This paper aims to discuss recent changes in Portugal's education policy. Portugal offers an interesting scenario to study the different ways the economic crisis has brought new opportunities to strengthen the privatization agenda. We specifically focus on media coverage and the contractualization of education services with private schools through…

There are dual roles of higher education institutions as recipients of higher education policy and as agents for change in the knowledge economy in their regions and in the world. In the case of academic institutions within the European Union, they are primarily the recipients of policy change influenced by the European level. Secondarily, they…

The Department for Education (DfE) commissioned ICF Consulting to undertake a study to examine the functioning of the Level 4 and 5 (L4-5) qualification and provider market, in order to support its review of L4-5 education. This study examines the characteristics and effectiveness of the Level 4 and 5 (L4-5) market. It specifically explores…

This study examines the interaction between non-governmental organization (NGO), the Local Education Authority (LEA), and public schools in communities of different socioeconomic backgrounds in Israel. We characterize how schools serving more and less affluent communities create, cultivate, and preserve interactions with NGOs; how NGOs form, and…

The article presents studies that contribute to the ongoing discussion on the higher education reform in Russia in accordance with the Bologna Process. Currently, many higher education institutions of the country have implemented a two-tier system of education, where the first-tier of higher education is bachelor's degree program with the average…

This article reviews the literature on trends and practices of recognition of prior learning (RPL) in Africa and internationally with specific reference to some of the key elements of the RPL system, including; purpose; assessment methods; quality assurance; and legislative and regulatory frameworks. In addition, a theoretical foundation of RPL is…

The Trends in Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS) is a time-series database, which provides an early warning for necessary curricular reforms in mathematics and science subjects and offers an opportunity for schools and policymakers to reflect on the effectiveness of educational changes. It provides vital data for governments and researchers to…

In this speech, Hursh shows how public education in the United States is undergoing profound changes. Education policy has been hijacked by the unelected and unaccountable corporate reformers who aspire to overhaul the education system through a corporate model of privatization and market competition. They aim to privatize education through…

The fortunes of the for-profit higher education industry rise and fall with the political tides in the United States. During the 8 years of the George W Bush Administration (Republican), the for-profit sector of US higher education prospered. The following two terms of the Obama Administration (Democrat) resulted in the loss of all the ground…

This article analyses the depth of engagement with climate change education policy across all 13 provinces and territories in Canada. A comparative content analysis of 13 climate action plans (CAP) and 90 K-12 education policy documents shows a major gap existing between Canada's climate and education policies. While subnational climate policy…

Persistently large achievement gaps between high-social-class and low-social-class children in America, and the disparities in opportunity that drive these achievement gaps, threaten the very notion of the American Dream. The lack of true equality of opportunity calls for much more comprehensive interventions to tackle those gaps. This report…

Previous research has highlighted the occurrence of isomorphic tendencies--convergences in terms of formal organizational structure--in higher education systems in times of uncertainty and under external pressure to change. It has been repeatedly claimed that the Australian university system largely followed a logic of isomorphic change in the…

Even though the interrelationship between education and democratic politics is as old as democracy itself, it is seldom explicitly formulated in the literature. Most of the time, the political system is taken as a given, and education conceptualized as an instrument for stability and social integration. Many contemporary discussions about…

This chapter presents an overview of theories of distance education and discusses their implications for future policy making and practice in institutions of higher education.

The Race to the Top - Early Learning Challenge (RTT-ELC) grants program, sponsored by the U.S. Department of Education and U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, aimed to improve children's access to high quality early learning and development programs. RTT-ELC awarded $520 million in the first of three rounds of grants to help states…