Prepared for a Strategic Education Governance learning seminar, this working paper analyses the ways in which the Dutch government tried to reach overarching goals in education, in a system characterised by a high degree of distributed autonomy of education institutions and the participation of multiple actors, and consequently a government highly…

Over the last 20 years, states and provinces have become increasingly involved in the financing and administration of elementary and secondary education. Local school boards, however, still retain control over key aspects of the provision of education. Historically, these boards were organized at the community level so as to meet the wants of the…

Paper prepared for the CEA Short Course in Educational Leadership, Held at Banff, May, 1969.

Based on interviews with 150 persons in departments of education and in national, provincial, and territorial education organizations in Canada's major capital cities, this paper discusses seven vital issues in Canadian education and briefly states seven others. The seven major issues needing resolution concern: (1) the appropriate balance between…

Critical analysis of historical financial data of the Calgary Board of Education (CBE) examined the impact of Alberta's 1994 funding changes on the CBE and the distribution of Alberta's education funding. Findings illustrate how funding mechanisms are used to govern from a distance and how seemingly neutral accounting/funding techniques function…

Statistical sources demonstrate negative effects on educational spending in Canada in the 1990s, due to policies adopted in response to a severe recession and ballooning federal and provincial deficits. Massive restructuring (centralization and district consolidation) is occurring to increase efficiency. Retrenchment will probably be completed by…

This paper analyzes educational finance reforms initiated in Ontario. It outlines the changes in governance, funding, and curriculum and states that reforms were implemented without proper support and forethought, resulting in chaos. The report details how the rise of a conservative government in the province led to a desire to reduce taxation and…

To maintain quality education and high morale, educational decision making must become decentralized, particularly during financially difficult times. Teachers and other educational stakeholders, rather than government or educational bureaucrats, should be asked about where and when to cut expenditures. Centralized decision making, where the few…

Discusses Canadian provinces' business-oriented control of local educational systems (via mission setting, consolidation, performance measures, nonunion workforce); elimination of denominational school systems; abolishment or amalgamation of school boards; Canada's huge educational debt; early teacher retirement; alternate solutions to educational…

The great similarity between the Canadian and American structures of school finance conceals some fundamental, constitutional, and structural differences that shape the trends in Canadian school finance. First, provincial governments exercise a high degree of centralized control over education and its finance. Second, provincial governments have…

This paper examines the level and inequality of annual per pupil expenditure in the public school systems of the United States and Canada as a function of the centralization of financing. The effect of centralized revenue collection was tested empirically using a sample consisting of the American states and Canadian provinces, while controlling…

This document provides a brief history of urban school governance and summarizes some of the unique governance structures that have emerged in six American cities and one Canadian province over recent years. By 1920, ward-based systems in most urban areas had given way to systems with a high degree of centralization. These systems were more…

The fifth volume in a series of six on educational planning and policies in Canada, this review focuses on the Atlantic region--New Brunswick, Newfoundland, Nova Scotia, and Prince Edward Island. Sections of the document discuss the historical development of the Atlantic provinces' system of education; give an overview of education--its aims and…

Educational economics and finance is a complex issue that the author has approached from three different areas: (1) a review of recent literature, (2) the state of the art of financing education, and (3) the state of research on the economics and financing of education. The author points to a revolution in education finance in Canada. The…

This study examined how technology funding is planned, deployed and managed in six Alberta school jurisdictions and identified best practices and recommended strategies. Specific objectives were to research and examine, via interviews with technology personnel in each jurisdiction, the funding frameworks in place, and to report on commonalties,…