WorldWideScience

Sample records for education reform policy

  1. Why Do Policy-Makers Adopt Global Education Policies? Toward a Research Framework on the Varying Role of Ideas in Education Reform

    Science.gov (United States)

    Verger, Antoni

    2014-01-01

    Globalization is profoundly altering the education policy landscape. It introduces new problems in education agendas, compresses time and space in policy processes, and revitalizes the role of a range of supra-national players in educational reform. This deterritorialization of the education policy process has important theoretical and…

  2. Nursing education reform in South Africa--lessons from a policy analysis study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Blaauw, Duane; Ditlopo, Prudence; Rispel, Laetitia C

    2014-01-01

    Nursing education reform is identified as an important strategy for enhancing health workforce performance, and thereby improving the functioning of health systems. Globally, a predominant trend in such reform is towards greater professionalisation and university-based education. Related nursing education reform in South Africa culminated in a new Framework for Nursing Qualifications in 2013. We undertook a policy analysis study of the development of the new Nursing Qualifications Framework in South Africa. We used a policy analysis framework derived from Walt and Gilson that interrogated the context, content, actors, and processes of policy development and implementation. Following informed consent, in-depth interviews were conducted with 28 key informants from national and provincial government; the South African Nursing Council; the national nursing association; nursing academics, managers, and educators; and other nursing organisations. The interviews were complemented with a review of relevant legislation and policy documents. Documents and interview transcripts were coded thematically using Atlas-ti software. The revision of nursing qualifications was part of the post-apartheid transformation of nursing, but was also influenced by changes in the education sector. The policy process took more than 10 years to complete and the final Regulations were promulgated in 2013. The two most important changes are the requirement for a baccalaureate degree to qualify as a professional nurse and abolishing the enrolled nurse with 2 years training in favour of a staff nurse with a 3-year college diploma. Respondents criticised slow progress, weak governance by the Nursing Council and the Department of Health, limited planning for implementation, and the inappropriateness of the proposals for South Africa. The study found significant weaknesses in the policy capacity of the main institutions responsible for the leadership and governance of nursing in South Africa, which

  3. New Directions in Education? A Critique of Contemporary Policy Reforms

    Science.gov (United States)

    Skourdoumbis, Andrew

    2016-01-01

    This paper draws on facets of Foucault's theoretical resources to critique current education policy reform from within the Australian State of Victoria, namely the Department of Education and Early Childhood Development's (DEECD) discussion paper "New directions for school leadership and the teaching profession." Implicit in the reform…

  4. Early Educational Provision--Emphasised in Education Policy Reforms in Norway? An Analysis of Education Policy Documents

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bjørnsrud, Halvor; Nilsen, Sven

    2014-01-01

    The article analyses how the intentions of early provision in Norwegian schools have been expressed in the education policy reforms in Norway from the 1970s to the present day. The first area deals with the intentions that most explicitly cover early provision; prevention, early detection and intervention. The second area of analysis relates to…

  5. Expressions of agency within complex policy structures: science teachers' experiences of education policy reforms in Sweden

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ryder, Jim; Lidar, Malena; Lundqvist, Eva; Östman, Leif

    2018-03-01

    We explore the experiences of school science teachers as they enact three linked national curriculum and assessment policy reforms in Sweden. Our goal is to understand teachers' differing responses to these reforms. A sample of 13 teachers engaged in 2 interviews over a 6-9-month period. Interviews included exploration of professional background and school context, perceptions of the aims of the policy reforms and experiences of working with these reforms in the classroom. Analysis was guided by an individual-oriented sociocultural perspective on professional agency. Here teaching is conceptualised as an ongoing interplay between teachers' knowledge, skills and personal goals, and the characteristics of the social, institutional and policy settings in which they work. Our analysis shows that navigating the ensuing continuities and contradictions results in many different expressions of teacher agency, e.g. loss of autonomy and trust, pushing back, subversion, transfer of authority, and creative tensions. Typically, an individual teacher's enactment of these reforms involved several of these expressions of agency. We demonstrate that the sociocultural perspective provides insights into teachers' responses to education policy reform likely to be missed by studies that focus largely on individual teacher knowledge/beliefs about reform or skills in 'implementing' reform practices.

  6. Nursing education reform in South Africa – lessons from a policy analysis study

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Duane Blaauw

    2014-12-01

    Full Text Available Background: Nursing education reform is identified as an important strategy for enhancing health workforce performance, and thereby improving the functioning of health systems. Globally, a predominant trend in such reform is towards greater professionalisation and university-based education. Related nursing education reform in South Africa culminated in a new Framework for Nursing Qualifications in 2013. Objective: We undertook a policy analysis study of the development of the new Nursing Qualifications Framework in South Africa. Design: We used a policy analysis framework derived from Walt and Gilson that interrogated the context, content, actors, and processes of policy development and implementation. Following informed consent, in-depth interviews were conducted with 28 key informants from national and provincial government; the South African Nursing Council; the national nursing association; nursing academics, managers, and educators; and other nursing organisations. The interviews were complemented with a review of relevant legislation and policy documents. Documents and interview transcripts were coded thematically using Atlas-ti software. Results: The revision of nursing qualifications was part of the post-apartheid transformation of nursing, but was also influenced by changes in the education sector. The policy process took more than 10 years to complete and the final Regulations were promulgated in 2013. The two most important changes are the requirement for a baccalaureate degree to qualify as a professional nurse and abolishing the enrolled nurse with 2 years training in favour of a staff nurse with a 3-year college diploma. Respondents criticised slow progress, weak governance by the Nursing Council and the Department of Health, limited planning for implementation, and the inappropriateness of the proposals for South Africa. Conclusions: The study found significant weaknesses in the policy capacity of the main institutions

  7. Validity Theory: Reform Policies, Accountability Testing, and Consequences

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chalhoub-Deville, Micheline

    2016-01-01

    Educational policies such as Race to the Top in the USA affirm a central role for testing systems in government-driven reform efforts. Such reform policies are often referred to as the global education reform movement (GERM). Changes observed with the GERM style of testing demand socially engaged validity theories that include consequential…

  8. Translating Globalization and Democratization into Local Policy: Educational Reform in Hong Kong and Taiwan

    Science.gov (United States)

    Law, Wing-Wah

    2004-11-01

    The past two decades have witnessed three important international trends: an increase in the number of democratic states; economic globalization; and educational reforms in light of the challenges of the new millennium. A great deal of research has addressed educational change in relation to either globalization or democratization, but little has been said about the complex interactions among all three processes. In view of recent educational reforms in Hong Kong and Taiwan, the present contribution examines the local nature of education policy in a globalized age. It challenges those globalization theories which minimize the role of the state and exaggerate the power of globalization over local factors. In particular, it explores how the governments of these two Chinese societies have employed democratization to generate and legitimate reform proposals and have used economic globalization to justify educational reforms. The study concludes by discussing the complex interrelations of these processes, including tensions between global and local concerns in educational reform.

  9. Upholding the Malay Language and Strengthening the English Language Policy: An Education Reform

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yamat, Hamidah; Umar, Nur Farita Mustapa; Mahmood, Muhammad Ilyas

    2014-01-01

    Today's global economy and dependency on technology has led to educational reforms in Malaysia, which includes language policies; namely the Upholding the Malay Language, and Strengthening the English Language ("MBMMBI") policy. This policy underpins the project presented and discussed in this paper; on the development of a bilingual…

  10. Teacher education policies, practices, and reform in Scotland: Implications in the Indian context

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Pradeep Kumar Misra

    2015-12-01

    Full Text Available India, a country of 1.27 billion, nowadays needs reforms, improvements, and new approaches in teacher education to cater to the demands of changing economy and society. This call to improve teacher education becomes more significant considering the fact that 50% of India’s current population is below the age of 25 and over 65% below 35. There are two ways to proceed in this direction. First, making an internal review and assessment of present scenario of teacher education and suggesting need-based measures. The second one is to learn from those countries that have recently reviewed their teacher education systems and are continuously working for the betterment of teacher education. Following second approach, present paper analyzes teacher education policies, practices, and reform in Scotland, argues that concerns and commitments to reform teacher education in India and Scotland are similar, and suggests implications of Scottish experiences in the Indian context.

  11. Education Reform in Hong Kong

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Chris Dowson

    2000-05-01

    Full Text Available Since the early 1990s, the pace of educational reform in Hong Kong has accelerated and broadened to incorporate almost all areas of schooling. The reforms introduced during this period can be subsumed under what has generally been labelled the quality movement. In this paper, we review and comment on a number of policy reform initiatives in the four areas of "Quality Education," English Language Benchmarking, Initial Teacher Training and the Integration of Pupils with Special Needs into Ordinary Classrooms. Following a brief description of each policy initiative, the reforms are discussed in terms of their consistency, coherence and cultural fit.

  12. Education Reform: Ten Years after the Massachusetts Education Reform Act of 1993

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Linda Driscoll, Joseph B. Berger, Ronald K. Hambleton, Lisa A. Keller, Robert W. Maloy, David Hart, Paul Oh, Victoria Getis, Susan Bowles, Francis L. Gougeon, Kathryn A. McDermott, Andrew Churchill

    2005-02-01

    Full Text Available In June 1993, Governor William Weld signed into law the Massachusetts Education Reform Act (MERA. MERA greatly increased the state role both in funding public education and in guiding the local educational process. The state’s role changed to incorporate setting curriculum frameworks and holding schools accountable for student performance. Because MERA was designed to be a systemic reform of education, all of the various state activities and policies needed to fit together into a coherent whole based on state educational standards.

  13. Higher Education Policy Reform in Ethiopia: The Representation of the Problem of Gender Inequality

    Science.gov (United States)

    Molla, Tebeje

    2013-01-01

    The higher education (HE) subsystem in Ethiopia has passed through a series of policy reforms in the last 10 years. Key reform areas ranged from improving quality and relevance of programmes to promoting equality in access to and success in HE. Despite the effort underway, gender inequality has remained a critical challenge in the subsystem. This…

  14. Past/Forward Policy-Making: Transforming Chinese Engineering Education since the Reform and Opening-Up

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhu, Qin; Jesiek, Brent K.; Gong, Yu

    2015-01-01

    Although engineering education has played important roles in China's growing power and influence on the world stage, engineering education policy since the Reform and Opening-up in the late 1970s has not been well documented in current English-language scholarship. Informed by historical and sociological studies of education, engineering and…

  15. Why Are Studies of Neighborhoods and Communities Central to Education Policy and Reform?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hopson, Rodney

    2014-01-01

    To understand the long shadow of education policy and reform in the United States, especially in the urban core, requires a full and elaborate understanding of the neighborhoods and communities that have transformed in the last 20 or 30 years. Studying classrooms and educational spaces without concomitant understanding of the dynamics and facets…

  16. Do American and Korean Education Systems Converge? Tracking School Reform Policies and Outcomes in Korea and the USA

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lee, Jaekyung; Park, Daekwon

    2014-01-01

    This study examines key school reform policies and outcomes of the USA and Korea over the past three decades from comparative perspectives. Since the two nations' unique educational problems brought divergent educational reform paths--standardization versus differentiation, high-stakes testing versus individualized assessment, and centralization…

  17. Whose Quality? The (Mis)Uses of Quality Reform in Early Childhood and Education Policy

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hunkin, Elise

    2018-01-01

    This paper reports on the findings of an in-depth genealogical study of the discourse of quality in Australian Early Childhood Education and Care (ECEC) policy. Quality reform has become the foremost global policy agenda for ECEC due to assumptions about the economic potentials of quality services. In Australia, the recent National Quality…

  18. Education Policy Outlook: Austria

    Science.gov (United States)

    Figueroa, Diana Toledo; Golden, Gillian; Giovinazzo, Manon; Peterka, Judith; Ullmann, Marie

    2017-01-01

    This policy profile on education in Austria is part of the "Education Policy Outlook" series, which presents comparative analysis of education policies and reforms across OECD countries. Building on the OECD's substantial comparative and sectoral knowledge base, the series offers a comparative outlook on education policy by providing…

  19. Tensions between Teaching Sexuality Education and Neoliberal Policy Reform in Quebec's Professional Competencies for Beginning Teachers

    Science.gov (United States)

    Parker, Dan; McGray. Robert

    2015-01-01

    This research draws into question the effects that neoliberal policy reforms--with an emphasis on individual and measurable "competencies"--has on new teachers teaching sexuality education in Quebec. While we examine professional competencies that teachers can use to define their mandate for teaching sexuality education as a beginning…

  20. Reforms in the Policy of English Language Teaching in Malaysia

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rashid, Radzuwan A. B.; Abdul Rahman, Shireena Basree; Yunus, Kamariah

    2017-01-01

    This paper reviews reforms related to English language teaching in the Malaysian education system. It begins by tracing the history of Malaysia as a former British colony which has had significant influences on the status of English in the country. Then, it reviews the key educational reforms which have mainly centred on language policy, thus…

  1. Inclusive Education Policy in the Hong Kong Primary Music Classroom

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wong, Marina Wai-yee; Chik, Maria Pik-yuk

    2016-01-01

    An education reform policy and inclusive education policy have been implemented in Hong Kong for over a decade. As more students with special educational needs have entered the mainstream education system under these policies, Hong Kong's primary music classrooms offer a site where three policies interact--the education reform policy entitled…

  2. From policy to practice: education reform in Mozambique and ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    The Mozambican government has introduced reforms of basic education, notably the introduction of interdisciplinarity, learner-centredness and new teaching pedagogies. This is a case study of how these curriculum reforms have been implemented at Marrere Teachers' Training College. We conducted interviews with ...

  3. Reforming Science and Mathematics Education

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lagowski, J. J.

