehensive system of learning supports at every school. The report also briefly highlights infrastructure frameworks for schools and school complexes formulated and…

This paper aims to give an introduction to the central concepts and the literature of Policy Studies in education. The first part of the paper addresses the questions of what policy is. How is it made and why is it relevant? It looks in particular at the role of the state and the Policy cycle framework which is an analytical tool that helps to…

The average educational attainment of US students is weak by international comparison. For example, mean results of PISA test scores are below the OECD [Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development] average. This is despite substantial resources devoted to the schooling system. One partial explanation for this is that academic standards,…

This paper considers corruption in higher education in Ukraine as reflected in the national media, including such aspects as corruption in admissions to higher education institutions and corruption in administering the newly introduced standardized test. The major focus is on the opinions of the leading figures of the education reform on…

"An Enterprising Approach to Regional Growth: Implications for Policy and the Role of Vocational Education and Training" explores patterns of regional economic growth in Australia over the period 1984 to 2002 with the aim of identifying the drivers of variation in regional growth; the research also aimed to identify regional…

This document reports request for a total of $271,246,000 for the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) for Fiscal Year 2008. Funds are designed to assist the Institute in expanding its leadership role in creating an informed and educated citizenry, and transmitting the values of American democracy. In recent years the Institute has…

Section 504 is a civil rights statute mandating that persons with disabilities have equal access to all programs receiving federal financial assistance. Many initially interpreted Section 504 as a prohibition against employment discrimination in the schools because the overall act was concerned primarily with discrimination in employment settings.…

In response to public demands for better-quality high school graduates and to requirements of No Child Left Behind legislation, states have developed a variety of policies such as high-stakes exit exams and diploma options. Additionally, under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act Amendments of 1997, students with disabilities must be…

This study reports on the Hong Kong education quality assurance and school monitoring system. Three research questions were addressed: (1) Who controls the quality of school education in Hong Kong? (2) What strategies are used in the Hong Kong school education quality assurance process? (3) Agenda for Future Research on quality assurance and…

Although the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 dismisses the role of pedagogy in teacher education, teacher educators see the need for a deeper pedagogy that includes the teaching of thinking and socioemotional processes, which are missing in traditional teacher preparation programs. This article outlines criticisms of teacher education found in…

"Excellence" has been a prevalent term in New Labour rhetoric on education, most notably in the stated goal of "excellence for all" in education. Despite that, the meaning of the term has remained imprecise, and the implications of universal excellence unclear. In this paper, three distinct definitions of excellence are…