Privatization of education has become a prevalent global trend, representing a significant shift from viewing education as a public good to considering it as a private commodity. This transformation is closely tied to the modernization of the state under the principles of neoliberalism. A comprehensive analysis, as presented in this book using…

In "Challenging the One Best System," a team of leading education scholars offers a rich comparative analysis of the set of urban education governance reforms collectively known as the "portfolio management model." They investigate the degree to which this model--a system of schools operating under different types of governance…

We spend a lot of time arguing about how schools might be improved. But we rarely take a step back to ask what we as a society should be looking for from education--what exactly should those who make decisions be trying to achieve? In "Educational Goods," two philosophers and two social scientists address this very question. They begin…

Top-down mandates concerning the curriculum of the school leave no room for program creativity and program commitment. Yet principals and teachers are held accountable for student achievement results. Constitutionally, powers not granted to the United States are reserved to the States or to the people. This book's primary purposes center on the…

As charter schools enter their third decade, research in this key sector remains overwhelmingly contradictory and confused. Many studies are narrowly focused; some do not meet the standards for high-quality academic research. In this definitive work, Wohlstetter and her colleagues isolate and distill the high-quality research on charter schools to…

This book explores how to forge policies that preserve the internal autonomy required for campus creativity and diversity while ensuring the external accountability demanded for campus performance and results. It attempts to separate the reality and rhetoric of performance funding. The chapters are: (1) "The New Accountability"; (2)…

Interest in decentralized decisionmaking for schools (DDS) is on the rise. With state and federal accountability systems placing pressure on school-level leaders to improve student performance, increasing attention is being paid to the question of how to help principals do their job more effectively. "Business as usual" in American…

During the first half of the 1990s, the British government turned inspection into an ambitious instrument of educational policy-making. What happens when schools are inspected is the subject of this book. Based on a 3-year study, it answers such questions as "What happens when the inspectors announce that they intend to call?,""How…

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…

What really happens in an inspection of a primary school? Some answers to this question, with a focus on the technical and emotional results of such evaluations, are provided in this text. It is based on a research project involving over 80 interviews in 12 case studies of inspections carried out in England. The book, which is intended for primary…

This book examines the relationship between higher education and state and federal government and proposes the deregulation of higher education. The book notes that deregulation works in preserving and sometimes increasing quality and in maintaining access and diversity, although it does not automatically reduce costs. Part 1 presents the case for…

This book argues that the educational mission should center on developing in students a respect for evidence and on supporting their capacity and desire to continue learning. The premise of this mission is based on John Dewey's notion that the most important attitude that can be formed is that of desire to go on learning. The book inquires into…

This collection of essays examines the status of higher education in Latin America and the Caribbean, focusing on historical trends, the administration of universities, and the influence of higher education on the greater society. It reviews the evolution of universities in the area during the 20th century, highlighting the emergence of Latin…

The performance of national education systems is a growing concern in many Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) countries. This book focuses on the assessment of school performance in seven countries: England, France, Germany, New Zealand, Spain, Sweden, and the United States. The research questions include: Why are schools…

This book argues that school-based management appears to be primarily concerned with dismantling centralized education systems (which have traditionally supported the work of teachers, students, and parents) and replacing them with a free-market ideology of competition and choice. School-based management separates elite policy makers and interest…