Argues that the fact that there are more Japanese students studying in the United States than there are U.S. students in Japan is not a problem in itself, but that the United States should develop and sustain its expertise on Japan. Educators and exchange specialists should cooperate to expand academic, work-study, and internship programs in…

A discussion of higher education in Hong Kong looks at the current economic context, government and public support, rapid expansion and its effect on academic and faculty hiring standards, and issues related to Hong Kong's change in political status in 1997, including emigration patterns, faculty morale, and finance and censorship concerns.…

Examines how divergent values and belief systems operate within educational politics. Reviews five questions (concerning educational quality and equality, schooling's purpose, curriculum decisions, school policy making, and financial responsibility for schools) and their underlying value tensions within the research areas of micropolitics, school…

In interview excerpts, the United Negro College Fund's president discusses major challenges to diversity, both in colleges and universities and the larger society, and such issues as the role of economics in diversity, where the debate is occurring, realities underlying the debate, self-separation on campuses, language used to define diversity…

This article reacts to President Bush's entry into the dispute over "political correctness" on college campuses. The paper summarizes discussions of students, faculty, and others in the Washington, D.C. area which concluded that this seeming defense of free speech is actually an attack on affirmative action and multiculturalism stemming…

Intellectual and political commitments of women's studies programs to multiculturalism allow such programs to influence debate inside the university, but the same commitment generates internal controversy. Issues of women's studies and political correctness are discussed. An approach respecting and incorporating diverse cultural traditions is…

It is argued that, although assessment of colleges and universities can promote discussion and encourage improvement of college instruction, accountability serves only to further chill the regulatory climate without specifying needs or solutions. As currently conceived, accountability cannot receive widespread faculty support because it usurps…

A review of the evolution of Brazilian policy for higher education concludes that the conflicts, shifts in decision arenas, and decisional paralysis reflect (1) basic lack of consensus in the nature, goals, and possibilities of higher education in a society, and (2) disagreement about the resources available to a government. (Author/MSE)

A review of the history of university education in Romania since 1860 looks at the internal structure of the institutions, governance, faculty who played an active role in political life, nationalism and the ascendancy of communism, and trends since World War II. (MSE)

Identifies and analyzes factors within and without the University of Alberta that impeded the development of teacher education programs there prior to 1942. Concludes that eventually the university prevailed against the will of the provincial government, establishing that the knowledge and competence for determining the configuration of the…

Postapartheid reforms in South Africa's higher education system pose difficult issues of power, authority and consensus, resource allocation, monitoring, and evaluation that directly affect institutional and sectoral interests and the interests of civil society and government. Despite strengths and capacities of the system, deep-seated tensions…

The future of employee tuition benefits under the federal Employee Educational Assistance Act is again threatened unless Congress acts to preserve it. Research shows this benefit to have been successful in achieving its principal goal of promoting equity among beneficiaries. The act has expired and been reenacted 8 times in 17 years, illustrating…

This paper examines the determinants of systemic education reform in the American states. Socioeconomic, political, and cultural variables are all found to affect the level of systemic education policy in each state. Unlike many studies of policy determinants, urbanization is negatively associated with this particular policy. The political factors…

This collection of papers, based on an April 1993 conference at the University of Illinois, mixes theoretical reflection with practical advice concerning academic life in the 1990s. "A Report from the Front," by Cary Nelson and Michael Berube, introduces the collection. Part 1, "Professors and Politics," includes these papers:…

This book reviews the history of vocational, technical, and adult education (VTAE) in Wisconsin, which has one of the most effective systems in the United States. The review shows that although the system has changed dramatically, its mission of education for employment has not. Nine chapters consider Wisconsin's VTAE system from statehood to the…