    1995-09-01

    Since 1991, the National Science Foundation has signed cooperative agreements with 26 states to undertake ambitious and comprehensive initiatives to reform science, mathematics, and technology education. Collectively, those agreements are known as the State Systemic Initiatives (SSI's). Two complimentary programs, The Urban and Rural Systemic Initiatives (USI's and RSI's), address similar reforms in the nation's largest cities and poorest rural areas. The SSI Program departs significantly from past NSF practice in several ways. The funding is for a longer term and is larger in amount, and the NSF is taking a more activist role, seeking to leverage state and private funds and promote the coordination of programs within states. The Initiatives also have a stronger policy orientation than previous NSF programs have had. The NSF strategy is a reflection of the growing and widely held view that meaningful reforms in schools are most likely to be achieved through state initiatives that set clear and ambitious learning goals and standards; align all of the available policy levers in support of reform; stimulate school-level initiatives; and mobilize human and financial resources to support these changes. Two premises underlie systemic reform: (1) all children can meet significantly higher standards if they are asked to do so and given adequate opportunities to master the content, and (2) state and local policy changes can create opportunities by giving schools strong and consistent signals about the changes in practice and performance that are expected. Because this is an enormous investment of Federal resources that is intended to bring about deep, systemic improvement in the nation's ability to teach science and mathematics effectively, the NSF has contracted with a consortium of independent evaluators to conduct a review of the program. The first of the SSI's were funded in 1991, sufficiently long ago to begin to formulate some initial impressions of their impact. Take

  4. Effects of Welfare Reform on Vocational Education and Training

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dave, Dhaval M.; Reichman, Nancy E.; Corman, Hope; Das, Dhiman

    2011-01-01

    Exploiting variation in welfare reform across states and over time and using relevant comparison groups, this study estimates the effects of welfare reform on an important source of human capital acquisition among women at risk for relying on welfare: vocational education and training. The results suggest that welfare reform reduced enrollment in full-time vocational education and had no significant effects on part-time vocational education or participation in other types of work-related courses, though there appears to be considerable heterogeneity across states with respect to the strictness of educational policy and the strength of work incentives under welfare reform. In addition, we find evidence of heterogeneous effects by prior educational attainment. We find no evidence that the previously-observed negative effects of welfare reform on formal education (including college enrollment), which we replicated in this study, have been offset by increases in vocational education and training. PMID:22125356

  5. The transnational grip on Scandinavian education reforms

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Krejsler, John B.; Olsson, Ulf; Petersson, Kenneth

    2014-01-01

    This article reveals how templates that emerge from opaque albeit often inclusive policy processes in transnational forums (EU, OECD & the Bologna Process) affect education reform policy in Scandinavian countries, such as Denmark and Sweden. The open method of coordination is the mother template...... of the political technologies (standards, performance indicators, scorecards, best practices) that are instrumental in fashioning reforms. This template commits countries in consensus-making ways to comparison, and normalizes the competitive incentive of mutual peer pressure. The authors draw on post...

  6. Reform of Medium Education and Physical education: an abyss for the future

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Robson dos Santos Bastos

    2017-09-01

    Full Text Available It develops analyzes on the reform of secondary education proposed by Provisional Measure . 746, now Law 13.415/17, and its implications in the future of Physical Education. Part of the following scientific question: What are the perspectives for the future of Physical Education in the face of the reform of secondary education proposed by the new educational policy? As methodological strategy a documentary study was developed, having as a source of analysis the texts of the MP and the law that ratifies it, besides the notes published by different entities related to education and Physical Education. The study indicates that the reform of high school will imply significantly in Physical Education in three fields: in its teaching in basic education, in teacher training and in teaching work.

  7. Educational research in Sweden: Reform strategies and research policy

    Science.gov (United States)

    Marklund, Inger

    1981-06-01

    Educational R & D in Sweden is to a large extent policy-oriented. It has been an integrated part of the Swedish educational reform system and has brought about a dialogue between politicians, administrators and researchers. Several circumstances have contributed to the `Swedish model'. One is the system with government-appointed committees in which researchers often play an active part. Another is that the Swedish educational system is highly centralized, with the National Board of Education (NBE) as the central authority, responsible for primary, secondary and adult education. A third — and a crucial one — is that, since 1962, the NBE has had increasing funds for educational R & D at its disposal. These funds account for the main part of the economic resources for R & D, along with resources allocated to research appointments at research departments of universities. Educational R & D, conducted primarily within the NBE funds, has recently been evaluated by a government-appointed committee. In its evaluations of the impact of educational R & D, the committee distinguished between the effects of R & D and the effect correlates. It concluded that the impact of R & D is more indirect than direct, more long-term than immediate. The effects are also more easily recognized at levels above the actual school situation. This finding could be interpreted as a consequence of the policy-orientation of educational R & D, which at the same time shows the difficulties in reaching the `school level' with research and development results. There are two general trends in Sweden, which will influence both research planning and research use. First, there is a trend towards the decentralization of decision-making and responsibility for the educational system. Secondly, there is a trend towards the `sectionalization' of the R & D system as a whole. This sectionalization will mean that research will to a great extent be planned to meet needs from different parts of society — labour

  8. Politics, policy and physical education | van Deventer | South African ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    To understand educational reform and the form that Physical Education (PE) takes on we need to understand how policy becomes practice and the nature of the political agenda at any particular time. The research problem focuses on the politics involved in the policy process within educational reform regarding PE as a ...

  9. Reforming Social Policy: Changing Perspectives on Sustainable ...

    International Development Research Centre (IDRC) Digital Library (Canada)

    Reforming Social Policy presents an overview of social policy reforms currently ... It shows how some experimental approaches to reform have worked in different ... and students in development studies and social sciences; policymakers and ...

  10. Education as Recovery: Neoliberalism, School Reform, and the Politics of Crisis

    Science.gov (United States)

    Slater, Graham B.

    2015-01-01

    Building upon critical education policy studies of crisis, disaster, and reform, this essay develops a theory of "recovery" that further elaborates the nature and operation of "crisis politics" in neoliberal education reform. Recovery is an integral process in capital accumulation, exploiting material, and subjective…

  11. Compensation Reform and Design Preferences of Teacher Incentive Fund Grantees. Policy Paper

    Science.gov (United States)

    Heyburn, Sara; Lewis, Jessica; Ritter, Gary

    2010-01-01

    In U.S. K-12 public education, incentive pay for educators remains firmly fixed as a high-interest policy topic and has recently become a popular reform initiative in many school systems. The Teacher Incentive Fund (TIF), created in 2006 by the U.S. Department of Education, is at the forefront of this policy movement and has provided hundreds of…

  12. Improving Finance for Qatari Education Reform. Research Brief

    Science.gov (United States)

    Guarino, Cassandra M.; Galama, Titus; Constant, Louay; Gonzalez, Gabriella; Tanner, Jeffery C.; Goldman, Charles A.

    2009-01-01

    Qatar's education reform, which included implementation of a new finance system, appears to be providing schools with adequate funding but is still struggling with issues of transparency and swift policy shifts that have been difficult to accommodate. [For full report, "Developing a School Finance System for K-12 Reform in Qatar", see…

  13. Curriculum Reform in Higher Education: A Contested Space

    Science.gov (United States)

    Shay, Suellen

    2015-01-01

    Drawing on the theoretical and analytical tools from the sociology of education, in particular the work of Basil Bernstein and Karl Maton, the paper explores the tensions within curriculum reform discourses and how these tensions play out in different global contexts. The analysis focuses on two curriculum reform policies--Hong Kong and South…

  14. Regulatory Autonomy and Performance: The Reform of Higher Education Re-Visited

    Science.gov (United States)

    Enders, Jurgen; de Boer, Harry; Weyer, Elke

    2013-01-01

    The main aim of this article is to contribute to the understanding of organizational autonomy and control in higher education reform and related expectations as regards the performance of universities. Our analyses draws on principal-agent models as a normative theory of policy reform, and institutionalist approaches in public policy and…

  15. Attitudinal Variables Affecting Education Reforms and Quality of Primary Education in Uganda

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nyenje, Aida; Nkata, James

    2016-01-01

    This paper establishes the extent to which attitudinal variables affect the education reforms and subsequently the quality of primary education in Uganda. The paper is based on the views of a wide spectrum of different education stakeholders including: policy analysts, Members of Parliament (MPs), education officers, Headteachers, teaching staff,…

  16. Measuring improvement in knowledge of drug policy reforms following a police education program in Tijuana, Mexico.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Arredondo, J; Strathdee, S A; Cepeda, J; Abramovitz, D; Artamonova, I; Clairgue, E; Bustamante, E; Mittal, M L; Rocha, T; Bañuelos, A; Olivarria, H O; Morales, M; Rangel, G; Magis, C; Beletsky, L

    2017-11-08

    Mexico's 2009 "narcomenudeo reform" decriminalized small amounts of drugs, shifting some drug law enforcement to the states and mandating drug treatment diversion instead of incarceration. Data from Tijuana suggested limited implementation of this harm reduction-oriented policy. We studied whether a police education program (PEP) improved officers' drug and syringe policy knowledge, and aimed to identify participant characteristics associated with improvement of drug policy knowledge. Pre- and post-training surveys were self-administered by municipal police officers to measure legal knowledge. Training impact was assessed through matched paired nominal data using McNemar's tests. Multivariable logistic regression was used to identify predictors of improved legal knowledge, as measured by officers' ability to identify conceptual legal provisions related to syringe possession and thresholds of drugs covered under the reform. Of 1750 respondents comparing pre- versus post training, officers reported significant improvement (p < 0.001) in their technical understanding of syringe possession (56 to 91%) and drug amounts decriminalized, including marijuana (9 to 52%), heroin (8 to 71%), and methamphetamine (7 to 70%). The training was associated with even greater success in improving conceptual legal knowledge for syringe possession (67 to 96%) (p < 0.001), marijuana (16 to 91%), heroin (11 to 91%), and methamphetamine (11 to 89%). In multivariable modeling, those with at least a high school education were more likely to exhibit improvement of conceptual legal knowledge of syringe possession (adjusted odds ratio [aOR] 2.6, 95% CI 1.4-3.2) and decriminalization for heroin (aOR 2.7, 95% CI 1.3-4.3), methamphetamine (aOR 2.2, 95% CI 1.4-3.2), and marijuana (aOR 2.5, 95% CI 1.6-4). Drug policy reform is often necessary, but not sufficient to achieve public health goals because of gaps in translating formal laws to policing practice. To close such gaps, PEP initiatives

  17. High School Diversification against Educational Equality: A Critical Analysis of Neoliberal Education Reform in South Korea

    Science.gov (United States)

    Oh, Jeongran

    2011-01-01

    Recent reforms of high school education in Korea have focused on transforming the uniform and standardized system into a deregulated and diversified system that has an emphasis on school choice and competition. Situating the high school diversification policy in the context of the recent controversy of the neoliberal educational reform, this study…

  18. A comparison of higher education reforms in Egypt and Morocco

    OpenAIRE

    Kohstall, Florian

    2012-01-01

    This doctoral thesis examines the impact of international aid agencies on the reform agenda of North African countries. It analyses and compares the paths of higher education reform (1997-2007) in Egypt and Morocco, using analytical instruments pertaining to new approaches in public policy theory. For a long time, both countries appeared relatively immune against reform pressure from outside. Still, the analysis of their reform processes shows that the internationalization of higher educa...

  19. Globalization, statist political economy, and unsuccessful education reform in South Korea, 1993-2003.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ki Su Kim

    2005-02-01

    Full Text Available This article examines the relationship between globalization and national education reforms, especially those of educational systems. Instead of exploring the much debated issues of how globalization affects national educational systems and how the nations react by what kinds of systemic education reform, however, it focuses on what such a method often leaves out, viz., the internal conditions of a nation that facilitates or hampers reform efforts. Taking South Korea as an example, it explores that country's unique national context which restricts and even inhibits education reforms. Especially noted here is the established "statist" political economy in education. In the paper's analysis, although South Korea's statist political economy has made a substantial contribution to economic and educational development, it is now considered increasingly unviable as globalization progresses. Nevertheless, the internal conditions, resultant from the previous statist policies, set limits on policy makers' efforts to alter the existing educational system. The analysis suggests that a fuller assessment of globalization's impact upon national educational systems or their reforms requires a perspective which is broad enough to encompass not only the concepts and/or theories of globalization and nation states but also the power relations and ideological setup of individual nations.

  20. Institutional stakeholder perceptions of barriers to addiction treatment under Mexico's drug policy reform.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Werb, Dan; Strathdee, Steffanie A; Meza, Emilo; Rangel Gomez, Maria Gudelia; Palinkas, Lawrence; Medina-Mora, Maria Elena; Beletsky, Leo

    2017-05-01

    Mexico has experienced disproportionate drug-related harms given its role as a production and transit zone for illegal drugs destined primarily for the USA. In response, in 2009, the Mexican federal government passed legislation mandating pre-arrest diversion of drug-dependent individuals towards addiction treatment. However, this federal law was not specific about how the scale-up of the addiction treatment sector was to be operationalised. We therefore conducted in-depth qualitative interviews with key 'interactors' in fields affected by the federal legislation, including participants from the law enforcement, public health, addiction treatment, and governmental administration sectors. Among 19 participants from the municipal, state and federal levels were interviewed and multiple barriers to policy reform were identified. First, there is a lack of institutional expertise to implement the reform. Second, the operationalisation of the reform was not accompanied by a coordinated action plan. Third, the law is an unfunded mandate. Institutional barriers are likely hampering the implementation of Mexico's policy reform. Addressing the concerns expressed by interactors through the scale-up of services, the provision of increased training and education programmes for stakeholders and a coordinated action plan to operationalise the policy reform are likely needed to improve the policy reform process.

  1. Policy Capacity Meets Politics: Comment on "Health Reform Requires Policy Capacity".

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fafard, Patrick

    2015-07-22

    It is difficult to disagree with the general argument that successful health reform requires a significant degree of policy capacity or that all players in the policy game need to move beyond self-interested advocacy. However, an overly broad definition of policy capacity is a problem. More important perhaps, health reform inevitably requires not just policy capacity but political leadership and compromise. © 2015 by Kerman University of Medical Sciences.

  2. Reforming Social Policy: Changing Perspectives on Sustainable ...

    International Development Research Centre (IDRC) Digital Library (Canada)

    Reforming Social Policy: Changing Perspectives on Sustainable Human Development. Book cover Reforming Social Policy: Changing Perspectives on Sustainable Human Development. Directeur(s):. Daniel Morales-Gómez, Necla Tschirgi, and Jennifer L. Moher. Maison(s) d'édition: IDRC. 1 janvier 1999. ISBN :.

