In the United States, developing "human capital" for both economic and social benefit is an idea as old as the nation itself and led to the emergence of world's first mass higher education system. Now most other nations are racing to expand access to universities and colleges and to expand their role in society. Higher education is…

One has to feel sorry for Barry Sheerman. The latest White Paper buried him and his Education Select Committee under a veritable avalanche of paperwork. Evidence was submitted from all quarters and a large proportion was focused on that vexed question--selection. But it is not a return to selection that the author fears most from this White Paper.…

In this article I use the concept of "re-agenting" to explore and explain the role of non-state agencies, principally private companies and business entrepreneurs, as key instruments in the government's transformation of the school system in England. Their role takes both for-profit and not-for-profit forms. The outsourcing to private…

Reviews the British government's educational initiatives described in the Kennedy, Fryer, and Dearing reports and "The Learning Age." Identifies what progress has been made in implementing lifelong learning policy. (SK)

Describes child protection systems in England and ongoing changes in their services. Considers effects of a market force approach on the organization of child protection services in relation to coordination versus fragmentation and profit versus professionalism. Concludes that the idea that a market force approach to child protection will lead to…

This paper evaluates the extent to which the implementation and assessment of the new citizenship curriculum in England treats learners as citizens or subjects by evaluating whether the interests of state or citizen predominate. Philosophical, contextual, and practical perspectives on citizenship education are drawn upon to evaluate mechanisms…

In consideration of the influence upon the American colonists by English history this article examined briefly the tyrannical suppression of liberties in England which the makers of the United States Constitution were determined to prevent. (Author/RK)

This book is intended as an introduction to the management of quality assurance and enhancement in higher education, particularly in England. The text focuses on the relationship between institutional quality assurance and the auditing authority of the British Quality Assurance Agency for Higher Education. The chapters of part 1, "The Quality…

Examines the resource decision processes of English education, with emphasis on decisional freedom and constraints, government influence, budgeting processes, fiscal accounting, and allocative mechanisms. (DB)

Analysis of educational reforms and policy debates in 1976, 1988, and 2001, including recent government working papers in England and Wales suggests that the two regions are now following different routes. In England, policy rhetoric emphasizes discourses of modernization and market forces; the Welsh paper is more allied to universal, free local…

American charter schools feature a dual reform strategy that combines state-initiated reform with local flexibility. In Britain, as in the U.S., charter school reform has been accompanied by centralized curriculum and student-assessment policies and decentralized implementation strategizing. Policymakers and practitioners must collaborate to…

This paper aims to give an introduction to the central concepts and the literature of Policy Studies in education. The first part of the paper addresses the questions of what policy is. How is it made and why is it relevant? It looks in particular at the role of the state and the Policy cycle framework which is an analytical tool that helps to…

In contrast to traditional public administration in which public managers were responsible for meeting service targets set by politicians (e.g. a top-down, bureaucratic approach) and new public management (a more market-driven approach to public service provision that aimed to reduce the reach of government), public value aims to put the…

This article outlines a research and development programme that focused on a group of 8 secondary schools in England. The schools in this study were considered to be facing exceptionally challenging circumstances characterised by high levels of socioeconomic disadvantage and deprivation. They were also schools considered to be seriously…