The DfE's 2010 white paper "The Importance of Teaching" set out the Coalition's aim to "create a school system which is self-improving". In this inaugural lecture, Toby Greany assesses progress to date and the Coalition Government's approach to developing a self-improving system. He argues that the Coalition is following at…

This book describes the history, structure and institutions of open and distance education in six countries: Australia, Brazil, Canada, Germany, the UK and the US. It discusses how open and distance education is evolving in a digital age to reflect the needs and circumstances of national higher education systems in these countries, and explores…

The relationship between the state and higher education institutions has always been a complex one. The "state" itself in this context is a heterogeneous mix of elite people--bureaucrats, politicians, committees of co-opted academics and business leader--and it increasingly faces pressures from diverse stakeholders, including students…

This book discusses the controversy over the extent to which a nation's government has the right to determine the nature of the educational system, and the limits on that right. In Great Britain, the government has established a series of Education Acts and a National Curriculum. The concepts of accountability and cost effectiveness are commonly…

This book reevaluates the role of the British University Grants Committee (UGC) and its effectiveness from 1919 to 1989. The UGC was the machinery for funding British universities and played a key role in shaping the British university system. The book proceeds on a thematic rather than chronological format. Chapter 1 considers the relationships…

This book explores the varying meanings and impacts of management and market on higher education. The book gives an historical account of the main characteristics of higher education systems in Australia, Canada, and the United Kingdom, focusing on developments in governance since World War II. There follows a discussion of the relationships of…

This collection of nine articles presents case studies of educational reform and change in 10 nations, focusing on the changing role of government involvement in higher education. The articles are: (1) "University-State Relations in Britain: Paradigm of Autonomy" (Peter Scott); (2) "Changing Conceptions of State-University…

Has the revolution in British education over the past 15 years brought about greater educational freedom? Have parents gained freedom of choice under the neo-market system? Or has state influence over curriculum and instruction increased so much that choice and diversity have become a chimera? This collection of colloquium papers tries to answer…

This book examines the relationship between higher education policy and the state in the United Kingdom, discussing how changing concepts of the nature of the state and its role have affected the development of higher education policy. The book studies shifts from state-subsidized independence to ambiguous but increased dependence on state…

This book argues that school-based management appears to be primarily concerned with dismantling centralized education systems (which have traditionally supported the work of teachers, students, and parents) and replacing them with a free-market ideology of competition and choice. School-based management separates elite policy makers and interest…

The articles in this reader provide a review of the history of education policy in relation to issues of equality and inequality. They also offer an overview and critique of specific areas of policy and a look at the ways policies operate in practice. The eight papers of Part 1, "History of Education Policy," outline the history of…

This volume contains six essays on higher education which provide lessons and successful techniques for meeting the challenges of the future. The first essay, "Academic Renewal at Michigan" (James Duderstadt), describes the modern research university as a complex corporate conglomerate in danger of diluting its core business. The…

This collection of papers examines what academics do as a work process and how that is changing dramatically with the fiscal crises being experienced by most governments around the world. It explores how academic work is organized, how it is enacted, in whose interests, and with what ultimate effects. Papers include: "Markets in Higher…

U.S. research institutions are undergoing significant changes from patterns established in the decade following World War II. Declining undergraduate enrollments are predicted to lead to "steady-state" universities; federal policy is emphasizing industry-university research cooperation and calling for a decreased federal role in the…

This book examines the achievements of teachers from all over Great Britain in furthering their professional development. Part 1 presents four case studies of school-based inservice activities. The first is a teacher-initiated inservice activity in a middle school in West Sussex. The second is an Open University student-initiated inservice…