This article explores the policy changes made by the Labour government to the recurrent funding of school-based education in England, focusing in particular on the allocation of resources to meet the needs of disadvantaged pupils. Expenditure on education and, in particular, on schools has increased since 1997. However, while there have been two…

This paper focuses on the role of parents in the planning and setting up of new secondary schools in the context of proposals to extend the right of parents in relation to new schools. The research focused on 15 parent campaigns that had recently taken place or were ongoing: seven aimed to obtain new schools and eight to prevent new schools being…

This paper explores the relationship between student mobility, qualifications and academic recognition within Europe. It provides an outline of supranational legal instruments and policies in relation to academic recognition and student mobility. It then examines some of the difficulties associated with the different concepts underpinning the…

Market-oriented reforms and school choice policies have had a high political profile in a number of developed countries. This article examines the issue of school choice through the lens of the English market-oriented reforms; it focuses on the quasi-regulation and regulation of admissions to publicly funded secondary schools. It examines…

This paper focuses on the long established diversity in the English education system--independent schools, grammar schools and religious schools--and in so doing explores tensions between education policy, politics and social justice. It explores the differential access to these different types of school, their social composition and implications…

This paper explores changes in the pre-school education market in England since the Labour Government came into office in 1997. It focuses in particular on quality, availability and affordability and in so doing explores issues of equity. It will be argued that whilst overall levels of pre-school educational provision have increased, there are…

Discusses a study examining how parents choose secondary schools for their children, based on interview data gathered from 70 London-area parents. Different groups of parents start thinking about school choices at different times and for different reasons. Outlines policy implications concerning publicity, information dissemination, single-sex…

A review of literature on the effects of age of entry to infant schools showed that a majority of studies found differences in performance between the oldest and youngest children. One large-scale study determined that preschool education is an overriding factor in performance. (Author/SK)

This article examines secondary school admissions criteria in England. The analysis revealed that in a significant minority of schools, notably those responsible for their own admissions--voluntary-aided and foundation schools--a variety of criteria were used which appear to be designed to select certain groups of pupils and so exclude others.…

Discusses the policy context of the examination results of secondary schools published by the quality daily national press in England. Addresses the published results, how they are used by parents making preferences for secondary schools, and the consequences of their publication. (CMK)

Focuses on the financing of school-based education in England. Outlines the policy context beginning in 1997, examines the current funding system, and explores the government review of the current system of finance. Examines the use of grants to fund government initiatives and proposes a new mechanism for determining necessary funds. (CMK)

This paper focuses on school choice and the extent to which admissions to publicly-funded secondary schools in England address issues of equity and social justice. It argues that schools with responsibility for their own admissions are more likely than others to act in their own self interest by "selecting in" or "creaming"…

Reports a study that examined headteachers' perspectives on England's 1993 teacher boycott of government-imposed standard assessment tasks (SATs) for elementary students together with teachers' attitudes toward the tasks, their management, and the boycott. Findings confirmed that, by 1993, resistance to national testing at that age was firmly…

The use of demand-side financing mechanisms and vouchers for postcompulsory secondary-level education was examined through case studies of funding practices in the following countries: Austria; France; the United Kingdom; the United States; and Wallonia (the French community of Belgium). Different models of voucher use were identified in the…