This article contextualises the Higher Education in Italy from the outset by describing deeply rooted but accepted practices, such as the long-term dominance of academic groups in decision making--baroni and their "court"--and also the widespread custom of "Raccomandazioni" as the means to lead mechanisms of recruitment among…

The ways in which the language of reformers intersects with and informs reform implementation is important to our understanding of how education policy impacts practice. To explore this issue, we employed critical discourse analysis (CDA) to analyze the language used by a 21st century skills-focused reform organization to promote its program…

Background: Scholars widely acknowledge that politics help explain why policies are adopted and how they play out in states, districts, and schools. To date, political analyses of education reform tend to isolate a particular policy and examine the politics of its adoption or implementation, but pay less attention to the effects of the politics of…

The implementation of quality assurance (QA) is one of the most challenging reform areas for Turkey due to the unique organization of its higher education system. This paper explores the development of QA systems in Turkish universities. Using a qualitative case study approach, the authors examine how Turkey accomplishes the goal of implementing…

Objective: Health-promoting schools (HPS) constitute an internationally recognised approach that connects health and education in a planned, integrated and holistic way. There is considerable variability, however, in how HPS is implemented and recent research has attempted to clarify the key functions of implementation. A provincial HPS strategy…

This article is based on a case study conducted at a government (state-run), girls' secondary school in a low-income neighbourhood in New Delhi that was conducted in March, 2012, two years after the Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Act (RTE) came into force. The study examined how RTE and its related reforms were being…

Many higher education institutions have implemented online learning (OL) as a response to students' needing greater access to higher education. Although many universities have determined that meeting this increasing need for OL is important to their future strategies, some universities do not know how to structure their internal operations to…

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to understand how a Canadian intervention based on a professional development (PD) model did or did not influence schools' capacities to absorb a Healthy School (HS) approach into their operations. This study is the second part of a research project: previously published results regarding this research…

This case study describes the leadership of a school counselor in implementing positive behavioral interventions and supports (PBIS) in a low-income, diverse elementary school with a modest level of external supports. After initiating a grade-level pilot program, the school counselor partnered with university-based consultants to expand the PBIS…

There are many documented barriers to implementing school-based sustainability. This article examines a) the barriers faced by principals and staff in two regional primary schools in Far North Queensland, Australia, well known for their exemplary practice, and b) ways the barriers were overcome. Through interviews conducted with principals and key…

This study was conducted to determine the success for the diffusion of the Coalition on Intercollegiate Athletics (COIA) white paper Framing the Future: Reforming Intercollegiate Athletics. The Stages of Concern Questionnaire (SoCQ) and personal interviews were utilized to collect data and purposeful sampling was used to identify one NCAA Division…

Although many states in the United States are adopting policies that require all students to complete college-preparatory science classes to graduate from high school, such policies have not always led to improved student outcomes. There is much speculation about the cause of the dismal results, but there is scant research on the processes by…

This study examines Washington State's attempt to move toward an integrated, P-20 system of education that enhances student transitions from high school to college. In analyzing Washington as a single case study, a profile of the state is developed on key access related characteristics. Data for this study were gathered utilizing fundamental case…

The purpose of this study was to explore the production, communication, interpretation and contestation of new physical education (PE) and physical activity (PA) policy initiatives introduced in Mississippi and Tennessee for the academic year 2006-2007. These states provide a relevant context to study such issues, since Mississippi has the highest…

The purpose of this article is to explore Microsoft Corporation as a new international actor shaping educational reforms and practices. This study examines how the implementation of Microsoft's global Partners in Learning (PiL) program varied and was mediated by national politics and national institutional practices in two different contexts,…