The effects of class size on academic achievement have been studied for decades. Although the results of small-scale, randomized experiments and large-scale, econometric studies point to positive effects of small classes, some scholars see the evidence as ambiguous. Recent analyses from a 4-year, large-scale, randomized experiment on the effects…

The key challenge to academic leadership is to restructure the allocation of academic assets, particularly the organization of the faculty, in ways that better serve emerging societal and scholarly needs.

In 1990, Australia implemented an employer training levy, the Training Guarantee Scheme. The Training Guarantee was abolished by the incoming Coalition federal government in 1996 after much negative publicity about its impact, particularly on small business. Recently, there have been calls to revive the notion of an employer training levy as a…

The strategy for conversion to electronic cataloguing of western manuscripts in the Bodleian Library has been to a large extent determined by circumstances--the size and variety of the manuscript collections, the existence of detailed published catalogues for the earlier collections, the availability of funds for specific purposes, and, above all,…

Accountability in Chicago in the 1990s derived from progressive reform legislation adopted in 1988 and 1995. The Illinois General Assembly in 1988 passed the Chicago School Reform Act (P.A. 85-1418), which included a set of goals, a redistribution of the school district's resources, and a decentralization of decisionmaking to the school level. The…

Balanced allocation of fundamental education teachers is one of the most important ways to achieve the highest quality of compulsory education. It also guarantees an accelerated achievement of a balanced development of fundamental education. In poverty-stricken areas of ethnic minorities, unbalanced teacher allocation is a major factor that…

Since 1999 the complex reform of the old-age pension system was introduced in Poland and the process of changes is still ongoing. The multi-pillar system replaced the pay-as-you-go system. Voluntary third pillar will guarantee higher pensions for those that decide to save more. However, the systemic changes were placed in the new market economy…

On Wednesday, April 18, 1906, an earthquake, measuring 7.8 on the Richter magnitude scale and lasting 48 seconds, erupted along the San Andreas fault with a flash point originating in the San Francisco Bay area. The force of the earthquake tore apart buildings and roads, causing water and gas mains to twist and break. The resulting effects of the…

In the educational finance litigation context, recent actions have been premised on the argument that the aid distribution system is fiscally inadequate, thus drawing attention away from a concern for equity. The financing of public education in North Carolina and the constitutional provisions undergirding the same have been the subject of…

In the fall of 2007, Education Resource Strategies (ERS) was invited by Philadelphia's School Reform Commission to conduct a Strategic Professional Development Review for the School District of Philadelphia (SDP). ERS is a nonprofit organization that is nationally recognized for its extensive work in partnering with urban school districts to make…

Educators Linda Darling-Hammond and Diane Friedlaender share findings from their recent report highlighting five California high schools that have beaten the odds in supporting the success of low-income students of color. Animo Inglewood Charter High School, Stanley E. Foster Construction Tech Academy, June Jordan School for Equity, Leadership…

The system that finances Michigan's schools from kindergarten through 12th grade is a perennial topic of conversation among policymakers, parents, taxpayers and voters. A constructive discussion of this issue, however, requires a sound knowledge of the financial workings of Michigan's elementary and secondary school system. This knowledge is…

This article details the challenges that UC Merced faced in building up the critical areas of student and residence life. The new institution held great promise for achieving the ideal of a student-centered university, but certain bedrock problems proved difficult to overcome. One was that at the beginning, both administration and faculty saw…

This study analyzed the development of the University of California at Santa Barbara (UCSB) to see how resources, "investment on the margin," and environmental forces have changed the institution from a "domestic" to a "wild" institution. "Wild" and "domestic" are ways of conceptualizing the…

This book describes the historical perspectives related to the education of Black children through their heritage, their family and community, and institutions of learning. The complex interactions between Blacks and Whites and the roles of philosophers, theorists, and educational practitioners in this historical development are discussed. The…