This, the second of three annual reports by the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education (OISE), continues to track central policy and developments in the implementation of the British National Literacy and Numeracy Strategies (NLS and NNS). The report considers value for money in their funding and on the perception and experience of the…

Fiscal and programmatic controls that have been applied to different types of federal grants are described. It is suggested that a simplification of grant program structure is necessary to establish priorities and ways or controls to pursue these priorities. (CJ)

Four steps to curriculum innovation are outlined: (1) identifying descriptive dimensions; (2) specifying practices implied by the innovation; (3) describing actual practices; and (4) comparing actual with intended practices across the critical dimensions of beliefs, objectives, instructional materials, and teaching strategies. (Author/CP)

Implementation is actually a complex and continuous process of policy evolution. Thus, the implementation of a policy idea will vary because not all the policy's many potentialities will be recognized and because any given idea will be interpreted differently in different settings. (Author/IRT)

Reviews a study attempting to conceptualize implementation efforts of contracted renewal in Netherlands primary schools. Bestowing contract status on schools is an important instrument for implementing public policy. Becoming a contracted party in a policy process requiring intensified accountability and a time-bound renewal framework induces…

The revised National Policy on Education in Nigeria is discussed, with attention to objectives of special education, policy guidelines, and suggestions for effective policy implementation. Issues include funding, limited definitions, and lack of a legal document to clarify service regulations and the legal basis for services for disabled persons.…

Like most other reform endeavors, the current restructuring movement may fail. Advocates often oversimplify restructuring, overlooking serious underlying issues, such as the politics of organizational change, and ingrained U.S. schooling characteristics, including inclusiveness, deep structure, knowledge industry influences, growth of state power,…

Adopting a symbolic interactionist approach, this study explores the comments and assumptions of two opposing blocs of policymakers during the early stages of setting new desegregation policy in a midwestern U.S. metropolitan area. The groups agreed on intent, educational effects, and implementation means. One group conceptualized policy in terms…

In 2010-11, the Literacy Design Collaborative (LDC) framework was piloted in six districts, a teacher network, and a network of schools. In most cases, school districts applied for and received grants to implement LDC; in others, regional intermediaries served as the grantee and as primary organizer of the work; and, in still others, national…

Universal Design for Learning (UDL) stands at the forefront of contemporary efforts to create access to education curricula for all students, including those with disabilities. This policy reader comprises a notably wide range of articles that address the challenges and opportunities facing policy makers as they consider UDL's implications for…

This paper examines the current academic and policy literatures concerning school evaluation in primary and secondary education within the OECD countries. First, it provides a typology of the existing systems of school evaluation across the OECD. It encompasses the diverse criteria and instruments commonly used to carry out schools evaluation, as…

"Impact" is possibly the most frequently evaluated construct associated with any kind of technological diffusion or adoption within educational settings. Seemingly endless research projects are funded to measure it and to validate the educational value we have become adept at inscribing into practically all novel technologies brought to…

Portfolio authoring tools within teacher preparation institutions have changed dramatically as portfolios have moved from paper to electronic formats and now to the Web. This study used Engestrom's Cultural-Historical Activity Theory (1987) to examine how portfolio tools, along with external influences and institutional contexts, mediate the…

In this paper, the author argues that the pre-service secondary teacher education "paradigm shift" or "system overhaul" that has been implemented during the 2003-2005 time period in Ethiopia reflects the pursuit of pathways which the author refers to as a managerial approach. Grounded mainly on personal narratives of a key…

The relations between policy and practice embody a dilemma. Policies aim to solve problems, yet the key problem solvers are those who have the problem. Governments devise instruments to encourage implementation, but they help only if used well by those with the problem, whose capability is often weak. The realization of policy in practice thus…