Welfare Reform on the Web (June 2002): Education - Overseas
DECISION-MAKING IN AUSTRALIAN HIGH SCHOOLS
B. Mulford, and others
International Studies in Educational Administration, vol.29, 2001, p.51-75
This article examines the decision-making process in high schools in one Australian State. The more positively teachers viewed the decision making process in the school, the higher the degree of influence they perceived to be exerted by education staff in the school.
DIFFENTIATING INTEGRATION: SPECIAL EDUCATION IN THE RUSSIAN FEDERATION
K. Thomson
European Journal of Special Needs Education, vol.17, 2002, p.33-47
In the Soviet Union education of children with special needs was sharply segregated and based on locally developed theories of "defectology". Since the fall of Communism the segregated system has largely remained intact due to financial constraints, the organizational legacy of the Soviet differentiated system, the tenacious ideological legacy of "defectology" and resistance to integration as a Western idea. However, small-scale changes to the special education system at the local level are being made.
EDUCATIONAL DEVELOPMENT THROUGH INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATIONS TECHNOLOGY
S. Fallows and R. Bhanot
London: Kogan Page, 2002
This book looks at how Information and Communications Technology (ICT) can be used to enhance learning in higher education both on and off campus. It examines how educators and institutions have tackled the issues associated with the adoption of new approaches and technologies.
It looks at four key areas:
- Strategic issues for ICT initiatives;
- Introducing ICT into the classroom;
- Using ICT in practice;
- Using ICT in learning and educational supports.
EDUCATIONAL ENROLMENT OF STUDENTS WITH A DISABILITY IN NEW SOUTH WALES AND VICTORIA
I. Dempsey, P. Foreman and J. Jenkinson
International Journal of Disability, Development and Education, vol.49, 2002, p.31-46
Article examines Australian legislation relating to disabled students and its implications for their enrolment in schools. There is considerable variation between states in levels of enrolment of disabled students in mainstream as opposed to special schools. Focusing on New South Wales and Victoria, it examines some of the factors (teachers unions, parental choice and rights) which may have led to the differing trends in each state.
EXTENDING EDUCATIONAL REFORM: FROM ONE SCHOOL TO MANY
A. Datnow, L. Hubbard and H. Mehan
London: Routledge Falmer, 2002
This book looks at the large-scale reform efforts directed at education in the 21st century in the USA. Using models of structure, culture and agency it examines all levels of the change process. It discusses:
- how reform adoption happens;
- the role of power, politics and perspective;
- whether all change is local and how context shapes implementation;
- the evolving design teams;
- the life of external reform models;
- sustainability and expiration;
- the prospects for educational change.
SCHOOL VOUCHERS AND ACADEMIC PERFORMANCE: RESULTS FROM THREE RANDOMIZED FIELD TRIALS
W. G. Howell et al
Journal of Policy Analysis and Management, vol.21, 2002, p. 191-217
Article examines the effect of school vouchers on student test scores in New York, Dayton, Ohio and Washington, DC. African American pupils who switched from state to private schools gained, relative to their state school peers, an average of 6.3 National Percentile Ranking points in the three cities on the Iowa test of basic skills. No beneficial effects were observed for white or Hispanic students after either one or two years. Researchers can offer no explanation of these findings.
STRAIGHT TALKING, STRAIGHT TEACHING: ARE NEW ZEALAND TERTIARY INSTITUTES POTENTIALLY LIABLE TO THEIR STUDENTS UNDER CONSUMER PROTECTION LEGISLATION?
S. Varnham
Education and the Law, vol.13, 2001, p.303-317
Market culture is progressively being applied to tertiary education. Institutes are holding themselves out as providing an "educational product" and are actively competing for students both nationally and internationally. In turn students, as purchasers of that product, are demanding higher standards of quality. There are indications that this is leading to thoughts of legal accountability for any deficiencies in the education product. This is both in terms of what institutions hold themselves out as providing and the quality of that provision. Article considers the effect of provisions of the Fair Trading Act 1986 and the Consumer Guarantees Act 1993 on the potential legal liability of New Zealand tertiary institutes.
STRUGGLING IN THE MAINSTREAM: THE CASE OF HONG KONG
D.K.P. Wong
International Journal of Disability, Development and Education, vol.49, 2002, p.79-94
Article provides an account of parents' views on the integration of students with disabilities into mainstream schools in Hong Kong. Parents found the academic demands of mainstream schools difficult for disabled students to handle. Concludes that the findings of the study demonstrate the struggle between the emphasis on student achievement and the spirit of integration in Hong Kong.
SUING THE ALMA MATER: WHAT LOSS HAS BEEN SUFFERED?
F. Rochford
Education and the Law, vol.13, 2001, p.319-333
Article considers the existence of compensable harm suffered by a student suing for generalised "failure to teach". It considers recent cases in Australia and the UK within and outside the context of educational negligence to conclude that compensable damage is a theoretical possibility. It also considers problems of causation, and concludes that the cumulative difficulties of establishing compensable harm and causation provide a significant disincentive to sue in negligence for generalised failure to teach.
TEACHERS' AND PUPILS' EXPERIENCES OF INTEGRATED EDUCATION IN UGANDA
S. Arbeiter and S. Hartley
International Journal of Disability, Development and Education, vol.49, 2002, p.61-78
Following the implementation of the Universal Primary Education (UPE) programme in Uganda in 1997, children with disabilities are enrolled in mainstream primary schools nationwide. Study examined the views of teachers on their needs for training and support to enable them to meet the challenge of teaching children with disabilities in the ordinary classroom. Results showed that the teacher-pupil ratio was high, that there was an alarming lack of resources in the schools and an urgent need for teacher training.
TENANDCES ACTUELLES DES POLITIQUES PUBLIQUES À L'ÉGARD DE L'ENSEIGNEMENT SUPÉRIEUR: UNE ANALYSE COMPARATIVE
M. Crespo
Canadian Public Policy, vol.27, 2001, p.279-295
Paper analyses current trends in higher education policy in the US, Canada and some EU countries. The analysis shows:
- the expanding role of the state in the governance of higher education;
- increased demand for places in higher education institutions;
- reductions in state funding and privatisation;
- the introduction of performance indicators;
- the internationalisation of higher education courses and programmes; and
- the impact of economic globalisation and information technology
UNIVERISTY EDUCATION IN KENYA: CURRENT DEVELOPMENT AND FUTURE OUTLOOK
S. M. Mutula
International Journal of Education Management, vol.16, 2002, p.109-119
Article discusses the reduction of government financial support of public universities in Kenya in an attempt to make them self-supporting. Argues that universities need to respond by diversifying their income generation strategies and seeking funding from the private sector. In return, they must allow the private sector to participate in curriculum design. Income generated should be invested to improve the learning environment at universities.