  3. Education Policy Reform in Sri Lanka: The Double-Edged Sword of Political Will

    Science.gov (United States)

    Little, Angela W.

    2011-01-01

    In 1997, the Government of Sri Lanka launched a comprehensive set of education reforms designed to promote equitable access to basic education and improvements in learning outcomes. The package of reforms arose as a political response to widespread youth unrest in the late 1980s and attracted considerable "political will", a vague but…

  4. Educational Policy Borrowing in China: Looking West or Looking East? Routledge Research in International and Comparative Education

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tan, Charlene

    2016-01-01

    For over a decade, Mainland China has been embarking on an ambitious nation-wide education reform ("New Curriculum Reform") for its basic education. The reform reflects China's propensity to borrow selected educational policies from elsewhere, particularly North America and Europe. Chinese scholars have used a local proverb "the…

  5. Intersections between School Reform, the Arts, and Special Education: The Children Left Behind

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hourigan, Ryan M.

    2014-01-01

    Arts education and special education within public schools have faced similar challenges in the wake of school reform. Services and programming have been reduced, leaving a larger gap in resources and accessibility. Because of loopholes in policy, new reform initiatives such as vouchers and charter schools will continue to marginalize students…

  6. Reforms and innovations in Nordic vocational education:

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Jørgensen, Christian Helms

    2018-01-01

    The chapter examines policy reforms and innovations in the Nordic vocational education and training systems (VET) related to two challenges. The first is to improve the links of the VET system to the labour market and to ease the students’ transition to employment. It examines three new types...

  7. Reforms, Leadership and Quality Management in Greek Higher Education

    Science.gov (United States)

    Papadimitriou, Antigoni

    2011-01-01

    This article reports on research to form an understanding of how to account whether and how quality management (QM) has been adopted in Greek higher education. Greece only recently introduced quality assurance policies. In this study, I will describe governmental reforms related to QM policies until 2010. An issue that is frequently addressed…

  8. Enhancing teaching and learning in the Dutch vocational education system : Reforms enacted

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Elly de Bruijn; Stephen Billett; Jeroen Onstenk

    2017-01-01

    This book discusses how the Dutch vocational education system has undergone significant waves of reform driven by global imperatives, national concerns and governmental policy goals. Like elsewhere, the impetuses for these reforms are directed to generating a more industry-responsive,

  9. Policy Capacity Meets Politics; Comment on “Health Reform Requires Policy Capacity”

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Patrick Fafard

    2015-10-01

    Full Text Available It is difficult to disagree with the general argument that successful health reform requires a significant degree of policy capacity or that all players in the policy game need to move beyond self-interested advocacy. However, an overly broad definition of policy capacity is a problem. More important perhaps, health reform inevitably requires not just policy capacity but political leadership and compromise.

  10. Balancing the Readiness Equation in Early Childhood Education Reform

    Science.gov (United States)

    Brown, Christopher P.

    2010-01-01

    As policy-makers continue to implement early childhood education reforms that frame the field as a mechanism that is to ready children for elementary school success, questions arise as to how the multiple variables in the readiness equation, such as the child, family, and program, are affected by these policies. The instrumental case study…

  11. Excavating silences and tensions of agency|passivity in science education reform

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rivera Maulucci, Maria S.

    2010-12-01

    I reflect on studies by Rodriguez and Carlone, Haun-Frank, and Kimmel to emphasize the ways in which they excavate silences in the science education literature related to linguistic and cultural diversity and situating the problem of reform in teachers rather than contextual factors, such as traditional schooling discourses and forces that serve to marginalize science. I propose that the current push for top-down reform and accountability diminishes opportunities for receptivity, learning with and from students in order to transform teachers' practices and promote equity in science education. I discuss tensions of agency and passivity in science education reform and argue that attention to authentic caring constitutes another silence in the science education literature. I conclude that the current policy context positions teachers and science education researchers as tempered radicals struggling against opp(reg)ressive reforms and that there is a need for more studies to excavate these and other silences.

  12. Policies of ‘modernisation’ in European education

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Rasmussen, Palle Damkjær; Larson, Anne; Rönnberg, Linda

    2015-01-01

    This special issue offers empirically and theoretically informed accounts from education policy research carried out in different national contexts in Europe. This special issue sheds light on how modernising approaches to educational governance and reform, grouped under the umbrella of new public...... management, are strongly present in European education policy, both at transnational levels and in individual countries, and points to important implications for these developments....

  13. Education Policy Borrowing in China: Has the West Wind Overpowered the East Wind?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tan, Charlene; Chua, Catherine S. K.

    2015-01-01

    Recent education reform in China reflects the global trend of education policy borrowing from Anglophone countries such as the USA. The reform in China essentially advocates shifting from knowledge reproduction and didacticism to knowledge construction by students through a learner-centredness approach. Aware of the trend of borrowing policy from…

  14. Concepts and Policy Innovations in the National Education Plan

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yinfu, Yang

    2017-01-01

    The theme of the "Outline of the National Mid- to Long-Term Plan for Education Reform and Development (2010-2020)" is building a nation rich in human resources, its primary thread is promoting the scientific development of education, and its soul is reform and innovation. The important concepts and policy innovations of the National…

  15. Forest policy reform in Brazil

    Science.gov (United States)

    S. Bauch; E. Sills; L.C. Rodriguez Estraviz; K. McGinley; F. Cubbage

    2009-01-01

    Rapid deforestation in the Brazilian Amazon, caused by economic, social, and policy factors, has focused global and national attention on protecting this valuable forest resource. In response, Brazil reformed its federal forest laws in 2006, creating new regulatory, development, and incentive policy instruments and institutions. Federal forestry responsibilities are...

  16. Reform of teacher education and teacher educator competences

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Rasmussen, Jens

    Despite it is well known known and recognized that teacher educators’ competences play a decisive role for the education of new teachers and also for the quality of the profession as such very little research is conducted on the competences of teacher educators and their training. It is also...... an established fact that the implementation of teacher education reforms to a large extent stands and falls with the competences of the teacher educators. Not least it is of importance that teacher educators possess the kind of competences that are needed to meet the intentions of a reform. Failing teacher...... educator competences might just as well be an explanation for frequent reforms in teacher education as it can be failure of the reforms themselves. Danish teacher education was in 2012 reformed for the third time in only fifteen years, but teacher educator competences were not mapped at all during...

  17. Measuring improvement in knowledge of drug policy reforms following a police education program in Tijuana, Mexico

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    J. Arredondo

    2017-11-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background Mexico’s 2009 “narcomenudeo reform” decriminalized small amounts of drugs, shifting some drug law enforcement to the states and mandating drug treatment diversion instead of incarceration. Data from Tijuana suggested limited implementation of this harm reduction-oriented policy. We studied whether a police education program (PEP improved officers’ drug and syringe policy knowledge, and aimed to identify participant characteristics associated with improvement of drug policy knowledge. Methods Pre- and post-training surveys were self-administered by municipal police officers to measure legal knowledge. Training impact was assessed through matched paired nominal data using McNemar’s tests. Multivariable logistic regression was used to identify predictors of improved legal knowledge, as measured by officers’ ability to identify conceptual legal provisions related to syringe possession and thresholds of drugs covered under the reform. Results Of 1750 respondents comparing pre- versus post training, officers reported significant improvement (p < 0.001 in their technical understanding of syringe possession (56 to 91% and drug amounts decriminalized, including marijuana (9 to 52%, heroin (8 to 71%, and methamphetamine (7 to 70%. The training was associated with even greater success in improving conceptual legal knowledge for syringe possession (67 to 96% (p < 0.001, marijuana (16 to 91%, heroin (11 to 91%, and methamphetamine (11 to 89%. In multivariable modeling, those with at least a high school education were more likely to exhibit improvement of conceptual legal knowledge of syringe possession (adjusted odds ratio [aOR] 2.6, 95% CI 1.4–3.2 and decriminalization for heroin (aOR 2.7, 95% CI 1.3–4.3, methamphetamine (aOR 2.2, 95% CI 1.4–3.2, and marijuana (aOR 2.5, 95% CI 1.6–4. Conclusions Drug policy reform is often necessary, but not sufficient to achieve public health goals because of gaps in translating

  18. Use of a policy debate to teach residents about health care reform.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nguyen, Vu Q C; Hirsch, Mark A

    2011-09-01

    Resident education involves didactics and pedagogic strategies using a variety of tools and technologies in order to improve critical thinking skills. Debating is used in educational settings to improve critical thinking skills, but there have been no reports of its use in residency education. The present paper describes the use of debate to teach resident physicians about health care reform. We aimed to describe the method of using a debate in graduate medical education. Second-year through fourth-year physical medicine and rehabilitation residents participated in a moderated policy debate in which they deliberated whether the United States has one of the "best health care system(s) in the world." Following the debate, the participants completed an unvalidated open-ended questionnaire about health care reform. Although residents expressed initial concerns about participating in a public debate on health care reform, all faculty and residents expressed that the debate was robust, animated, and enjoyed by all. Components of holding a successful debate on health care reform were noted to be: (1) getting "buy-in" from the resident physicians; (2) preparing the debate; and (3) follow-up. The debate facilitated the study of a large, complex topic like health care reform. It created an active learning process. It encouraged learners to keenly attend to an opposing perspective while enthusiastically defending their position. We conclude that the use of debates as a teaching tool in resident education is valuable and should be explored further.

  19. Research and Policy in Education: Evidence, Ideology and Impact

    Science.gov (United States)

    Whitty, Geoff

    2016-01-01

    The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) tells us that 90 per cent of education reforms are not properly evaluated. So it seems that governments have not lived up to their own ideals of evidence-informed policymaking. "Research and Policy in Education" argues that education policy is as often driven by political…

  20. Reform Implementation and Educational Management in Vocational Colleges

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Friche, Nanna; Slottved, Mette

    In 2014, a new reform of the VET system in Denmark was decided by a broad political coalition in the Parliament. This reform implies fundamental changes in VET, for example by changing the course structure and design, by an intended boost of teaching quality, by limited access, and a separation...... and targets reflects governance principles of performance management. Performance management is an idea that is growing in popularity, in Europa and abroad. In Denmark, the VET reform represents an example of how management philosophy and ideas of performance management inform a number of current reforms...... in the policy area of education. The logic of performance management is that organizations and individuals are given objectives, measurable indicators are derived from these objectives, and features such as authority or incentives are deployed in order for organizational actors to meet or improve performance...

  1. ETF Yearbook 2012: Evaluation and Monitoring of Vocational Education and Training Systems and the Role of Evidence-Based Policy in Their Reforms

    Science.gov (United States)

    European Training Foundation, 2012

    2012-01-01

    The "ETF Yearbook 2012" continues the tradition of highlighting a thematic field of particular importance to the work of the European Training Foundation (ETF). The theme of this yearbook is evaluation and monitoring of vocational education and training (VET) systems and the role of evidence-based policy in VET reforms in ETF partner…

  2. Three decades of policy layering and politically sustainable reform in the European Union's agricultural policy

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Daugbjerg, Carsten; Swinbank, Alan

    2016-01-01

    The study of policy reform has tended to focus on single-stage reforms taking place over a relatively short period. Recent research has drawn attention to gradual policy changes unfolding over extended periods. One strategy of gradual change is layering, in which new policy dimensions...

  3. Ghana's education reform 2007: A realistic proposition or a crisis of vision?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kuyini, Ahmed Bawa

    2013-07-01

    Ghana's recent "Education Reform 2007" envisions a system that strives to achieve both domestic and internationally-oriented goals emanating (1) from the Education for All (EFA) initiative, (2) from the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child and (3) from global trends in education. Emboldened by the implementation of foreign-donor-funded programmes such as EFA, the restructuring of the Ghana Education Sector Project (EdSeP) and the Science Resource Centres (SRC) project, both the education reform of 2007 and recent educational policy debates have reiterated the need to emphasise the teaching of science and information and communication technology to make Ghana's students/graduates more competitive in the global labour market. However, the bulk of Ghana's economic activity actually remains domestic or unglobalised. And given a weak economy and declining social spending due to strict adherence to the prescribed structural adjustment policies of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank (WB), there is concern that a focus on international competitiveness may be a crisis of vision. On the basis of the Ghanaian government's failure to meet the stated goals of previous reforms such as that of 1974, and the education system's continuing dependence on foreign donor support, this paper argues that the goals of the new reform may be unachievable on a sustainable basis. It also argues that rather than subjugate national domestic priorities to a mirage of international credibility/competitiveness, Ghana should concentrate on capacitating her students/graduates to make maximum impact at domestic and local community levels.

  4. An analysis of policy levers used to implement mental health reform in Australia 1992-2012.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Grace, Francesca C; Meurk, Carla S; Head, Brian W; Hall, Wayne D; Carstensen, Georgia; Harris, Meredith G; Whiteford, Harvey A

    2015-10-24

    Over the past two decades, mental health reform in Australia has received unprecedented government attention. This study explored how five policy levers (organisation, regulation, community education, finance and payment) were used by the Australian Federal Government to implement mental health reforms. Australian Government publications, including the four mental health plans (published in 1992, 1998, 2003 and 2008) were analysed according to policy levers used to drive reform across five priority areas: [1] human rights and community attitudes; [2] responding to community need; [3] service structures; [4] service quality and effectiveness; and [5] resources and service access. Policy levers were applied in varying ways; with two or three levers often concurrently used to implement a single initiative or strategy. For example, changes to service structures were achieved using various combinations of all five levers. Attempts to improve service quality and effectiveness were instead made through a single lever-regulation. The use of some levers changed over time, including a move away from prescriptive, legislative use of regulation, towards a greater focus on monitoring service standards and consumer outcomes. Patterns in the application of policy levers across the National Mental Health Strategy, as identified in this analysis, represent a novel way of conceptualising the history of mental health reform in Australia. An improved understanding of the strategic targeting and appropriate utilisation of policy levers may assist in the delivery and evaluation of evidence-based mental health reform in the future.

