Examines senior managers' and subject teachers' perceptions of department heads' participation in policy development and leadership in 24 British secondary schools. Readiness to embrace newer approaches matters. Schools that value and develop their subject leaders, often through reformed structures, generally have subject staff who feel well led.…

This article presents an overview of federal and state laws intended to prevent school violence and examines related decisions by the U.S. Supreme Court. School districts' reactions to violence are discussed and a framework is proposed that school districts can use to develop legally correct policies regarding violence. (CR)

Describes a project that trained institutional policymakers in action research regarding problems in developing training policies about young people's needs, examining attempts to collaborate and dialog with stakeholders and discussing how project members became enmeshed in complex sets of relationships calling for construction of dialog in…

Examines the debate between liberals and communitarians, offering a sympathetic reading of the communitarian critique of liberalism and discussing its implications for school reform. The article lays a foundation for a series of articles that focus on the community-individual nexus as it relates to educational theory and practice. (SM)

Adoption of strict fee policies, and enforcing them consistently, lessens conflicts with parents and loss of income. To make fee collection easier explain fee policies clearly; keep in touch with parents; make paying easy; collect fees in advance; collect a deposit; enforce late payment penalties; act quickly when problems occur; stop providing…

Factors that make autism a vexing public policy issue are identified, including incidence increases, lack of consensus on etiology and methodology for clinical intervention, coincidence of the age of diagnosis with the upper age limit of early intervention programs, a shift to a family-centered decision-making paradigm, and litigation. (Contains…

Explains to colleges and universities the import of the Supreme Court' Title VII clarifications in the Burlington, Faragher, and Oncale decisions, discusses post-decision cases in the educational context, and recommends measures that educational institutions can take to safeguard themselves from discrimination and harassment complaints and…

A discussion of the current cost and financing of higher education looks at how higher education has been treated in federal policy in recent years, its status in public policy in the near future, including some salient uncertainties, and college cost and student debt. Emphasis is given to trends in the cost of professional education. (MSE)

Analyzes the influence of student aid on enrollment decisions of all accepted applicants at four institutions. Student aid was negatively associated with first-time enrollment, indicating that, in most cases, the amount of aid available was insufficient relative to the cost of college attendance. This suggests that institutions need to study their…

Discusses the trend toward the transfer of federal government information from the public domain to the private sector. Topics include free access, privatization, information-policy revision, accountability, copyright issues, costs, pricing, and market needs versus public needs. (LRW)

Outlines a set of generic "problems" emanating from the global economy that constitute the contemporary social, political, and economic conditions for educational and social policy making. Discusses the emergence of ideological and "magical" solutions to these problems, the dissemination of such solutions, and their…

Examines similarities between English and U.S. school-choice policies, and considers explanations of any convergences: broader social changes versus policy exchanges. Discusses the utility of concepts such as postmodernism and post-Fordism, neoliberal policy networks within and between the two countries, and evidence of the use of overseas…

Four essays by policy analysts approach programs for school-age children from differing perspectives, each identifying the key forces that influence the policy climate and directions for the future. (Author/SLD)

Reviews educational issues arising in Scotland's first Parliament in 300 years. Discusses the debate on teachers' pay and teaching conditions, including proposals to change the management structure of schools, extend teachers' working hours, and increase class size. Describes the proposed Scottish University for Industry, which would be a gateway…

Describes access management problems associated with networked information systems and the two major architectural approaches used to address them, including discussion of related policy issues such as privacy, accountability, and collection of management data. Focus is on the concerns of colleges and universities and on developing practical…