This paper focuses on Information and Communication Technology (ICT) academics' perceptions of factors that promote and inhibit their pursuit of scholarship in their teaching work. It identifies critical factors that influence academics' attitudes, orientations and behaviours in respect to the scholarship of teaching, and from these builds a…

Fundamental changes took place in Australian education policy during the period from the early 1970s to the 1990s. These changes were paralleled by the establishment and abolition of the Schools Commission (1973-88). The establishment of the Schools Commission marked a period in Australian politics when education was a priority. The Schools…

This report summarizes 22 recent empirical studies on the cost-effectiveness of military training reported by countries that participate in The Technical Cooperation Program (TTCP), i.e., Australia, Canada, New Zealand, the United Kingdom, and the United States. A discussion of the methodology used to summarize the studies is followed by a…

Despite wide publicity and common usage, the concept of skills shortage has different meaning to different people depending on their perspective. Understanding the different concepts of skills shortages, their measurement and the causes of skill shortages is important if sound policies are to be developed in the areas of employment, education,…

This journal issue, which is part of a series of wide-ranging debates on major educational topics in Australia, examines three major points connected to school resourcing. First is the shift of emphasis in the discourse on resources from inputs to outcomes. Second is the extent to which schools ought to be self-managed and the possible conflict…

The issues of government responsibility and institutional autonomy that arise in university-government relations in the United States and Australia are discussed, and similarities in some European countries are noted. Political and market forces are examined as they affect government relations. (MSE)

Tertiary education in Australia, organized in three sectors (universities, colleges of advanced education, and technical and further education) have three main levels of planning--institutional, state, and commonwealth. Financial planning in tertiary education is discussed including inputs and outputs, information systems, resource planning, and…

Eight articles on international educational indicators (IEIs) are presented. Topics include functions and limitations of IEIs; science and math indicators and national welfare; higher education indicators; cost and resource indicators; and national perspectives from the United States, Australia, France, and England and Wales. (TJH)

Four forms of funding universities (capitation, categorical, initiative, inventive) in Australia are examined for their characteristics, advantages, and disadvantages. The option of using these funding mechanisms for allocating resources within individual universities, based on performance, is explored. Finally, use of the four kinds of funding…

Origins of Australia's university quality improvement program are outlined, and its design is examined. Issues discussed include implications of the program for individual institutions, its proposed method of redistributing research funds, and potential problems associated with performance appraisal. (MSE)

This Australian perspective on the resource provision in primary schools offers a framework for conceptualizing resources; explores the notion of equality; and provides suggestions for making resourcing more equitable. (AEF)

A study investigated national research policies, particularly factors affecting research productivity in the United Kingdom and the issues of critical mass, economies of scale, critical time, and risk strategy in Australian resource allocation for research. Conclusions are drawn concerning the relationship between research performance and resource…

At the 18th meeting of Ministerial Council on Education (MCEETYA) (12th-13th May 2005), Council urged the Australian Government to: (1) increase per capita assistance to ESL-NA students with high educational needs, in particular, refugees and humanitarian entrants; (2) provide a new per capita allocation so that specific ethnic and cultural issues…

Schools represent a major social investment in Australia. Assessment of Australian schools' performance depends on how one defines what they should be doing and on how well they can be expected to do it. In the official account, schools are of "high quality and modest cost" when compared with their own past and other school systems. An…

In some countries there has been a general trend toward centralizing control in areas such as the development and measurement of school goals while also increasing responsibility at the school level for financial and staffing decisions and for structuring learning activities to achieve those goals. The British and New Zealand educational reforms…