A hallmark of English higher education (HE) over the last twenty years has been policies seeking to increase provider competition and student choice. Central to this has been student funding policy changes, leading to rising college costs. This article asks if prospective HE students' concerns about college costs and the financial strategies they…

The 2016 wildfires in Alberta, Canada, created numerous challenges for families with children under five years of age, due to the limited postdisaster access to early childhood development (ECD) programs, resources, and supports. In the immediate aftermath of the wildfires, families struggled to balance recovery activities with childcare…

This short description contributes to better understanding of vocational education and training (VET) in Slovenia. It provides insights into its main features and highlights system developments and current challenges. Slovenia has a strong VET tradition; participation at upper secondary level is the highest in the EU. The VET system in Slovenia is…

Ensuring equitable access to high-quality early education for families from all racial, ethnic, and income backgrounds is a critical component for addressing systemic racism and inequality within the public education system. This study examined one piece of this issue by investigating access to public Montessori pre-K, as well as barriers that may…

During the pandemic, there have been bipartisan calls for dramatically increased public funding for early education and care (EEC). As that money is being invested, more needs to be done to make it easier for families to exercise true choice--in which they have affordable, accessible, and high-quality options and the information they need to make…

Despite the obvious benefits derived from education, governments face difficult trade-offs when balancing the share of public and private contributions to education. Understanding how private expenditure is sourced, through public transfers or through private funds, can make a difference in enabling access to education and provide insights into…

Critical gaps currently exist in the availability of high-quality preschool, particularly in low-income areas of Sonoma County, California. Building on the county's interest in universal preschool, and the body of work already conducted in the county supporting it, this report provides a plan to expand access to preschool and to raise the quality…

David Longanecker wrote an article in "Change", "A Tale of Two Pities," that described the colliding perspectives of two communities--those who provide higher education and those who create and sustain the policy environment in which it functions. Each of these communities is committed to ensuring that Americans have broad…

The Center for Childrens Initiatives (CCI) champions the right of all children to start life with the best possible foundation of care, health and learning. The Center for Children's Initiatives (CCI) is nationally recognized as a leading voice for meeting the care and development needs of children from birth through school age. Founded in 1982,…

This edition of WICHE Insights reviews the results of the Western Interstate Commission for Higher Education's (WICHE) annual survey of tuition and fees at public postsecondary institutions in the West, along with trends in state appropriations and state financial aid. WICHE administered its tuition and fees survey in the summer and fall of 2018…

As the cost of college has increased 12-fold over the past 30 years, state disinvestment in higher education has deepened. Today, learners are forced to make a tough choice: either forgo college at a time when getting a postsecondary credential matters more than ever, or join the ranks of 45 million Americans with student loan debt, who today…

State-level postsecondary policymaking is daunting. Policymakers navigate through myriad fiscal, political, and ideological constraints and opportunities as they strive to address pressing state concerns or goals. While researchers and advocates may point to "perfect" policy models, in reality perfect policy does not exist. All…

The Denver Afterschool Alliance (DAA) is a community collaborative whose mission is to increase access to and participation in quality afterschool programs to keep Denver's youth safe, inspire them to learn and prepare them for the future. It represents a collaboration of many stakeholders, including the City and County of Denver, many…

Stewardship of place refers to the public engagement activities and approaches colleges and universities enact to enhance the regions and communities they serve. A group of colleges and universities known as regional comprehensive universities (RCUs) has been uniquely committed to stewardship of place throughout their histories. As state-supported…

Education acts as an important catalyst for socioeconomic and democratic evolution in society and is a critical tool for building an equitable system. In our paper, we have historicized one of the most important educational policies, viz. Samagra Shiksha Abhiyan (SAMSA) in India that carries large expectations to minimize the educational divide.…