This article responds to and reflects upon the articles in this special issue. Specifically, it deals with the usage of theory in each of the articles, what we might see, as examples of re-descriptive usage in autonomous theorizing. The articles utilize different theories and varying intellectual resources--Foucault and Deleuze (Richard Niesche),…

This essay is a contribution to the literature of critique of higher education policy and management. It offers a general discussion of problems arising from the proliferation of mechanisms of audit and quality assurance within the context of concerns about dependence on quantitative measures of values. It argues that uncritical dependence on…

This article argues that broader, more open and inclusive scientific and educational discourses are necessary to achieve social justice through the provision of public education. Paradoxically, research and policy trends over the last two decades have constituted a "narrowing" of educational focus, educational response, and educational…

This paper describes the findings of an OECD project examining ICT impact measurement and analyses based on official statistics. Both economic and social impacts are covered and some results are presented. It attempts to place ICT impacts measurement into an Information Society conceptual framework, provides some suggestions for standardising…

The state board in Victoria, Australia, is beginning to collect data on adult education, measuring student contact hours and their ratio to costs. The quantitative data are being used for a variety of planning purposes. (SK)

Examines difficulties associated with the use of conversational features in the analysis of mother-infant vocalization episodes. Observations of six mother-infant dyads revealed difficulties involving (1) pooling of data; (2) the unit of analysis; and (3) selection of appropriate "expected" values for dyadic parameters used in tests of…

This paper argues that statistical inference practices in both educational and psychological research should be directed away from traditional significance tests in favor of Bayesian inferential methods. Regular use of exploratory data analytic methods is recommended in conjunction with computer intensive resampling methods. Approaches to…

Provides a philosophical framework for the development of information literacy programs integrated into school curriculums; reports on research in Australia that examines the impact of integrated information literacy programs on secondary school student learning and attitudes; and explores general principles for information literacy instructional…