Given the global escalation of gaps between rich and poor, contemporary work in critical literacy needs to overtly question the politics of poverty. How and where is poverty produced, by what means, by whom and for whom and how are educational systems stratified to provide different kinds of education to the rich and the poor? Yet rather than…

This article analyses the National Plan of Higher Education (NPHE) and argues that the NPHE mainly uses formal concepts of social justice in bringing redress and equity to the higher education. It further argues that the plan could meaningfully and better address issues of equity and redress by employing substantive forms of justice. Firstly, the…

Many states are looking at effective ways to use financial incentives to encourage students to complete a postsecondary credential. JFF's new report, "Statewide Aid Policies to Improve College Access and Success", originally commissioned by the Massachusetts Department of Higher Education's Vision Project, has provided valuable…

In thinking about how a just state should assess and respond to inequalities in the distribution of particular goods, such as health and education, attention should be paid, first, to the causes of inequality with respect to these goods, and second, to the question of whether it is possible, and, if possible, morally appropriate, to enact policy…

In the fifty years since Congress assumed the provision of financial assistance to schools in which students had "federal connection," such as American Indian students living on reservations or in public housing, this federal assistance came to be regarded as a replacement for state funding, not as supplemental funding. This study…

The Constitutional Act 1867 established a dual system of education in Canada--provincial authority and federal responsibility for First Nations' education. As a part of its treaty obligations, Canada agreed to provide western schools and services equitable with that provided by provincial systems (Morris 1880/1991). The authors argue that the…

Australia has been one of the countries to most enthusiastically embrace the neo-liberal conditions conducive to the dismantling of equitably provided public schooling. The article argues that part of the explanation for the absence of any effective challenge to this trajectory lies in the contradictory nature of the Australian identity. The…

Future historians may well find as much continuity as change in government policies towards higher education between the mid-1980s and the mid-2000s. One exception, however, is likely to be widening participation (WP), which only appeared on the policy agenda after 1997. Moreover, this commitment has been sustained. In this brief survey, the…

Definitions of "policies" and "educational policy" are given; the position is taken that some forms of educational arguments can be rationally decisive in adopting and implementing educational policies; and the use of learning opportunity arguments for this purpose is discussed. (JMF)

Lacking guidance of general equilibrium (GE) theories in public economics and the corresponding proper mechanisms, China has not surprisingly witnessed an inequality in educational expenditures across regions as well as insufficiency of funds for education in poor areas. It is wrongly thought that what happens is due to the decentralized financing…

Synthesizes and briefly reviews articles in this issue. Focuses on the "policy arena" (defined as a political culture, a set of interrelated public programs, and a network of political organizations) as it relates to early childhood education and the allocation of resources to children of all ages. (GC)

Discusses the relationships between special education programs and their costs, as well as the primary funding formulas used for special education, policy issues affected by the funding formulas, and the potential incentives and disincentives of the various funding formulas. Looks at the effects of the approach taken in P.L. 94-142. (Author/IRT)

This critique of the "West Review" (Review of Higher Education Financing and Policy, 1998) raises objections to the Review's recommendation that Australia's higher education program offerings should be decentralized and funded based on student preferences, as well as to the recommendation that research activities be centrally…

Discussed are early childhood policy issues and options for Alaska, Hawaii, Idaho, Montana, Oregon, and Washington. Section I explores federal and state directions in terms of levels of policy making, federal and state issues, and interested parties. Section II focuses on policy issues in its discussions of the political climate, long-term…

Improving school effectiveness is not a realistic policy goal for the '80s; the goal of maintaining effectiveness at reduced cost levels (i.e., improving efficiency) should be substituted. New technology is creating the potential for reducing costs in education and its adoption may help to overcome traditional political resistance to cost-based…