  5. Mediating Education Policy: Making up the "Anti-Politics" of Third-Sector Participation in Public Education

    Science.gov (United States)

    Williamson, Ben

    2014-01-01

    This article examines the participation of "third-sector" organisations in public education in England. These organisations act as a cross-sectoral policy network made up of new kinds of policy experts: mediators and brokers with entrepreneurial careers in ideas. They have sought to make education reform thinkable, intelligible and…

  6. District Leaders' Framing of Educator Evaluation Policy

    Science.gov (United States)

    Woulfin, Sarah L.; Donaldson, Morgaen L.; Gonzales, Richard

    2016-01-01

    Purpose: Educator evaluation systems have recently undergone scrutiny and reform, and district and school leaders play a key role in interpreting and enacting these systems. This article uses framing theory to understand district leaders' interpretation and advancement of a state's new educator evaluation policy. Research Methods: The article…

  7. BUSINESSMEN AND EDUCATIONAL POLICY: HOW THE PROCLAIMED RIGHT TO QUALITY EDUCATION IS DENIED IN PRACTICE BY BUSINESS REFORMERS

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Luiz Carlos de Freitas

    2014-06-01

    Full Text Available Despite that businessmen were always trying to interfere with the educational process from the times of theory of human capital, what can be happening of new that is motivating an increased interest of the business community through education? Is it possible that changes in the socio-economic development process of countries or their own crises of capital, are mobilizing the businessmen? We think so. The current interest of businessmen has specific aspects that deserve to be examined. It is not recommended that we believe that “history is repeating itself”. This linearity of analysis disarm us for the local confrontations of contradictions placed by this new escalation of capital on education. The educational policy of the reformers is produced to articulate the need to qualify for the new forms of organization of productive work, at the same time that it preserves and amplifies the classical social functions of the school: exclusion and subordination. At stake is the political and ideological control of the school, at a time when some greater degree of access to knowledge is required by new forms of organization of productive work, new consumption demands of the capitalist system and new political pressures for social mobility through the education.

  8. Policy of Inclusive Education for Education for All in Indonesia

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Asal Wahyuni Erlin Mulyadi

    2017-09-01

    Full Text Available The purpose of this article is to discuss the basic and essential contents of the policy of inclusive education in Indonesia. Inclusive education is the recent worldwide agenda for educational reform toward the no-discrimination in education. Regardless of any condition and circumstances, it is guaranteed that every child has the right for education, as it is also clearly highlighted in the global program of Education for All (EFA. This paper is a content and analytic review on the national policy of inclusive education towards the education for all in Indonesia, i.e the Regulation of National Ministry of Education (PERMENDIKNAS Number 70 Year 2009. Number of schools implementing the inclusive education policy has significantly increased, supported also by the province and district related regulations. However, the context of the policy of inclusive education as the major guideline for the policy implementation lead to various and even narrowed perspective on the concept of inclusion. Inclusive education is still discussed more in term of learners with disabilities only. Much progress has been made, yet it is still much left to be accomplished to achieve the fundamental and universal rights on education to all society.

  9. Education Reform and Equal Opportunity in Japan

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Akito Okada

    2012-10-01

    Full Text Available Recently, there have been concerns that equality of educational opportunity has been lost and that this is leading to the stratification of Japanese society through the widening of income differentials, in a 'gap society'. In such a disparity society, secure full- time jobs are increasingly becoming limited to those who graduate from prestigious universities, and entry into those institutions is becoming connected more clearly with family income and investments. Parental attitudes towards their children taking extra lessons after school, going to cram schools, getting into university, and getting into a relatively highly-ranked university have influenced educational costs. This article examines the historical formation of the concept of equality of opportunity, which has been applied to the educational policy in Japan, particularly from the end of World War II to the new millennium. This paper also expands on the existing literature on educational policies in contemporary Japan by examining how the current educational reform efforts have affected equality of educational opportunity among children from different family backgrounds.

  10. The tension between research of policy and research for policy in an era of transnational education policy-making

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Desjardins, Richard; Rubenson, Kjell

    2009-01-01

    of implications for education policy-making processes and not least it has had an impact on who conducts policy studies and how. This book brings together a variety of contributions which explore recent political economic changes affecting education policy-making processes including the ascension of neo-liberalism......As national governments reform their educational systems to meet the challenges of living in a globalised world, the agenda setting power of transnational organizations like the OECD and the EU have become more transparent in the last decade. The phenomenon of globalization has a number...... and the transnationalization of education policy-making, as well as the tension between research of policy and research for policy. Working from different perspectives, the authors help to provide a better understanding of these two important sets of issues which the field of education must contend with today....

  11. Polarization and Policy Reform : Anti-Corruption Policymaking in Sub-Saharan Africa

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Torenvlied, René; Klein Haarhuis, Carolien M.

    2008-01-01

    The ability of political systems to adopt policy reforms contributes to their internal stability. This article analyses 29 anti-corruption reforms in seven sub-Saharan countries. It seeks to explain the level of adopted reform in these countries from conflicts of interests between policy actors. Two

  12. The use of deliberative method in educational reform

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ivan Buljan

    2016-12-01

    Full Text Available The project named Higher Education Reform was established in 2004 as one of the implementation elements of the European higher education policy. The core activities of the project were executed throughout the formation of National Teams of Bologna Experts who had the task and duty to contribute to the general and real awareness-rising on the topic of the higher education reform among different stakeholders in participating countries of the Bologna Process. The Croatian National Team of Bologna Expert (Hrvatska stručna skupina za Bolonjski proces was established in 2011. Among the diversity of activities executed by the student representatives in the Team, the important place is reserved for the deliberative workshops held during 2013. The target groups of the deliberative workshops were students and other stakeholders in the higher education. This paper presents the process of including the stakeholders in educational reform through the deliberative workshops. During the workshops, the organizers found out how the stakeholders are rethinking on some of the aspects of the Bologna Process, how they perceive and value the work of student representative and volunteering activities, and what they think about the extra-curricular activities of the student and how they value such activities. The form of deliberative workshops encouraged participants to freely and in constructive way express their thoughts and expectances in order to exchange ideas and knowledge about the matter, and to make a decision on common suggestions to solve a particular problem in the context of higher education (introduction of a new practice, modifications and alternations of existing practices, etc. This type of the application of deliberation method is extremely useful, which is the reason for the suggestion of the method’s use in preparing, implementing and evaluating the educational reforms.

  13. The Discourse of Partnership and the Reality of Reform: Interrogating the Recent Reform Agenda at Initial Teacher Education and Induction Levels in Ireland

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Judith Harford

    2016-09-01

    Full Text Available Over the last decade, teacher education in Ireland has experienced radical reconceptualization and restructuring at both initial teacher education [ITE] and induction levels, with reform of continuous professional development now in the planning phase. The establishment of the Teaching Council (2006 as a statutory, regulatory body, with a role in the review and accreditation of teacher education, increased the visibility of and policy focus on teacher education. Significant reform of initial teacher education was announced in 2011 that included both an extension of the duration of programmes and, most notably, the period the student teachers were to be engaged in school-based professional development. This increased period has been accompanied by a shift in the understanding of what is involved in practicum and implies a redefinition of the respective roles of the university and the school, and the development of a new form of partnership between both agencies. The period of induction and probation has also become an area of reform with an emphasis on school-based coaching and the evaluation of newly qualified teachers, which devolves decisions on teachers’ full recognition and membership of the profession, to principals and colleagues. This shift, which changes the established approach to induction for primary level teachers, has resulted in the withdrawal of cooperation with this policy by the main teacher union and to the implementation process being stymied. Both policy developments bring the concept of partnership within Irish education into sharp focus: a partnership between schools and universities in ITE, but also partnership in policy development and implementation in the case of induction.

  14. Rethinking Bilingual Education in Peru: Intercultural Politics, State Policy and Indigenous Rights

    Science.gov (United States)

    Garcia, Maria Elena

    2004-01-01

    This paper explores recent changes in Peruvian national education policy and the effects these have had on indigenous populations. Situating Peruvian education reforms within a context of international multicultural development, the paper traces the history of reforms as implemented by national and international actors in varying degrees and…

  15. Science education reform in Confucian learning cultures: teachers' perspectives on policy and practice in Taiwan

    Science.gov (United States)

    Huang, Ying-Syuan; Asghar, Anila

    2018-03-01

    This empirical study investigates secondary science teachers' perspectives on science education reform in Taiwan and reflects how these teachers have been negotiating constructivist and learner-centered pedagogical approaches in contemporary science education. It also explores the challenges that teachers encounter while shifting their pedagogical focus from traditional approaches to teaching science to an active engagement in students' learning. Multiple sources of qualitative data were obtained, including individual interviews with science teachers and teachers' reflective journals about Confucianism in relation to their educational philosophies. Thematic analysis and constant comparative method were used to analyze the data. The findings revealed that Confucian traditions play a significant role in shaping educational practices in Taiwan and profoundly influence teachers' epistemological beliefs and their actual classroom practice. Indeed, science teachers' perspectives on Confucian learning traditions played a key role in supporting or obstructing their pedagogical commitments to inquiry-based and learner-centered approaches. This study draws on the literature concerning teachers' professional struggles and identity construction during educational reform. Specifically, we explore the ways in which teachers respond to educational changes and negotiate their professional identities. We employed various theories of identity construction to understand teachers' struggles and challenges while wrestling with competing traditional and reform-based pedagogical approaches. Attending to these struggles and the ways in which they inform the development of a teacher's professional identity is vital for sustaining current and future educational reform in Taiwan as well as in other Eastern cultures. These findings have important implications for teachers' professional development programs in East Asian cultures.

  16. Features of Formation of Ukrainian Education Policy

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Olga Nezhyva

    2016-07-01

    Full Text Available The purpose of this paper is to show features of formation of Ukrainian education policy. According to the author, the formation of the national education policy in Ukraine, as the European Union in its time, must find the thin boundary i.e. the balance between unity and dissimilarity of two dif erent education systems such as Soviet education system, which was inherited after the collapse of the Soviet Union, and European education system, which was unified by requirements of the Bologna Declaration. The author examines the features of the formation and development of Soviet and European education systems. Each of them has certain advantages and disadvantages. The author also presents that major educational reforms, which were only started in Ukraine, took place in Central and Eastern Europe in the late twentieth century. This process was caused by the collapse of bipolar world and scores of countries, which were formed in Europe and sought to European values and democratic reforms. Poland, Hungary, Romania, Slovenia and many other new independent states, which paid in full for socialist regimes, began reforms in education, politics, economics and other areas of activity. We can confidently say that the education system in the new founding countries of Europe not only shifted from one model (Soviet model to another (European model, but rather to achieve high performance in their development. The author points out that it is necessary to require continuing professional development of all categories of people, from teachers to car drivers. This growth must be accompanied with the received diplomas at the reputable higher educational institutions not only in Ukraine, but also abroad. Through this paper the author also wants to suggest that the main provisions of national education policy Ukraine is based on Ukrainian national idea. This national idea sounds as «Ukraine is as keeper of harmony between Eastern and Western Europe».

  17. Policy Capacity for Health Reform: Necessary but Insufficient: Comment on "Health Reform Requires Policy Capacity".

    Science.gov (United States)

    Adams, Owen

    2015-09-04

    Forest and colleagues have persuasively made the case that policy capacity is a fundamental prerequisite to health reform. They offer a comprehensive life-cycle definition of policy capacity and stress that it involves much more than problem identification and option development. I would like to offer a Canadian perspective. If we define health reform as re-orienting the health system from acute care to prevention and chronic disease management the consensus is that Canada has been unsuccessful in achieving a major transformation of our 14 health systems (one for each province and territory plus the federal government). I argue that 3 additional things are essential to build health policy capacity in a healthcare federation such as Canada: (a) A means of "policy governance" that would promote an approach to cooperative federalism in the health arena; (b) The ability to overcome the "policy inertia" resulting from how Canadian Medicare was implemented and subsequently interpreted; and (c) The ability to entertain a long-range thinking and planning horizon. My assessment indicates that Canada falls short on each of these items, and the prospects for achieving them are not bright. However, hope springs eternal and it will be interesting to see if the July, 2015 report of the Advisory Panel on Healthcare Innovation manages to galvanize national attention and stimulate concerted action. © 2016 by Kerman University of Medical Sciences.

  18. 76 FR 42625 - International Settlements Policy Reform

    Science.gov (United States)

    2011-07-19

    ...] International Settlements Policy Reform AGENCY: Federal Communications Commission. ACTION: Notice of proposed rulemaking. SUMMARY: The Federal Communications Commission proposes to remove the International Settlements... proposes to remove the International Settlements Policy (ISP) from all U.S. international routes except...

  19. The politics of health sector reform in developing countries: three cases of pharmaceutical policy.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Reich, M R

    1995-01-01

    This paper examines the political dynamics of health sector reform in poor countries, through a comparative study of pharmaceutical policy reform in Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, and the Philippines. The paper first reviews five reasons why policy reform is political. It then presents three political economic models of the policy reform process: the political will, political factions, and political survival models. Next, the paper describes the three cases of national pharmaceutical policy reform, and identifies common conditions that made these reforms politically feasible. The paper's analysis suggests that health sector reform is feasible at certain definable, and perhaps predictable, political moments, especially in the early periods of new regimes. The most important and manipulable political factors are: political timing, which provides opportunities for policy entrepreneurs to introduce their ideas into public debate, and political management of group competition, which allows leaders to control the political effects of distributional consequences and protect the regime's stability. A strong and narrow political coalition improves the capacity of political leaders to resist the pressures of concentrated economic costs (both inside and outside national boundaries). The paper argues that for reform to succeed, policy-makers need effective methods to analyze relevant political conditions and shape key political factors in favor of policy reform. The method of Political Mapping is briefly introduced as a technique that can help policy-makers in analyzing and managing the political dimensions of policy reform and in improving the political feasibility of reform.

