The fiascoes that seem to accompany the annual publication of examination results in England, the subsequent inquiries instituted to ensure they "never happen again" and the Secretary of State's decision, reversed six months later because of fears about possible EU legal challenges, to "end competition between exam boards"…

This commentary explores the so-called global "crisis" in education and the corresponding pressures and moves to "reform" education, and in particular, public education. The myths underpinning and driving these developments are examined. Supposed problems with (public) education and proposed solutions are explored. The…

The move to a market model of schooling has seen a radical restructuring of the ways schooling is "done" in recent times in Western countries. Although there has been a great deal of work to examine the effects of a market model on local school management (LSM), teachers' work and university systems, relatively little has been done to…

Choosing any one alternative out of the three educational models provided by Joel Spring (2007/this issue) may not really be adequate for a new social-sociolinguistic theory for a potentially just world order. In this article, the author contends that as an alternative to the persistently degenerating consumerist model of the education security…

In the United States, developing "human capital" for both economic and social benefit is an idea as old as the nation itself and led to the emergence of world's first mass higher education system. Now most other nations are racing to expand access to universities and colleges and to expand their role in society. Higher education is…

Since 1980, most English-speaking nations have experienced a sea change in how people think about educational policy and school management. This article argues for scrutinizing both paradigms or theories influencing our thinking and consequences of built-in biases. Drawing on the British and U.S. experience, the article examines dramatic…

Higher education structures need to be redesigned to make them more responsive to the public's demand for more attention to teaching and learning and the reality of limited financial resources. The enterprise model can serve as a 21st century paradigm, with three new "tools": (1) customer influence on delivery of services; (2) accountability…

Higher education is undergoing radical shifts that are part of the larger wave of changes taking place in the society. The transformation affects all sectors of higher education, especially distance learning and how it relates to the University's regular offerings. In this article, the author begins with clarifying the terms commonly associated…