Philip Woods and Carl Bagley's "School Choice and Competition" (Routledge 1998) evaluates the viability of allowing parents to choose the school their children attend within a decentralized, market environment. Despite methodological shortcomings, the authors argue effectively for schools' resistance to "competitive" social…

This paper presents findings of a study that examined the effect of British parents' social class on their ability to intervene in their children's schooling and to participate as "active consumers." In this case study of one school in England, data were derived from a questionnaire mailed to 491 parents of pupils in years 7, 9, and 11;…

This booklet presents basic information about the Further Education Funding Council, which was established in 1992 to ensure the sufficiency and adequacy of further education facilities throughout England. Discussed first are the council's main responsibilities: ensuring sufficient further education opportunities for young people and adults…

This book reports on the outcomes of an international policy-research project concerned with how power is used in education to construct and discharge obligations among stakeholders. The collection of articles suggests how such processes might better serve educational ends. The research examines how the politics of education at the site and…

The author reviews literature on "participation" as a movement in educational administration. He points out that, despite recent setbacks, it may offer a key dimension in developing schools of the future. (MD)

This paper discusses the role of assessment in educational accountability in England. A national curriculum was introduced in England and Wales in 1988, and national assessment against the national curriculum was introduced progressively from 1990. Students are assessed at the end of the key stages (at ages 7, 11, and 14) using a combination of…

The background of practice and ideology that led to the national curriculum and national assessment in England and Wales is traced, along with the development of national assessment policy. The breakdown, which has resulted in teachers who refuse to conduct the prescribed testing, is described. (SLD)

The last 20 years have seen the development of sophisticated techniques for analysing individual data within a hierarchical context and the growing availability of good datasets to which these techniques can be applied. The modelling of pupil performance controlling for prior attainment has led to a type of analysis commonly titled…

This book examines the effects of reforms in some countries' national education systems, noting that far from improving education, they have often made it more difficult for teachers to do a good job in the classroom. It focuses on how teaching has changed and continues to change in England's educational reform climate. The book argues that many…

A 1994 review of international policy research on accountability in education indicates that there is widespread concern over policy content, processes, and consequences. Current purposes tend to be polarized by a simplistic dualism--hyperindividualism versus communitarianism. Policies and practices often exhibit neocentralist assumptions. This…

This paper explores how a set of curriculum reforms in the United States and England over the past 20 years may be interrelated, according to conclusions drawn from ethnographic investigation and informed by historical reflections. The discussion centers upon the case of informal, open, or progressive education, which has enjoyed a 40 plus--year…

Identifies differences between primary school teachers in England and France in the areas of conceptions of accountability, teacher role in relation to parents, and the nature of teaching. Proposes six broad themes based on teachers' perceptions of their work: collectivism/individualism, universalism/particularism, role…

In September 1999, a pilot program of Education Maintenance Allowances (EMAs) was introduced in 15 local education authorities (LEAs) in England to provide payments to students aged 16-19 who are from low-income families and who are attending full-time courses in schools and colleges. Participants are entitled to 2 years' support and must be…

Is it possible for principals/heads to be effective educational leaders? In this study, we compared the work of principals/heads in two policy contexts. In Policy Context 1, standards for student performance were common and well-established, and authority was devolved to the school level for reshaping the school to meet those standards. In…

New Zealand's Education Review Office and England's Office for Standards in Education attempt to construct school failure as the clear responsibility of schools in order to gain ideological power as agents of accountability. These "politics of blame" are contested in both settings by an alternative "contextual" claim involving…