  20. "Compensatory Legitimation" in Greek Educational Policy: An Explanation for the Abortive Educational Reforms in Greece in Comparison with Those in France.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Persianis, Panayiotis

    1998-01-01

    Examines the political dynamics of planning and implementing educational reforms in Greece, with comparisons to France. Argues that, as in France, the state's concern for "compensatory legitimation" provides a better tool than those advanced by sociologists or historians for explaining Greece's many failed educational reforms. Compares…

  1. The OECD and Educational Policy Reform: International Surveys, Governance, and Policy Evidence

    Science.gov (United States)

    Volante, Louis; Fazio, Xavier; Ritzen, Jo

    2017-01-01

    Over the past 50 years, the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) has increasingly influenced the nature and scope of education policies in primary, secondary, and tertiary sectors around the world. Policy suggestions in these sectors primarily stem from the results of their various international surveys such as the…

  2. DE-Sovietizing educational systems, learning from past policy and practice

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kaufman, Cathy C.

    1994-03-01

    All 21st century societies face the dilemma of reforming educational systems to meet changing social demands. In order to enable new beginnings to be made, this article examines the ending of reform efforts in the former Soviet Union immediately prior to the establishment of the Commonwealth of Independent States. Educational policy had followed a shifting course under changing Soviet leadership, much supposed reform consisting of little more than reworked statements of intent. In the second half of the 1980's, more serious attempts were made to raise enrollment of six-year olds, to upgrade instructional materials and teaching quality, and to redesign vocational education. Inadequate facilities and resources, lack of trained personnel, promotion on non-educational grounds, economic hardship and bureaucratic resistance hindered these reforms. As successor states to the Soviet Union — and others — face structural change, knowledge of why certain reforms were previously resisted will help future planning.

  3. Vehicles of Logics: The Role of Policy Documents and Instructional Materials in Reform

    Science.gov (United States)

    Woulfin, Sarah L.

    2016-01-01

    To understand the complexities of education policy implementation, it is necessary to consider how artifacts associated with reform are imbued with ideas, meanings, and values. This empirical paper draws on neo-institutional theory to reveal how artifacts carried particular logics (D'Adderio in "J Inst Econ" 7(2):197-230, 2011; Feldman…

  4. Thirty Years of Education in China: Between Change and No Change--A Comparative Analysis of Four Key Documents on Education Policy

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wenbin, Hu

    2012-01-01

    This article reviews the education reform and development footprints in China by analyzing four key education policy documents in the past three decades. The conclusion is that the reform and development of China's educational establishment have provided excellent support for the operations of China's political and economic systems. The reality is…

  5. Energy policies in the European Union. Germany's ecological tax reform

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Welfens, P.J.J.; Jungmittag, A.; Meyer, B.; Jasinski, P.

    2001-01-01

    The chapters discuss the following aspects: 1. Energy policy as a strategic element of economic policy in dynamic open economies. 2. Phasing out nuclear energy and core elements of sustainable energy strategy. 3. Ecological tax reform: Theory, modified double dividend and international aspects. 4. The policy framework in Europe and Germany. 5. Optimal ecological tax reform: Options and recommendations for an EU-action plan. 6. Conclusions. (orig./CB)

  6. Policies of “Modernisation” in European Education: Enactments and Consequences

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    The five articles in this special issue offer empirically and theoretically informed accounts from education policy research carried out in different national contexts in Europe. This special issue sheds light on how modernising approaches to educational governance and reform, grouped under...... the umbrella of new public management, are strongly present in European education policy, both at transnational levels and in individual countries, and points to important implications for these developments....

  7. Considerations for Education Reform in British Columbia

    Science.gov (United States)

    Santos, Ana

    2012-01-01

    Countries around the world refer to twenty-first century education as essential to maintaining personal and national economic advantage and draw on this discourse to advocate for and embark on educational reform. This paper examines issues around education reform, particularly in British Columbia. It argues that reformers should give careful…

  8. Policy Capacity for Health Reform: Necessary but Insufficient; Comment on “Health Reform Requires Policy Capacity”

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Owen Adams

    2016-01-01

    Full Text Available Forest and colleagues have persuasively made the case that policy capacity is a fundamental prerequisite to health reform. They offer a comprehensive life-cycle definition of policy capacity and stress that it involves much more than problem identification and option development. I would like to offer a Canadian perspective. If we define health reform as re-orienting the health system from acute care to prevention and chronic disease management the consensus is that Canada has been unsuccessful in achieving a major transformation of our 14 health systems (one for each province and territory plus the federal government. I argue that 3 additional things are essential to build health policy capacity in a healthcare federation such as Canada: (a A means of “policy governance” that would promote an approach to cooperative federalism in the health arena; (b The ability to overcome the ”policy inertia” resulting from how Canadian Medicare was implemented and subsequently interpreted; and (c The ability to entertain a long-range thinking and planning horizon. My assessment indicates that Canada falls short on each of these items, and the prospects for achieving them are not bright. However, hope springs eternal and it will be interesting to see if the July, 2015 report of the Advisory Panel on Healthcare Innovation manages to galvanize national attention and stimulate concerted action.

  9. Teacher Education Policies, Practices, and Reform in Scotland: Implications in the Indian Context

    Science.gov (United States)

    Misra, Pradeep Kumar

    2015-01-01

    India, a country of 1.27 billion, nowadays needs reforms, improvements, and new approaches in teacher education to cater to the demands of changing economy and society. This call to improve teacher education becomes more significant considering the fact that 50% of India's current population is below the age of 25 and over 65% below 35. There are…

  10. Reforming Technical and Technological Education.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wilson, David N.

    1993-01-01

    Review of technical and technological educational reform in Brazil, Canada, Germany, Great Britain, Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, and Sweden shows that reform takes time to complete effectively, long-term approaches are needed, and reform is linked to industrial development, regional cooperation, and decentralized decision making. (SK)

  11. Decentralization in Educational Governance and Its Challenges in Korea: Focused on Policy Conflicts between Central and Local Government in Education

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cha, Sung-Hyun

    2016-01-01

    Decentralization of educational governance is characterized by the recent education reform in Korea. With the election of progressive superintendents and local council members, educational policy conflicts have often occurred and deepened in the process of decision-making and implementation of policies such as School Violence Prevention, National…

  12. Credible Immigration Policy Reform: A Response to Briggs

    Science.gov (United States)

    Orrenius, Pia M.; Zavodny, Madeline

    2012-01-01

    The authors agree with Vernon M. Briggs, Jr., that U.S. immigration policy has had unexpected consequences. The 1965 immigration reforms led to unanticipated chain migration from developing countries whereas the 1986 Immigration Reform and Control Act failed to slow unauthorized immigration. The result is a large foreign-born population with…

  13. POLICY DEVELOPMENT TRAINING AND EDUCATION RESOURCES TO REFORM THE LOCAL GOVERNMENT DISTRICT OF MAKASSAR SIDENRENG RAPPANG

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Syamsuddin Maldun

    2015-02-01

    Full Text Available This research aims to know and study the strategy of resource development policy reform of local government district of Makassar Sidenreng Rappang. The research method used is descriptive qualitative study type, while the phenomenological approach is used. This is intended to give description in a systematic, factual and actual response object is examined. Results of the research implementation of education and training is not conducted in a planned and timely to get quality apparatus of the abilities, knowledge, skills, expertise, and job skills, as well as a good mental attitude, and optimal performance. Whereas in the era of regional autonomy, it takes the resources of local government apparatus that is intelligent and responsive to the needs of an increasingly complex society services. 

  14. Strengthening the Profession? A Comparison of Recent Reforms in the UK and the USA. ACER Policy Briefs. Issue 2

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ingvarson, Lawrence

    2002-01-01

    Educational policy makers in many countries recognize the need to focus their policies more directly on factors affecting the quality of teachers. Common to these policies are attempts to reform teachers' pay systems and career paths to place greater value on teachers' work and give stronger incentives for professional development. Investing in…

  15. QUALIFICATIONS FRAMEWORKS LEADING TO REFORMS IN EAST EUROPEAN EDUCATION

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Arjen Vos

    2014-01-01

    Full Text Available The paper examines the evolution of qualifications frameworks across Europe. Five years ago, it was not clear if the discussions on national qualification frameworks (NQF in Eastern Europe would lead to the new standards and qualifications development, or initiate the reforms in education and training. Now, there is evidence of more countries using the NQFs to promote a dialogue between the public and private sectors on the expected outcomes of educational process. In some countries, the private sector has even taken the lead in the NQF discussions, being increasingly involved in their implementation. This is a fundamentally new paradigm in education policies and a cornerstone of the demand driven education and training. Each country is following its own patterns while moving to the comparable results. However, this is just the initial stage of NQF implementation. The author regards learning by doing and the local expertise expansion as the key challenges of the coming years. Although the reforms take time, they increasingly tend to become a shared public and private responsibility.

  16. Mexico's "ley de narcomenudeo" drug policy reform and the international drug control regime.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mackey, Tim K; Werb, Daniel; Beletsky, Leo; Rangel, Gudelia; Arredondo, Jaime; Strathdee, Steffanie A

    2014-11-14

    It has been over half a century since the landmark Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs was adopted, for the first time unifying international drug policy under a single treaty aimed at limiting use, manufacture, trade, possession, and trafficking of opiates, cannabis, and other narcotics. Since then, other international drug policy measures have been adopted, largely emphasizing enforcement-based approaches to reducing drug supply and use. Recently, in response to concerns that the historic focus on criminalization and enforcement has had limited effectiveness, international drug policies have begun to undergo a paradigm shift as countries seek to enact their own reforms to partially depenalize or deregulate personal drug use and possession. This includes Mexico, which in 2009 enacted national drug policy reform partially decriminalizing possession of small quantities of narcotics for personal consumption while also requiring drug treatment for repeat offenders. As countries move forward with their own reform models, critical assessment of their legal compatibility and effectiveness is necessary. In this commentary we conduct a critical assessment of the compatibility of Mexico's reform policy to the international drug policy regime and describe its role in the current evolving drug policy environment. We argue that Mexico's reform is consistent with flexibilities allowed under international drug treaty instruments and related commentaries. We also advocate that drug policy reforms and future governance efforts should be based on empirical evidence, emphasize harm reduction practices, and integrate evidence-based evaluation and implementation of drug reform measures.

  17. Education Reform and Career Education--Deja Vu.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Stock, Barbara

    1984-01-01

    The current outcry for educational reform raises issues that have already long concerned career education. This situation gives career educators the opportunity to provide leadership in attaining common educational goals. (JB)

  18. Policy conflicts : Market-oriented reform in health care

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Dolfsma, W.A.; Mcmaster, R.

    From an institutionalist perspective, we identify five sources of policy conflict. Each may explain why policies intended to obtain particular goals for an institutionalized practice may have unintended consequences. We illustrate by analyzing attempts at introducing market-oriented reform in health

  19. Education Governance for the Twenty-First Century: Overcoming the Structural Barriers to School Reform

    Science.gov (United States)

    Manna, Paul, Ed.; McGuinn, Patrick, Ed.

    2013-01-01

    America's fragmented, decentralized, politicized, and bureaucratic system of education governance is a major impediment to school reform. In this important new book, a number of leading education scholars, analysts, and practitioners show that understanding the impact of specific policy changes in areas such as standards, testing, teachers, or…

  20. Using Future Research Methods in Analysing Policies Relating to Open Distance Education in Africa

    Science.gov (United States)

    Makoe, Mpine Elizabeth

    2018-01-01

    Many African countries have developed policies to reform their education system in order to widen participation in higher education. To achieve this, open, online and distance education based models have been advocated as the most viable delivery tools in expanding access to higher education. However, the policy analysis of Kenya, Rwanda and…

  1. The Affordances and Constraints of Special Education Initial Teacher Licensure Policy for Teacher Preparation

    Science.gov (United States)

    Blanton, Linda P.; Boveda, Mildred; Munoz, Lorena R.; Pugach, Marleen C.

    2017-01-01

    Initial licensure polices in special education were examined to determine how these policies support or hinder reform efforts to develop teacher education programs that prepare graduates for the increasingly complex needs of diverse students. Initial special education licensure policies are described with an emphasis on the differences across…

  2. The Fiscal Stimuli for the Implementing Ukraine’s Energy Policy and Reforming Higher Education

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Synyutka Nataliya G.

    2017-07-01

    Full Text Available The article attempts to revise the issue of the State regulation of the macroeconomic processes associated with the economic, energy, fiscal, and educational reforms that are being carried out in Ukraine. In order to implement the State energy policy, fiscal approaches have been emphasized. The use of the fiscal stimulus of «carbon tax» can be seen as an effective measure for implementation of the existing State energy strategy. A review of introduction of such a tax in the developed countries confirms the expediency of applying fiscal mechanism in order to encourage investment in energy-efficient technologies. Prospects for introduction of this tax in Ukraine were considered. To this end, actual CO2 emissions have been generalized and prediction calculations for the energy sector have been accomplished. The calculated estimates of possible tax revenues have been provided. For further studies on the outlined topic, there is an impelling need to detalize the financial statistics of the ecologic tax revenues in terms of sources.

  3. Bilingual Education Policy and Practice in the Andes: Ideological Paradox and Intercultural Possibility.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hornberger, Nancy H.

    2000-01-01

    Discusses bilingual education policy and reform in the context of indigenous languages of Peru, Ecuador, and Bolivia, exploring the ideological paradox inherent in transforming a standardizing education into a diversifying one and in constructing a multilingual, multicultural national identity. Data come from policy documents and practitioner…

  4. Policy Reform Impact on Food Manufacturing

    OpenAIRE

    Celikkol, Pinar; Dunn, James W.; Stefanou, Spiro E.

    2003-01-01

    The impact of agricultural policies and their reform is of major concern when addressing issues of growth, innovation and consolidation in the food manufacturing sector. Growth is one of the forces fueling the globalization of food manufacturing activities. Market- and policy-driven forces present a myriad of opportunities to influence growth and reorientation of patterns at the nexus where food manufacturing links the food system. The productivity and international competitiveness of the foo...

