Leaders engaged in Massachusetts' public higher education system--including at community colleges, state universities, and UMass--have demonstrated their strong commitment to improvement in recent years. The state Department of Higher Education's Vision Project is focused on reforms necessary to "produce the best educated citizenry and…

In 2000, the Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education introduced a performance-based funding model aimed at increasing degree productivity among the state's public colleges. This study examines how the new policy affected undergraduate degree completions. Using a difference-in-differences estimation strategy, results suggest the policy has…

This article presents, through a critical analysis, a reflection on a noticeable change that focuses on some aspects related to the assessment of different parts of the educational system. In particular, it concentrates on the assessment of teaching institutions which has been considered by authorities that are distant from the school life and…

In this age of educational accountability, there is an increasing emphasis on assessment and institutional effectiveness, not only in the academic arena but also in other aspects of community college operation, such as fiscal health and stability, revenue generation, resource allocation, facilities, workforce development, and community enrichment…

Drawing on the largest Australian collection and analysis of empirical data on multiple facets of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander education in state schools to date, this article critically analyses the systemic push for standardized testing and improved scores, and argues for a greater balance of assessment types by providing alternative,…

The discourse that an educated workforce is essential for a prosperous and sustainable economy in a knowledge-based society has invited heightened policy interest in higher education. In effect, many industrialized countries are approaching, or have already reached universal access, with the majority of their age cohorts enrolling in higher…

This study seeks to understand whether and how decentralised school governance in Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) enhances the schools' role of promoting social cohesion. This includes increasing "horizontal" trust among different ethnic groups and "vertical" trust between civilians and public institutes. The study examined…

Purpose: Although medical schools do well in preparing the next generation of practitioners to diagnose and clinically treat illness, they struggle in preparing them with capabilities in the areas of health promotion and disease prevention. Similarly, health promoting schools (HPS) face challenges in working to enhance the health and educational…

The current Canadian landscape of graduate education has pockets of presence of Indigenous faculty, students, and staff. The reality is that all too often, Aboriginal graduate students are either among the few, or is the sole Aboriginal person in an entire faculty. They usually do not have mentorship or guidance from an Indigenous faculty member…

Policymakers are revolutionizing teacher evaluation by attaching greater stakes to student test scores and observation-based teacher effectiveness measures, but relatively little is known about why they often differ so much. Quantitative analysis of thirty schools suggests that teacher value-added measures and informal principal evaluations are…

This paper's focus is on an alliance of schools in England that came together as part of the National Teaching Schools initiative. Drawing on interviews from Head Teachers within the alliance, the paper explores issues of school collaboration from a premise that such collaboration is paramount to school improvement within the current climate of…

The importance of middle leaders in bringing about improvement in schools is well recognized in the UK, as in many other countries, with the ever-present demand for raising standards and achievement. This article outlines some initial findings and discussion points emerging from the first stage of a project exploring how middle leaders in…

The Ministry of Education has set the target of 100% of New Zealand schools to be "mostly" inclusive by 2014. But what are the essential elements of inclusion? This paper explores essential core elements that allow inclusion to flourish. Based on an extensive time in the field as part of a year-long doctoral research project, these…

Although a growing body of literature is produced on reform of urban school districts, few studies examine shifts in the culture of managers resulting from reorganization in these bureaucracies. This article engages an analysis of central office managerial culture in the New York City Department of Education during a culminating moment of district…

Online charter schools are unique among K-12 online learning options for students. They are full-time, public schools that combine online learning with traditional and home schooling practices. They are often chartered by a state agency, supported in full or in part with state funds and most often managed by a private educational management…