School funding is a principal site of policy reform and contestation in the context of broad global shifts towards private- and market-based funding models. These shifts are transforming not only how schools are funded but also the meanings and practices of public education: that is, shifts in what is "public" about schooling. In this…

This paper proceeds from the view that managerial capture has already become a fundamental problem after a couple of decades of largely untrammelled managerialism in our public universities, and that this problem is likely to be compounded by further shifts towards deregulation and de facto privatisation, which is the direction that current…

While students chanting "No cuts, No fees, No corporate universities" may be dismissed as youthful hyperbole by some, it is not as superficial a characterisation of the state of our public university system as it seems.

Private for-profit higher education has grown rapidly in many parts of the world. This growth is attributed to many factors, including a broadening of the student population and the recognition that wider access to higher education will be economically beneficial to individuals, governments and the society as a whole. In Australia, the number of…

This article examines equity in national systems of education in terms of differences in student outcomes, as measured by mathematics achievement scores on Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) 2003. The author uses four measures for assessing equity in student outcomes: (1) the strength of the relationship between student…

For increasing numbers of Australian children, childcare is part of their everyday experiences. The marketisation and corporatisation of education have been under discussion for some time, particularly in relation to schooling. There has been comparatively little public scrutiny of how this trend might impact on, and shape Early Childhood…

This article uses an ethical audit framework proposed by Cribb and Ball to critically analyze the possible implications of the rapid growth of corporatized childcare in Australia. In particular, it seeks to examine how corporatization affects childcare service provision and whether it conflicts with other social goals. Noting the paucity of…

Implications of two trends in Australian higher education are considered. These trends are shift to a fee-for-services system in which the government pays less of the cost of higher education; and move toward deregulation, with elimination of centralized planning and emphasis placed on institutional response to student demand. (MSE)

The closure of institutions and relocation of people with intellectual disabilities to community living has been the focus of many nations' intellectual disability policies in the past three decades. The author studied the relocation of 58 people from a large institution to 11 small group homes in several Australian communities. Organizational…

Recent changes in the Australian higher education system have created some basic contradictions: (1) "privatization" that does not equate with institutional autonomy; (2) ambiguity over higher education as a public vs. private good; (3) larger enrollments, but increased emphasis on research over teaching; and (4) focus on diversity…

This packet of materials from the Mid-Year Seminar of the Pacific Telecommunications Council begins with lists of attendees and participants and the conference agenda. Papers include the following: (1) "Global Trends-Restructuring, Privatization, Finance, Investment: Worldwide Trends towards Liberalizing the Wireless Segment of…

Australia's higher education system reform, the booming overseas market, and unmet domestic demand have provided opportunities for private higher education. The growth of private provision, federal and state government responses, and pressures for subsidy and regulation have hastened development of a "peripheral private sector."…

Education and training in Australia represent a significant sector of the economy, comprising some 7 percent of the Gross Domestic Product. Public policy is fashioned to support three main sectors: schools, vocational education and training, and higher education. The mix of Commonwealth policy across these sectors is determined by distribution of…

During the past decade, funding mechanisms for universities and technical education institutions and colleges have undergone massive restructuring in developed and developing countries alike. Governmental support has generally decreased, resulting in greater reliance on fee-based education or creation of privately sponsored engineering/technical…