  5. Education Reform for the Knowledge Economy in the State of Sangon

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lightfoot, Michael

    2015-01-01

    This paper aims to highlight the issues associated with the implementation of education reform policies relating to "future schools" in a small state in the Middle East and North Africa region. The study points to the consistency with which global corporations and the supranational organisations, such as UNESCO and the World Bank,…

  6. Free transfer, limited mobility: A decade of higher education reform in Egypt and Morocco

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Florian Kohstall

    2012-07-01

    Full Text Available This article aims to demonstrate how countries with a relative low performance in higher education like Egypt and Morocco, are informed and worked by the forces of internationalization in this domain. It compares the path of university reforms in both countries over the last decade, from their emergence on the agenda to their implementation. Through the lenses of a public policy approach it illustrates how higher education is subject to a complex negotiation process between international organizations and domestic policy-makers. The transfer of international models like grant-based funding and the Bologna process has become the driving force of these reforms. But when imposed through a top-down approach these models do not necessarily bring about the outcome they might have promised. They rather illustrate an example of distorted internationalization.

  7. Medical Education and Curriculum Reform: Putting Reform Proposals in Context

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Daniel Kam Yin Chan, MD, MB.BS, MHA

    2004-01-01

    Full Text Available The purpose of this paper is to elaborate criteria by which the principles of curriculum reform can be judged. To this end, the paper presents an overview of standard critiques of medical education and examines the ways medical curriculum reforms have responded to these critiques. The paper then sets out our assessment of these curriculum reforms along three parameters: pedagogy, educational context, and knowledge status. Following on from this evaluation of recent curriculum reforms, the paper puts forward four criteria with which to gauge the adequacy medical curriculum reform. These criteria enable us to question the extent to which new curricula incorporate methods and approaches for ensuring that its substance: overcomes the traditional opposition between clinical and resource dimensions of care; emphasizes that the clinical work needs to be systematized in so far as that it feasible; promotes multi-disciplinary team work, and balances clinical autonomy with accountability to non-clinical stakeholders.

  8. The History of Education Institutions in Developed Countries has Lessons for the Reform of the System of Higher Education in Africa

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Howells, John

    2007-01-01

    Universities in African countries are widely considered to be a colonial relic that is in desperate need of reform. This article argues that useful lessons for such a reform may be drawn from the developed countries' own education institution policy debates and history, especially as those relate...... to development. In that history, innovation-oriented industrial employers that advocate adjustment and institutional change at universities often clash with the vested interests of the educated elite and its desire to buttress its privileged social position with restrictions on entry into various professions...... and continued as useful complements to the stock of the technically educated in later stages of development. It is therefore suggested that the proper basis for university reform in Africa is to ask first whether the range and quality of educational institutions is appropriate to the current state of private...

  9. European Union dairy policy reform: impact and challenges

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Jongeneel, R.A.

    2011-01-01

    Recent Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) reforms have affected dairy policy, including the milk quota system, and increased the market orientation of the sector. A modelling exercise, using the European Dairy Industry Model (EDIM), simulates an initial sharp decline in the EU milk price in response

  10. Perceived Threat Associated with Police Officers and Black Men Predicts Support for Policing Policy Reform

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Allison Louise Skinner

    2016-07-01

    Full Text Available Racial disparities in policing and recent high-profile incidents resulting in the deaths of Black men have ignited a national debate on policing policies. Given evidence that both police officers and Black men may be associated with threat, we examined the impact of perceived threat on support for reformed policing policies. Across three studies we found correlational evidence that perceiving police officers as threatening predicts increased support for reformed policing practices (e.g., limiting the use of lethal force and matching police force demographics to those of the community. In contrast, perceiving Black men as threatening predicted reduced support for policing policy reform. Perceived threat also predicted willingness to sign a petition calling for police reform. Experimental evidence indicated that priming participants to associate Black men with threat could also reduce support for policing policy reform, and this effect was moderated by internal motivation to respond without prejudice. Priming participants to associate police officers with threat did not increase support for policing policy reform. Results indicate that resistance to policing policy reform is associated with perceiving Black men as threatening. Moreover, findings suggest that publicizing racially charged police encounters, which may conjure associations between Black men and threat, could reduce support for policing policy reform.

  11. The Mexican electricity sector: Policy analysis and reform (1992–2009)

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ramírez-Camperos, Adriana María; Rodríguez-Padilla, Víctor; Guido-Aldana, Pedro Antonio

    2013-01-01

    This article analyses the cause–effect relation of the structural reform in the Mexican electricity sector, called the Public Electricity Service Act, from 1992 to 2009. One of the main arguments of the reform is to attract private investment in order to reduce the financial load of the government in infrastructure for the development of the National Electric Power System by means of six modalities (Power Self-Supply, Cogeneration, Small Power Production, Independent Power Production, Power Export and Power Import). The article presents the global context of reforms adopted in 1990. The major policies and events are presented in chronological order (before and after reform). In addition, it analyses the new institutional framework, the evolution of modalities, technologies of electricity generation and tariffs. The main conclusion is that the result of reform could be considered a partial progress. The Independent Power Production modality shows greater participation, while Power Self-Supply and Cogeneration are lower. The subsidy policy is maintained. Progress is needed in policies and strengthening, and also in updating regulatory and normative frameworks

  12. Health Reform Requires Policy Capacity

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Pierre-Gerlier Forest

    2015-05-01

    Full Text Available Among the many reasons that may limit the adoption of promising reform ideas, policy capacity is the least recognized. The concept itself is not widely understood. Although policy capacity is concerned with the gathering of information and the formulation of options for public action in the initial phases of policy consultation and development, it also touches on all stages of the policy process, from the strategic identification of a problem to the actual development of the policy, its formal adoption, its implementation, and even further, its evaluation and continuation or modification. Expertise in the form of policy advice is already widely available in and to public administrations, to well-established professional organizations like medical societies and, of course, to large private-sector organizations with commercial or financial interests in the health sector. We need more health actors to join the fray and move from their traditional position of advocacy to a fuller commitment to the development of policy capacity, with all that it entails in terms of leadership and social responsibility

  13. Intersections between Music Education and Music Therapy: Education Reform, Arts Education, Exceptionality, and Policy at the Local Level

    Science.gov (United States)

    Salvador, Karen; Pasiali, Varvara

    2017-01-01

    In this article, a music teacher educator and a music therapy clinician and educator discuss special education policy and arts instruction at the district level. To illustrate the gulf between federal and local policies with regard to exceptional learners and arts instruction, we examine the intersections of music therapy and music education with…

  14. The Reform of Qatar University. Monograph

    Science.gov (United States)

    Moini, Joy S.; Bikson, Tora K.; Neu, C. Richard; DeSisto, Laura

    2009-01-01

    In 2003, the State of Qatar engaged the RAND-Qatar Policy Institute to assist Qatar University, the nation's first and only public higher education institution, with reform of its major administrative and academic structures, policies, and practices. This monograph summarizes that reform effort, which formally lasted from October 2003 through…

  15. What Do Professional Learning Policies Say about Purposes of Teacher Education?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kennedy, Aileen

    2015-01-01

    Enhancing teacher learning is acknowledged globally as a key route to improving student outcomes, thereby contributing to nation states' economic competitiveness. This globally accepted policy "hypernarrative" is driving reform of teacher education policy internationally. This article seeks to analyse some key features of contemporary…

  16. Education and the Community in the Peruvian Educational Reform.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Malpica, Carlos

    1980-01-01

    A structural and philosophical reform of Peruvian education was instituted in March 1972, using as its basis a local community education nucleus model. This article presents the reform experience, relates it to its historical antecedents, gives some information on evaluation studies in progress, and traces some projections for educational…

  17. Reforma Educativa: Proyecto de Reforma Educativa para Francia (Educational Reform: French Educational Reform Proposals).

    Science.gov (United States)

    Langevin, Paul

    This document is a Spanish translation of French educational reform proposals and general educational philosophy. Initial remarks in the document concern educational objectives and general aims of the particular educational levels. Different, possible, educational progressions are considered, and the university system is discussed. Teacher…

  18. Neoliberalism, Social Darwinism, and Consumerism Masquerading as School Reform

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tienken, Christopher H.

    2013-01-01

    Education reform policies harvested from neoliberalism, social Darwinism, consumerism, and free-market ideologies have begun to replace the pragmatic progressivism of the pre-World War II era. In this article, I use three federal and state education reform policies and programs--No Child Left Behind Act, Common Core State Standards Initiative, and…

  19. SOCIAL POLICIES AND STRUCTURAL REFORMS IN EUROPE

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ferran Brunet Cid

    2006-12-01

    Full Text Available This paper considers the social and structural policies in contemporary Europe. The presentation is organized in four sections. First, we discuss the emerging Europe, the new unity based on democracy and the market economy, the special European Union formula, and comparisons with America. Second, we analyze the dynamics of the European economy, the convergence process, the gaps between United States in productivity and standard of living, competitiveness issues, and the emergence of a new European economy and new European policy mix.Third, we consider European social conditions, the stationary and aging population, Europe’s low employment rate and permanently high unemployment. European economic growth could draw on two major sources: the labor reserves and reforms in factor, product and service markets. In a monetary union, advanced industrial relations should promote labor mobility and salary flexibility. The social security systems permit the redistribution and cohesion which defines the European model.Fourth, for the new Europe, the structural reform strategy is the way forward for the challenge of European economic policy and social policy: more and better jobs thanks to sustainable growth in a dynamic and competitive knowledge-based economy, favoring greater social cohesion.

  20. Korea's Post-Crisis Monetary Policy Reforms

    OpenAIRE

    Donghyun Park; Junggun Oh

    2005-01-01

    Korea's financial crisis of 1997–1998 was brought about by the unsustainable combination of large capital inflows and an inefficient financial system. The Bank of Korea contributed to the crisis primarily through its failures as the regulator of the financial system rather than as the conductor of monetary policy. Our paper explores the role of the two major monetary policy reforms Korea has implemented in response to the crisis — the establishment of a new financial regulator and the adoptio...

  1. Land policy reform in Rwanda: A Catalyst for Land Information ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Step in geo-ICT application for data handling was achieved, despite a big gap in technical and skills capabilities. Since new land policy coincided with decentralization policy, we recommend research on parallel implementation of policies with some similar dimensions. Keywords: Land policy reform, organizational change, ...

  2. Moral education and values education in curriculum reform In China

    Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)

    Zhu Xiaoman

    2006-01-01

    In the new curriculum reform in China,moral education and values education have been defined from the angles of the integrity and conformity of curriculum functions.Accordingly, a new education concept based on complete/integral curriculum functions is established.By discussing the essences of the curriculum,the basis of moral and values education,integrated curriculum setting in instruction structure,the presence of emotional and attitudinal goals in the subject standards,and teaching methods,this text points out that this curriculum reform looks to moral and values education in schools.The reform also emphasizes and will guarantee moral and values education in schools.Finally,the article recommends to elementary and secondary schools the studies on moral education in class conducted by the Research Institute of Moral Education of Nanjing Normal University,one of the Key Bases for Humanities and Social Sciences Research for the Ministry of Education.

  3. Leadership, Responsibility, and Reform in Science Education.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bybee, Rodger W.

    1993-01-01

    Regards leadership as central to the success of the reform movement in science education. Defines leadership and introduces a model of leadership modified from the one developed by Edwin Locke and his associates. Provides an overview of the essential qualities of leadership occurring in science education. Discusses reforming science education and…

  4. Looking Forward: Rethinking the National Education Reform Blueprint with the Contributing Authors

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wang, Yimin; Ross, Heidi

    2013-01-01

    This article concludes the two issues on the College Entrance Examination (CEE) in which the contributing authors were invited to take part in a moderated discussion of their opinions on a newly unveiled national policy document titled "Blueprint for Medium and Long-Term National Education Reform and Development (2010-0)" (hereafter, the…

  5. An Analysis of Merit Pay Reforms in Educational Institutions

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Andrew Brulle

    2006-05-01

    Full Text Available With roots in behaviorist philosophy, performance pay for teachers is often linked to accountability regimes in school reform. The theory girding such programs suggests that pay as an economic incentive can help cause teachers to increase student outcomes as measured by standardized test scores. What is little noticed by many educationists, but particularly by policy makers, is how programmatic effects affect the ontology of educational environment. There are several ways to approach the viability of such programs. In this study of three pay-for-performance programs, two in the U.S. and one in the UK, we provide theoretic insights in light of three variables: (i their psychological framework, (ii teacher efficacy and the teacher-student relationship, and (iii how the psychological impact of such programs coincides with larger institutional forces. Using theory to examine pay-for-performance is necessary in order to get beneath mere data and secure more thorough understandings of the phenomenological impacts of performance pay. And better understanding of these foundational features is necessary, even critical, in order to fully appreciate the economic and informational trade-offs in implementation. Our study suggests that as a small-scale reform measure and when it specifically accounts for complexities of educational production, performance pay may be a viable reform option.

  6. Reviewing and reforming policy in health enterprise information security

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sostrom, Kristen; Collmann, Jeff R.

    2001-08-01

    Health information management policies usually address the use of paper records with little or no mention of electronic health records. Information Technology (IT) policies often ignore the health care business needs and operational use of the information stored in its systems. Representatives from the Telemedicine & Advanced Technology Research Center, TRICARE and Offices of the Surgeon General of each Military Service, collectively referred to as the Policies, Procedures and Practices Work Group (P3WG), examined military policies and regulations relating to computer-based information systems and medical records management. Using a system of templates and matrices created for the purpose, P3WG identified gaps and discrepancies in DoD and service compliance with the proposed Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) Security Standard. P3WG represents an unprecedented attempt to coordinate policy review and revision across all military health services and the Office of Health Affairs. This method of policy reform can identify where changes need to be made to integrate health management policy and IT policy in to an organizational policy that will enable compliance with HIPAA standards. The process models how large enterprises may coordinate policy revision and reform across broad organizational and work domains.

  7. The Formation of Gender Education Policies in Taiwan, 1995-1999

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hsiao-Chin, Hsieh; Shu-Ching, Lee

    2014-01-01

    This article discusses the formation of gender equity education policies in Taiwan between 1995 and 1999. The first part of the article presents a general description of Taiwan's women's movement, the education reform movement, and the development of women's/gender studies after the lifting of martial law in 1987. The second part of the article…

  8. Globalization and Language and Education Reform in Colombia: A Critical Outlook

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jaime Usma

    2009-05-01

    Full Text Available This paper explores the connection between economic, political, and cultural globalization processes and recent education and language reforms in Colombia. Throughout the article, the author attempts to demonstrate that current education and language policies in Colombia are tightly connected to transnational agendas and models of reform that do not necessarily represent a real benefit for the majority of the population, but, instead, may render privileges for a few. With this analysis, the author insists on the need for an equitable plan for the improvement of language teaching and learning in Colombia in a way that considers local priorities of economic development, respects local knowledge and culture, and accounts for a systemic and fundamental improvement of the public system based on the dissimilar conditions that affect schools, teachers, and students in both the private and the public sectors in the country.

