This paper explores the nature and extent of outsourcing by higher education institutions, benefits and challenges associated with outsourcing, and the implications of outsourcing for effective management. The principal investigator conducted a national study of outsourcing by four-year colleges and universities at two points in time, 1998-99 and…

Quality education in the United States has been compromised via public discourses that reinstitute racism on a daily basis. In its current manifestation, racism survives through the guise of neoliberalism, a kind of repartee that imagines human agency as simply a matter of individualized choices, the only obstacle to effective citizenship and…

This article illustrates how global corporate education initiatives, though profit-motivated, sometimes function both as an instrument of foreign policy and as a manifestation of a broader imperial project. According to neoconservative scholars, as well as their critics, the events of September 11, 2001, allowed the implementation of pre-made…

The Treuhandanstalt was given the task of privatizing former German Democratic Republic-owned enterprises and restructuring them so that they could survive and function in a market economy. The enormity of this task entailed personnel reductions as high as 10-20% in many cases and many qualitative changes, including the following: alterations to…

Discusses vocational education training in Slovenia since 1991, noting challenges posed by transformation of the economic/social system (privatization, development of market economy, labor force development, European integration) and reviews basic features of the Slovenian system. Cites general reform objectives adopted in 1996 and the need for…

Describes: (1) corporate technology initiatives driven by public-relations motives; (2) collaborative strategies for teacher-student technology learning; (3) an online school-improvement site; 4) privatization of school-district technology operations; and (5) a primer on listservs for school leaders. Also provides information on school technology,…

Traces policy trends in Scottish vocational education and training (VET) over the past 20 years. Describes the current institutional framework for VET, which focuses on employer-oriented "local enterprise companies." Suggests that the complexity and decentralization of the VET system impedes evolution of a coherent VET strategy and that…

Analyzes how a flourishing market economy has affected China's social policy and educational development, focusing on "marketization" and "privatization" in the Pearl River Delta, Guangdong Province. The Delta's expansion of multiple financial sources for education and huge demand for professional and technical education have…

In World Trade Organization negotiations, it has been proposed that education be treated as a service to be exchanged for profit. This is contrary to the United Nations covenant that education is a universal human right. Educators need to affirm that knowledge is not a commodity, but something whose benefit increases proportionately with the…

A study of Florida's "school accountability" reform examined Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test (FCAT) scores in Orange County. It was found that percentages of low-income, gifted, and Black students in a school population could predict the FCAT score with 80-86 percent accuracy. The testing process creates a self-fulfilling prophecy.…

Discusses the argument for private-sector involvement in the distribution of government information, using U.S. patents as an example. Highlights include industry competitiveness; jobs creation; public access; identifying users; costs; user fees; existing systems of information dissemination; and implications of the Internet and NREN (National…

Introduces a collection of articles that critically examines the assumption that privatization is an effective means to increase competition, improve educational achievement, and provide a cure for the national decline in the American standard of living. The historical and political backgrounds of privatization are discussed, along with a summary…

Argues that private providers of services for handicapped children have to deal with due process under the color of state law and, since federal funds are involved, due process under the Fifth Amendment. Such laws involve parental approval of their child's education and allow use of the federal courts to settle grievances. A legal analysis is…

The Edison Project will reconfigure time, deploy truly professional teachers, and utilize technologies in powerful new ways. Other Edison design highlights include its research basis; clear, defining values; high universal standards; five-domain curriculum; proven, individualized instructional methods; creative organization; true accountability;…

Although urban public school educators are not achieving optimal results, there is no evidence that for-profit educational companies will do any better or possess special expertise in educating poor students of color. Education Alternatives, Inc. has trouble retaining low-paid nonunion paraprofessionals and has cut out minority contractors. The…