The Brazilian system of higher education is discussed, including its evolution, the 1968 reform and its unintended consequences, and the recommendations of the 1985 presidential commission on higher education. Issues of interinstitutional diversity, institutional autonomy, and the influence of special interest groups on policy are addressed.…

In 1987, major reform of New Zealand education at all levels was initiated. Several major reports have analyzed the need for change suggesting more dramatic changes are inevitable but are more likely to come from future economic and social changes than from government initiative. (MSE)

Factors affecting the development and implementation of education policy for special education in England and Wales is examined in the context of the 1981 Education Act. Factors considered include staff evaluation, the competing definitions of need and good practice, professional and administrative accountability, user rights, politicization, and…

Canada's recent public policy encouraging linkages between universities and corporations is transforming the structure and mission of the university system. An analysis focuses on economic, political, and institutional changes and discusses their effects on the organization of academic work, research, and the emerging image of the university as a…

The ways in which state higher education coordinating boards diffuse information about academic innovations is examined, and it is concluded that both the types of change they favor and their dissemination strategies are linked to their political position and the broad political and policy perspective it requires. (Author/MSE)

Issues raised during a 1990 seminar on effects of programs and policies for foreign students and study abroad are reviewed. Specifically, concerns about national policy and institutional responses in light of changing patterns of foreign student flows and against the background of the new global economic and political setting are examined.…

Criticisms of the federal system of research funding, in which priorities among disciplines are set in a competitive and political environment, are outlined. Policymakers are challenged to allocate resources in such a way that economic performance is improved without restricting the freedom of individual scientists to set research directions.…

A review of the evolution of Brazilian policy for higher education concludes that the conflicts, shifts in decision arenas, and decisional paralysis reflect (1) basic lack of consensus in the nature, goals, and possibilities of higher education in a society, and (2) disagreement about the resources available to a government. (Author/MSE)

Since establishment of national university systems in Mexico and Venezuela, three principal demands have dominated policy formation: government ideological demand; economic demand for expertise; and political and social demand for upward mobility through education. Tensions between these demands have stemmed from economic inability to sustain…

It is suggested that, in the Netherlands' system of resource allocation for research, there is subtle and powerful pressure for consensus. Changes in science policy orientation since the 1960s are traced, and the current framework for policy formation, planning, and decision making is sketched. Three peer review models are examined. (MSE)