This paper contributes to the debate over how the federal government can best help state and local authorities improve student achievement by providing examples from other countries of innovations in the role of the national government. The authors believe that the degree to which foreign policy structures parallel those of the United States are…

Whether to adopt national standards and tests has long been a subject of lively debate in the United States. With 47 states now participating in the Common Core State Standards Initiative, and a commitment from Education Secretary Arne Duncan to allocate hundreds of millions in stimulus funds to the development of common tests, the country is…

The international competitiveness of national higher education systems is an important political issue in many countries. These politics drive some governments to reform their systems by borrowing elements from societies with systems thought to be superior. These authors argue that a simple transfer of isolated elements from one higher education…

This book offers a comparative and historical account of the rise of special education over the twentieth century in the United States and Germany. This institutional analysis demonstrates how categorical boundaries, professional groups, social movements, education and social policies shaped the schooling of children and youth with disabilities.…

The dual job training system in Germany is an essential market parameter of the country's economy and a part of the country's growth policy. By improving human capital (by providing training in high-tech sectors) it will also help safeguard Germany's future as a major industrial nation. Training primarily takes place in handicraft and industrial…

A study on access to higher education in Germany was written as part of a larger study on access and admission in that country and the United States. The complex dimensions of the access situation in Germany are set forth, along with the many factors that have produced crisis: demographic trends, reforms in secondary education, legal and…

A discussion of the current status of the German system of higher education looks at its relationship to federal and state governments, its administrative organization, problems (particularly in the eastern states) and areas where reform is needed, availability of student services, and the significance for the system as a whole of social and…