  9. Curriculum reform and the market

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Petersen, Karen Bjerg

    2011-01-01

    A neo-liberal discourse in the 2000s has been prevalent not only in international and Danish educational policy contexts, but also within a specific area, namely the education of adult immigrants in Denmark. With the adoption of a new law in 2003 high-stakes testing, standards, new market economy...... in Denmark. Based on studies of curriculum reform and research about headmasters’ and teachers’ attitudes the article addresses paradoxes rising in the wake of the neo-liberal education policy. Despite the intention of high-stakes testing to increase adult migrants’ language and employment related....... Teachers furthermore find the new working conditions stressing. It is discussed whether a neo-liberal discourse in adult teaching is ‘dumping down’ the intentions of curriculum and education reform....

  10. Curriculum reform and the market

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Petersen, Karen Bjerg

    2012-01-01

    A neo-liberal discourse in the 2000s has been prevalent not only in international and Danish educational policy contexts, but also within a specific area, namely the education of adult immigrants in Denmark. With the adoption of a new law in 2003 high-stakes testing, standards, new market economy...... in Denmark. Based on studies of curriculum reform and research about headmasters’ and teachers’ attitudes the article addresses paradoxes rising in the wake of the neo-liberal education policy. Despite the intention of high-stakes testing to increase adult migrants’ language and employment related....... Teachers furthermore find the new working conditions stressing. It is discussed whether a neo-liberal discourse in adult teaching is ‘dumping down’ the intentions of curriculum and education reform....

  11. Some Trends and Reforms in the Educational Policy of Norway in the Light of the Concept of Life-Long Education.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Udjus, Ingelise

    An emphasis on planned and completed educational reforms in Norway which reflect the attitude that education is a lifelong process is presented in this document. A study is made of some of the trends in the development of the formal school system which have been influenced by the concept of life-long education. This study includes primary,…

  12. Science Education Reform in Confucian Learning Cultures: Teachers' Perspectives on Policy and Practice in Taiwan

    Science.gov (United States)

    Huang, Ying-Syuan; Asghar, Anila

    2018-01-01

    This empirical study investigates secondary science teachers' perspectives on science education reform in Taiwan and reflects how these teachers have been negotiating constructivist and learner-centered pedagogical approaches in contemporary science education. It also explores the challenges that teachers encounter while shifting their pedagogical…

  13. Music plus Music Integration: A Model for Music Education Policy Reform That Reflects the Evolution and Success of Arts Integration Practices in 21st Century American Public Schools

    Science.gov (United States)

    Scripp, Lawrence; Gilbert, Josh

    2016-01-01

    This article explores the special case of integrative teaching and learning in music as a model for 21st century music education policy reform based on the principles that have evolved out of arts integration research and practices over the past century and informed by the recent rising tide of evidence of music's impact on brain capacity and…

  14. Education for a New Era: Stakeholders’ Perception of Qatari Education Reform

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Maha Ellili-Cherif

    2013-11-01

    Full Text Available The paper reports the results of a qualitative research study that explores principal, teacher, and parent perceptions with regard to Qatar’s education reform, Education for a New Era (EFNE launched in 2004. The study focuses on the effects of the reform on each group, their perceived advantages and disadvantages of the reform, and the challenges they face in the implementation of EFNE. Data for this study was collected through an open-ended questionnaire. The results point to the positive effects of EFNE on improving instruction, principals' leadership style, and learner attitude to education. These stakeholders believe that the reform is too ambitious and sometimes unrealistic. The three groups also report challenges that revolve around the amount of extra effort and work it requires from them, the continuous reform changes, and the threats to the local culture and language. Discussion and conclusions are provided regarding EFNE.

  15. Rhode Island Pension Reform: Implications and Opportunities for Education. Education Sector Policy Briefs

    Science.gov (United States)

    Herriot-Hatfield, Jennie; Monahan, Amy; Rosenberg, Sarah; Tucker, Bill

    2011-01-01

    On August 24, 2010, the state of Rhode Island received some outstanding news. Its yearlong, bipartisan effort to develop new policies to spur educational improvement was about to pay off. The state, along with eight others and the District of Columbia, was named a winner of the U.S. Department of Education's Race to the Top grant competition. The…

  16. Interest Groups' Influence over Drug Pricing Policy Reform in South Korea

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chung, Woojin

    2005-01-01

    In 1999, the Korean government made a drug pricing policy reform to improve the efficiency and transparency of the drug distribution system. Yet, its policy formation process was far from being rational. Facing harsh resistance from various interest groups, the government changed its details into something different from what was initially investigated and planned. So far, little evidence supports any improvement in Korea's drug distribution system. Instead, the new drug pricing policy has deteriorated Korea's national health insurance budget, indicating a heavier economic burden for the general public. From Korea's experience, we may draw some lessons for the future development of a better health care system. As a society becomes more pluralistic, the government should come out of authoritarianism and thoroughly prepare in advance for resistance to reform, by making greater efforts to persuade strong interest groups while informing the general public of potential benefits of the reform. Additionally, facing developing civic groups, the government should listen but not rely too much on them at the final stage of the policy formation. Many of the civic groups lack expertise to evaluate the details of policy and tend to act in a somewhat emotional way. PMID:15988802

  17. Interest groups' influence over drug pricing policy reform in South Korea.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chung, Woo Jin; Kim, Han Joong

    2005-06-30

    In 1999, the Korean government made a drug pricing policy reform to improve the efficiency and transparency of the drug distribution system. Yet, its policy formation process was far from being rational. Facing harsh resistance from various interest groups, the government changed its details into something different from what was initially investigated and planned. So far, little evidence supports any improvement in Korea's drug distribution system. Instead, the new drug pricing policy has deteriorated Korea's national health insurance budget, indicating a heavier economic burden for the general public. From Korea's experience, we may draw some lessons for the future development of a better health care system. As a society becomes more pluralistic, the government should come out of authoritarianism and thoroughly prepare in advance for resistance to reform, by making greater efforts to persuade strong interest groups while informing the general public of potential benefits of the reform. Additionally, facing developing civic groups, the government should listen but not rely too much on them at the final stage of the policy formation. Many of the civic groups lack expertise to evaluate the details of policy and tend to act in a somewhat emotional way.

  18. Neoliberalism and Corporate School Reform: "Failure" and "Creative Destruction"

    Science.gov (United States)

    Saltman, Kenneth J.

    2014-01-01

    In the United States, corporate school reform or neoliberal educational restructuring has overtaken educational policy, practice, curriculum, and nearly all aspects of educational reform. Although this movement began on the political right, the corporate school model has been heralded across the political spectrum and is aggressively embraced now…

  19. Reforming primary healthcare: from public policy to organizational change.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gilbert, Frédéric; Denis, Jean-Louis; Lamothe, Lise; Beaulieu, Marie-Dominique; D'amour, Danielle; Goudreau, Johanne

    2015-01-01

    Governments everywhere are implementing reform to improve primary care. However, the existence of a high degree of professional autonomy makes large-scale change difficult to achieve. The purpose of this paper is to elucidate the change dynamics and the involvement of professionals in a primary healthcare reform initiative carried out in the Canadian province of Quebec. An empirical approach was used to investigate change processes from the inception of a public policy to the execution of changes in professional practices. The data were analysed from a multi-level, combined contextualist-processual perspective. Results are based on a longitudinal multiple-case study of five family medicine groups, which was informed by over 100 interviews, questionnaires, and documentary analysis. The results illustrate the multiple processes observed with the introduction of planned large-scale change in primary care services. The analysis of change content revealed that similar post-change states concealed variations between groups in the scale of their respective changes. The analysis also demonstrated more precisely how change evolved through the introduction of "intermediate change" and how cycles of prescribed and emergent mechanisms distinctively drove change process and change content, from the emergence of the public policy to the change in primary care service delivery. This research was conducted among a limited number of early policy adopters. However, given the international interest in turning to the medical profession to improve primary care, the results offer avenues for both policy development and implementation. The findings offer practical insights for those studying and managing large-scale transformations. They provide a better understanding of how deliberate reforms coexist with professional autonomy through an intertwining of change content and processes. This research is one of few studies to examine a primary care reform from emergence to implementation

  20. The Micro-Politics of Parental Involvement in School Education in Hong Kong: Ethnocentrism, Utilitarianism or Policy Rhetoric!

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ng, Shun-wing; Yuen, Wai Kwan Gail

    2015-01-01

    The impact of parental involvement on school management has been recognized by many education professionals and policy-makers. Thus parental involvement in school education becomes one of the prime focuses in the current education reform movement in Hong Kong. Particularly, specific guidelines and policies for involving parents at various levels…

  1. "Trickle-Down" Reform: Hispanics, Higher Education, and the Excellence Movement.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Halcon, John J.; de la Luz Reyes, Maria

    1991-01-01

    Recent excellence-in-education reform measures have created greater restrictions on the access of Hispanics to higher education. Suggests that reformers expect reform benefits to "trickle down" to minorities after first benefiting mainstream students. The idea of excellence must include that of educational equity. (CJS)

  2. Popularity of the Decentralization Reform and Its Effects on the Quality of Education

    Science.gov (United States)

    Channa, Anila

    2016-01-01

    Policymakers have increasingly advocated decentralization as a way of enhancing educational quality, although its potential in this area is still subject to debate. This article traces the impetus and popularity of the reform as a policy solution over the past few decades. It argues that three trends in particular have characterized the post-2000…

  3. Structural Dynamics of Education Reforms and Quality of Primary Education in Uganda

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nyenje, Aida

    2016-01-01

    This paper examines Uganda's recent undertaking to reform her Primary School education System with a focus on the effect of structural dynamics of education reforms and the quality of primary education. Structural dynamics in the context of this study is in reference to the organizational composition of the education system at the government,…

  4. Reproductive Health Policies in Peru: Social Reforms and Citizenship Rights

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Stéphanie Rousseau

    2007-05-01

    Full Text Available The article analyzes the case of reproductive health policy-making in Peru in the context of recent social policy reforms. Health-sector reforms have only partially redressed Peruvian women’s unequal access to family planning, reproductive rights and maternal care. The main sources of inequalities are related to the segmented character of the health-care system, with the highest burden placed on the public sector. The majority of women from popular classes, who are not protected by an insurance plan, are dependent upon what and how public services are provided. Simultaneously, the continuing role of conservative sectors in public debates about reproductive health policy has a strong impact on public family planning services and other reproductive rights.

  5. The Politics of Public Accountability: Implications for Centralized Music Education Policy Development and Implementation

    Science.gov (United States)

    Horsley, Stephanie

    2009-01-01

    This article addresses accountability issues that affect music education policy and implementation in the neoliberal education system. Using examples from education reform in Ontario, Canada, the author argues that two forms of accountability imbalances fostered by the neoliberal state--hierarchical answerability over communicative reason and…

  6. Analyses of science education reform in Florida: Emerging from the eclipse or trapped in the darkness?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Muire, Willis Christian, Jr.

    This research is focused on the changes that have occurred across the complex web of systems and subsystems of education in Florida and to examine the relative impact these changes have exacted upon science education. The primary purpose of this research is to describe and interpret the practices of reform efforts in Florida as a way to inform educational stakeholders such that new visions of school improvement can be discussed and planned for improving the teaching and learning of science. This study begins with the questions of "what is happening in science education in an extremely large and diverse state and why is it happening?" The solutions to these questions required a blend of investigatory techniques to answer. The needs of elementary school teachers for improving science education were initially used to provide the organizational foci of this research. As trends emerged from analyzing these needs, a wide variety of qualitative and quantitative data sources were acquired and analyzed in a longitudinal, multi-level design to obtain rich insights into the factors associated with achievement and equity in the teaching and learning of science in Florida. Relevant statistical indicators obtained from state, district and school data in combination with interviews of teachers, principals, parents, state and district level leaders were used for interpreting qualitative evidence. As credible data were acquired, I also examined the evidence in terms of educational policy formulation and the "filter down process" associated with the impact of national, state, and district policies on schools. Moreover, I investigated issues of policy and governance and their interrelations with student achievement science. I am interested in identifying the most robust indicators of science education reform in authentic ways with the goal of ascertaining if and where reform is occurring, and in terms of grounded theory, why these changes are occurring. Though the focus of this study

  7. A view to educational reforms and the formation of citizenship in Bolivia (century XX and XXI

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Weimar Iño

    2017-07-01

    Full Text Available The article takes a historical look at the educational reforms implemented in Bolivia with reference to the formation of citizenship. For this purpose historical research was used and the bibliographic review was used to collect, describe and analyze the written sources. This in order to understand the relationship between State, education and citizenship, which identifies two aspects that guide educational policies and the formation of citizenship. In this way, we can also elucidate the types of citizens who projected these educational reforms in Bolivia during the 20th century: the liberal (1899-1920, the nationalist (1954-1964 and the neoliberal (1994-2004; And in the 21st century, the sociocommunity. In each of these reforms there are common characteristics, on the one hand, there is the centralization of public education at the hands of the State; On the other hand, the role given to education for civic formation and the construction of national identity, in this case Bolivianity; For example, for the indigenous majority was their assimilation to the national culture and homogenization, through education. Likewise, each reform sought the formation of a citizenship; In the case of the liberal raised the Bolivian identity; The nationalist point towards mestizaje as a citizen, neoliberal ideal for the construction of a pluricultural and multilingual citizenship; And the sociocommunity towards an intercultural and decolonized citizenship.

