This report finds that now more than ever, New York needs a strong workforce development system--but declining funds and uncoordinated programs are obstacles to progress. In December 2003, the Center for an Urban Future and the New York Association of Training and Employment Professionals released a report, "Seeking a Workforce System,"…

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…

"IMHE-Info" is the newsletter published by the Institutional Management in Higher Education (IMHE) programme of OECD. This issue includes: (1) Tertiary Education for the Knowledge Society; (2) The Assessment of Higher Education Learning Outcomes (AHELO); and (3) City-Regions in Focus. Publications of interest, IMHE News, and a calendar…

Critique of Arthur E. Wise's article, "The Constitutional Challenge to Inequities in School Finance, published in the November issue of "Phi Delta Kappan". (HT)

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)

In 1997, the state of South Dakota instituted an incentive program to reward institutions for performance related to state policy priorities. The program had a specified starting and ending point, running its course in 2002. This program provides a unique opportunity to study the connection between higher education policy and performance, an issue…

This report describes the efforts being made through the Educational Research and Development Program to implement the new state strategy of reducing restrictions on local and institutional officials and at the same time holding them accountable for the effectiveness of their programs. Chapter II considers the development of techniques for…

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)

Uses data from Third International Mathematics and Science Study to compare performance in different schooling systems. Finds general problems with the efficiency of resource usage similar to those found previously in the United States. Effects do not appear to be determined, for example, by school policies that involve compensatory application of…

Describes and analyzes a participatory approach to budgetary decision-making used by an exemplary high school. In spite of the budgetary forces dividing instructional departments, support units, and administration, an equitable division of resources provided to the school was consistently achieved each year. Includes 29 references. (MLH)

Swedish school reform since the 1970s has involved a shift in policy and underlying values throughout the entire implementation process. Educational reform has broken into loosely connected fragments with relevant reform makers at all educational levels. Despite a newly decentralized process, observed changes are not really structural. Includes…

The Australian government has formulated policies for welding the country's higher education into a unified national system as an efficiency measure. Actually, the system will not be unified; institutions will achieve standing through intense competition over scarce resources. The sectoral rivalry and institutional imitation rampant under the…

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…

This article reports on the values and moral dilemmas of one Icelandic headteacher. The article draws on doctoral research currently being conducted with educational leaders in Icelandic basic schools. The research explores the values underpinning the work of female and male educational leaders and how values impact upon their actions, in…