This book discusses the controversy over the extent to which a nation's government has the right to determine the nature of the educational system, and the limits on that right. In Great Britain, the government has established a series of Education Acts and a National Curriculum. The concepts of accountability and cost effectiveness are commonly used in discussions about education. Contributors to the book--from Africa, Asia, South America, Australia, and the United States--examine issues such as school effectiveness, government control of the curriculum, the nature of academic freedom, parental rights to information about schools and to involvement in them, and the private provision of education. Chapters include: (1) "The State and the Teacher in England and Wales" (Richard Pring); (2) "The State, Human Rights and Academic Freedom in Africa" (Thandike Mkandawire); (3) "Educational Contestability and the Role of the State" (Geoffrey Partington); (4) "Schooling and the State: A Review of Current Issues" (Beatrice Avalos-Bevan); (5) "Private Higher Education and External Control" (Joseph Stetar); (6) "The Management and Mismanagement of School Effectiveness" (Lynn Davies); and (7) "Failed Matrimony: Educational Projects and Their Host Institutions" (Fiona Leach). Three figures and an index are included. References accompany each chapter. (LMI)