For many European Union (EU) member states, the Cohesion Policy (CP) was the channel through which the practice of evaluation was transmitted into domestic administration. Studies have shown that the EU member countries differ in terms of their evaluation capacity and activity. None of those studies, however, addresses regional governments, which…

In this brief, authors Michael Ettlinger, Jordan Hensley, and Julia Vieira analyze how much the governments of different countries spend, and on what, to illuminate the range of fiscal policy options available and provide a basis for determining which approaches work best. They report that the United States ranks twenty-fourth in government…

The article analyzes the activities of governmental and non-governmental institutions aimed at orginizing teacher development in the system of postgraduate education in Poland. The author pays attention to the most prominent governmental institutions involved in advanced teacher training, namely, the Center for Education Development and the…

Previous research in the United States suggests that depression related to economic hardship decreases with age. We test whether this pattern can be generalized to other developed nations. Based on data from 23 countries in the European Social Survey (2006-2007), multilevel analyses show that the moderating role of age depends on the…

At the heart of progressivism is the belief that government--not big government, or small government, but effective government--has a critical role to play in ensuring the well being of its citizens. Public spending serves an important function in pursuing economic growth objectives while ensuring that gains are widely distributed to promote…

When people speak of totalitarian governments in transition, they generally concentrate on their political, economic, and legal systems, and the difficult transformation each of these variables must go through for each individual country to develop into a democratic society and be able to sustain these new changes. Recent studies of the impact…

Discusses the Communist state and the media, and remodeling the media system. Describes stages of media transformation in Central and Eastern Europe, and evaluates their media differentiation. Discusses the Polish model of public service broadcasting, and discusses the many obstacles to media differentiation. (SR)

Discusses increased advocacy for community participation in education. Points out that policies often fail to differentiate between different types of communities. Recognizes that community knowledge bases and motives for supporting education can differ from the governments. Stresses the need for policies to account for diversity of circumstances.…

This paper describes the effect of cultural context on the content of kindergarten curriculum in Poland, chronicling the historical changes from Communist to post-Soviet, capitalist cultures. Soviet cultural influence on early childhood education from 1945 to 1989 is described as affecting a single obligatory curriculum, strict government control,…

Presents a paper delivered in Poland in 1989 and in five additional Eastern European cities in 1990. Defines democracy and suggests ways to teach about democratic government. Explores education's role in a democracy. Encourages student participation in student government, classroom discussion, community service, and research projects to give them…