A common set of economic pressures has led the various sectors of higher education to adopt entrepreneurial models of financing and service.

Over the last two decades, Ireland has proactively marketed its educated workforce, its favourable corporate tax rates, membership of the European common market, and other advantages, to multinational technology corporations. The resulting foreign direct investment in high-tech manufacturing operations has driven a booming Irish economy that has…

This paper reviews the historical and current response of the United States to threats to its world leadership in scientific endeavors, with particular attention to the National Defense Education Act of 1958. The current status of the United States in mathematics, science, and engineering education is reviewed with respect to K-12 student…

A multi-method project was conducted in a Local Education Authority (LEA) in the north of England. The relationships between girls' friendships, bullying, school attendance and transfer were explored through documentary analysis, LEA school admission statistics, group interviews and q-sort technique. This paper reports selectively on those…

Conditions producing stress are present in all colleges and universities. In this paper we report on an investigation utilizing heart rate as an indicator of stress in students when participating in activities encountered in a college classroom or laboratory. The activities included presenting an oral report, taking an exam, and participating in a…

This paper examines what happens to "vocational education" within an education market. We ask the question: how does the policy emphasis on competition and choice fit with the rhetoric of facilitating school-to-work transitions for all students? Findings from interviews with high school principals and representatives from the Edmonton…

Economy- and technology-driven theories dominate current explanations of social change. The political orientations of the European Union and many of its member states are increasingly based on the idea of knowledge economy where public organisations move towards market-orientation. Among the other producers of knowledge, universities are expected…

The article aims to interpret and compare recent governance shifts in higher education across several countries, both at the central government level and at the institutional or "corporate" level. In order to do that it reviews the most significant literature about alternative theoretical models of governance in higher education and uses…

In the inaugural issue of the "Journal of School Choice," John Merrifield offers an important, insightful, and highly provocative critique of charter schooling in an effort to "get people to think about the issues...and seek additional evidence". In "Charter Laws: Disaster, Detour, Irrelevant, or Reform Tool?" Merrifield maintains that economic…

Purpose: Hong Kong continuing education has encountered vigorous change in recent years. It is not limited to the mode of teaching and learning. Changing government policies, fund cutting to the higher education system and the entry of overseas university degrees increase the intensity of competition in the environment to an extraordinary extent.…

Purpose: The competitive environment facing all organizations has forced many of them to choose strategies that enhance organizational effectiveness and efficiency. Re-engineering is one of the tools used in administering productivity improvements, cost control and asset management. Design/methodology/approach: This paper examines the…

The Australian Senate Employment, Workplace Relations and Education References Committee has been asked to examine the principles of Commonwealth Funding for schools, with particular emphasis on how these principles apply in meeting the current future needs of government and non-government schools and whether they ensure efficiency in the…

Higher-education institutions are facing financial crises in their capital programs. Constant increases in the cost of oil, combined with material shortages in copper, steel and gypsum products, have contributed to an inexorable rise in the cost of construction. At the same time, capital budgets are decreasing. The result is that the education…

Each year, a large number of students begin college with aspirations of entering a health profession. High school teachers and guidance counselors as well as college admission counselors and prehealth advisors can assist students by providing current information regarding general entrance requirements to health professions programs. The purpose of…

This article describes BEST (Boosting Engineering, Science, and Technology), a hands-on robotics program founded by Texas Instruments engineers Ted Mahler and Steve Marum. BEST links educators with industry to provide middle and high school students with a peek into the exciting world of robotics, with the goal of inspiring and interesting…