  8. The Road to Change? A Case Study Examining Educational Reform in Sibiu County, Romania

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tucker, Stan; Trotman, Dave; Rusu, Horatiu; Mara, Daniel

    2014-01-01

    This article examines processes of educational reform and change in a post-Communist Eastern European country. Focusing on the experiences and challenges facing one geographical community in Sibiu County, Romania, an attempt is made to understand some of the macro and micro factors, influences and external policy drivers, shaping the organization…

  9. The Promise of the New: Genealogies of Youth, Nation and Educational Reform in Australia

    Science.gov (United States)

    McLeod, Julie; Wright, Katie

    2012-01-01

    The promise of the new underpins much educational reform discourse, from utopian strands and grand gestures to more formulaic rhetoric found in declarations of new policies for new times. Informed by genealogical and feminist approaches, this essay introduces some conceptual frameworks for analysing such expressions of hopefulness and newness in…

  10. Historicity as a Legitimising Argument in the Case of the Greek Educational Reforms of 1985 and 1997-1998 in General and Technical-Vocational Education

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bouzakis, Siphis; Koustourakis, Gerasimos

    2009-01-01

    The purpose of this study is to investigate how the "historical argument", namely references to the educational policies and practices of other historical periods, was used by Greek politicians in the framework of the 1985 and 1997-1998 educational reforms. Employing the method of quantitative and qualitative content analysis, the…

  11. Progress in reforming chemical engineering education.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wankat, Phillip C

    2013-01-01

    Three successful historical reforms of chemical engineering education were the triumph of chemical engineering over industrial chemistry, the engineering science revolution, and Engineering Criteria 2000. Current attempts to change teaching methods have relied heavily on dissemination of the results of engineering-education research that show superior student learning with active learning methods. Although slow dissemination of education research results is probably a contributing cause to the slowness of reform, two other causes are likely much more significant. First, teaching is the primary interest of only approximately one-half of engineering faculty. Second, the vast majority of engineering faculty have no training in teaching, but trained professors are on average better teachers. Significant progress in reform will occur if organizations with leverage-National Science Foundation, through CAREER grants, and the Engineering Accreditation Commission of ABET-use that leverage to require faculty to be trained in pedagogy.

  12. Informing principal policy reforms in South Africa through data-based evidence

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Gabrielle Wills

    2015-12-01

    Full Text Available In the past decade there has been a notable shift in South African education policy that raises the value of school leadership as a lever for learning improvements. Despite a growing discourse on school leadership, there has been a lack of empirical based evidence on principals to inform, validate or debate the efficacy of proposed policies in raising the calibre of school principals. Drawing on findings from a larger study to understand the labour market for school principals in South Africa, this paper highlights four overarching characteristics of this market with implications for informing principal policy reforms. The paper notes that improving the design and implementation of policies guiding the appointment process for principals is a matter of urgency. A substantial and increasing number of principal replacements are taking place across South African schools given a rising age profile of school principals. In a context of low levels of principal mobility and high tenure, the leadership trajectory of the average school is established for nearly a decade with each principal replacement. Evidence-based policy making has a strong role to play in getting this right.

  13. Book Review: "Educational Reform and Administrative Development: The Cases of Columbia and Venezuela," by E. Mark Hanson.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lynch, Patrick D.

    1988-01-01

    Reviews "Educational Reform and Administrative Development: The Cases of Colombia and Venezuela," by E. Mark Hanson, which relates the policy-making and administrative structures of these two countries to their political, historical, and cultural contexts. (TE)

  14. Winning and Re-Winning: Recommendations for Inclusive Education Reform for Students Labelled as Disabled in Alberta's Schools

    Science.gov (United States)

    Williamson, W. John; Gilham, Chris

    2017-01-01

    Alberta Education has been engaged in reviews and reforms of special education, and attempting to describe and move toward more inclusive ways of supporting students with disabilities since 2008. These efforts have, at times, resulted in more progressive and inclusive education policies and, at times, seemed somewhat halting. The obstacle to…

  15. Reforms in Nigerian education sector: Implications for Science and ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    This paper examines the state of Education in Nigeria, the current educational reforms and their implications for science and technology education. It reviews various score sheets for the state of the countries educational system pointing to indicators of the system being inefficient, and attendantly calling for a reformation.

  16. Neo-Liberal Educational Reform in Latin America

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Susana López Guerra

    2006-05-01

    Full Text Available Using the argument that educational systems in Latin American are inefficient, political organizations and international financial institutions promoted reforms based on free market principles to modernize education in the region. Chile was used as a laboratory for these reforms, which were then applied to other Latin American countries. This paper analyzes the argument that educational quality is improved through competition—used as a strategy to privatize the educational system—by transferring its financing from public to private sources, to the detriment of the national system of education. Finally, this paper examines the modernization process and the failure of the free market model of the Mexican system of education.

  17. Uganda tax policy reforms: A case study of Uganda revenue authority URA

    OpenAIRE

    Kato, Simon Kagambirwe

    2014-01-01

    In this study I examined the implementation of tax policy reforms at Uganda Revenue Authority. In particular, I examined the impact of the tax policy reforms implemented since the restructuring of Uganda Revenue Authority in 2005. Although Uganda's taxation system is a vital area of study, it has not gotten enough attention from researchers. This is because, in the Ugandan and generally African developing countries context, taxation involves vital and, to a large ex...

  18. Renewable energy policy and electricity market reforms in China

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Cherni, Judith A.; Kentish, Joanna

    2007-01-01

    The article examines the potential effectiveness of the renewable energy policy in China and its regulatory Law framework. It frames the option of renewable energy technology within the background of the long-lasting electricity problems that China has faced including serious supply shortages, reliance on coal, and severe environmental contamination. Its dual administrative and ownership system based on state and privately owned industry is discussed together with the market reform measures adopted in the sector. Current renewable energy policy is analysed, and the scope of the 2005 Renewable Energy Promotion Law is investigated. This is conducted within the context of the electricity sector reform that China adopted, and its effects upon the prospects of encouraging as well as expanding the development of renewable energy. This study draws upon primary information collected from interviews with stakeholders on the policy adequacy, and identifies three main types of shortcomings that have interfered with a more successful expansion of renewable energy in China. (author)

  19. Comparative analysis of aging policy reforms in Argentina, Chile, Costa Rica, and Mexico.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Calvo, Esteban; Berho, Maureen; Roqué, Mónica; Amaro, Juan Sebastián; Morales, Fernando; Rivera, Emiliana; Gutiérrez Robledo, Luis Miguel F; López, Elizabeth Caro; Canals, Bernardita; Kornfeld, Rosa

    2018-04-16

    This investigation uses case studies and comparative analysis to review and analyze aging policy in Argentina, Chile, Costa Rica, and Mexico, and uncovers similarities and relevant trends in the substance of historical and current aging policy across countries. Initial charity-based approaches to poverty and illness have been gradually replaced by a rights-based approach considering broader notions of well-being, and recent reforms emphasize the need for national, intersectoral, evidence-based policy. The results of this study have implications for understanding aging policy in Latin America from a welfare regime and policymakers' perspective, identifying priorities for intervention, and informing policy reforms in developing countries worldwide.

  20. COMMON AGRICULTURAL POLICY FROM HEALTH CHECK DECISIONS TO THE POST-2013 REFORM

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Niculescu Oana Marilena

    2011-07-01

    Full Text Available The paper proposed for being presented belongs to the field research International Affairs and European Integration. The paper entitled Common Agricultural Policy from Health Check decisions to the post-2013 reform aims to analyze the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP from the Health Check adoption in November 2008 to a new reform post-2013. The objectives of the paper are the presentation of the Health Check with its advantages and disadvantages as well as the analysis of the opportunity of a new European policy and its reforming having in view that the analysis of Health Check condition was considered a compromise. The paper is related to the internal and international research consisting in several books, studies, documents that analyze the particularities of the most debated, controversial and reformed EU policy. A personal study is represented by the first report within the PhD paper called The reform of CAP and its implications for Romanias agriculture(coordinator prof. Gheorghe Hurduzeu PhD, Academy of Economic Studies Bucharest, Faculty of International Business, research studies in the period 2009-2012. The research methodology used consists in collecting and analysis data from national and international publications, their validation, followed by a dissemination of the results in order to express a personal opinion regarding CAP and its reform. The results of the research consist in proving the opportunity of a new reform due to the fact that Health Check belongs already to the past. The paper belongs to the field research mentioned, in the attempt to prove the opportunity of building a new EU agricultural policy. The challenges CAP is facing are: food safety, environmental and climate changes, territorial balance as well as new challenges-improving sustainable management of natural resources, maintaining competitiveness in the context of globalization growth, strengthening EU cohesion in rural areas, increasing the support of CAP for

  1. Privatizing Education: Free School Policy in Sweden and England

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wiborg, Susanne

    2015-01-01

    The aim of this article is to investigate why Sweden, the epitome of social democracy, has implemented education reforms leading to an extraordinary growth in Free Schools in contrast to liberal England, where Free School policy has been met with enormous resistance. Conventional wisdom would predict the contrary, but as a matter of fact Sweden…

  2. Policy alternatives in reforming energy utilities in developing countries

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Gabriele, Alberto

    2004-01-01

    This paper examines the policy alternatives faced by developing countries in their endeavor to preserve and develop their electricity and gas systems, two service-oriented industries which--along with oil--provide the bulk of energy supply both in developed and in developing countries. Even in very poor countries, industrially generated energy is indispensable for carrying out most economic activities. Therefore, governments traditionally recognize that the supply of gas and electricity entails a fundamental public service dimension. The Introduction presents the case for reforming of energy utilities, discusses in general terms the pros and cons of privatization, and attempts to locate the reforms in a broader historical framework in which developing countries' governments faced characterized by increasing financial hardship. Section 2 constitutes the core of the paper. It reviews the main features of gas and power sector reforms in the developing world and analyzes specifically the cases of five semi-industrialized countries in Latin America and Asia. Section 3 (Concluding remarks) briefly evaluates the country experiences reviewed above and indicates a few policy lessons which can be learnt from them. The main conclusion is that, in a long-run development perspective, full-scale privatization of gas and power sectors in developing countries entails significant risks, and therefore a flexible policy approach is preferable to a rigid commitment to extensive liberalization

  3. Evidence as Source of Power in School Reforms: The Quest for the Extension of Compulsory Education in Zurich

    Science.gov (United States)

    Imlig, Flavian; Ruoss, Thomas

    2015-01-01

    This article investigates the use of evidence in educational policy and politics, and how this use has changed over time. Using an analytical framework that combines research approaches from both political and educational science, evidence-related arguments in two major school reforms in the canton of Zurich, Switzerland are described. In…

  4. Global Isomorphism and Governance Reform in Chinese Higher Education

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cai, Yuzhuo

    2010-01-01

    In the past three decades, higher education reforms have taken place almost everywhere in the world, and governance or the way that higher education is or should be coordinated has become a global topic. The governance reform in Chinese higher education emerged against such a background. The current studies on Chinese higher education reforms…

  5. Impact of the joint-stock reform of commercial banks on the effectiveness of monetary policy in China

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Fang Xianming

    2016-01-01

    Full Text Available Over the past decade, the Chinese government has conducted the joint-stock reform of state-owned commercial banks. The joint-stock reform improves the marketization level of the ownership structure of commercial banks and consequently leads to impacts on the effectiveness of monetary policy. This paper first presents the impacting mechanisms of the joint-stock reform of commercial banks on the effectiveness of monetary policy and then constructs an empirical model to test those impacts. The empirical results show that the increasing degree of joint-stock reform of commercial banks enhances the effectiveness of expansionary monetary policy but weakens the effectiveness of contractionary monetary policy in China.

  6. International trade and carbon emissions: The role of Chinese institutional and policy reforms.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Andersson, Fredrik N G

    2018-01-01

    The carbon dioxide embodied in Chinese exports to developed countries increased rapidly from 1995 to 2008. We test the extent to which institutional reforms in China can explain this increase. We focus on five areas of reforms: trade liberalization, environmental institutions, legal and property rights, institutional risk and exchange rate policy. Our results show that trade liberalization, weak environmental institutions, exchange rate policy, and legal and property rights affect emissions. Our results also indicate that the lack of reform in the utilities sector is an important factor in the rapid increase in embodied emissions. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  7. Sources of Funding for Education Reform.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Odden, Allan

    1986-01-01

    Outlines the trends in educational funding patterns needed to enact educational reform. Local property taxes, state revenues, and federal aid continue to provide the bulk of financing. Includes two tables. (MD)

  8. Evidence-based health policy: three generations of reform in Mexico.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Frenk, Julio; Sepúlveda, Jaime; Gómez-Dantés, Octavio; Knaul, Felicia

    2003-11-15

    The Mexican health system has evolved through three generations of reform. The creation of the Ministry of Health and the main social security agency in 1943 marked the first generation of health reforms. In the late 1970s, a second generation of reforms was launched around the primary health-care model. Third-generation reforms favour systemic changes to reorganise the system through the horizontal integration of basic functions-stewardship, financing, and provision. The stability of leadership in the health sector is emphasised as a key element that allowed for reform during the past 60 years. Furthermore, there has been a transition in the second generation of reforms to a model that is increasingly based on evidence; this has been intensified and extended in the third generation of reforms. We also examine policy developments that will provide social protection in health for all. These developments could be of interest for countries seeking to provide their citizens with universal access to health care that incorporates equity, quality, and financial protection.

  9. Applying Concepts of Critical Pedagogy to Qatar's Educational Reform

    Science.gov (United States)

    Romanowski, Michael H.; Amatullah, Tasneem

    2016-01-01

    Qatar is in the midst of a systemic education reform, Education For a New Era, steered by RAND's (a nonprofit research organization) analysis and report of Qatar's Educational system. Driven by a neoliberal agenda, the reform includes international curricula, curriculum standards, teacher licensure, and professional standards for school leaders…

  10. John Stuart Mill on Freedom, Education, and Social Reform.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Carbone, Peter F.

    1983-01-01

    Examines the social philosophy of John Stuart Mill, emphasizing his views on freedom, education, and social reform. Considers Mill's individualism and reformism, the conflict between freedom and control that characterizes his work, and the importance of freedom and education. Suggests caution in drawing educational implications from his work. (DAB)

  11. Coding as a Trojan Horse for Mathematics Education Reform

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gadanidis, George

    2015-01-01

    The history of mathematics educational reform is replete with innovations taken up enthusiastically by early adopters without significant transfer to other classrooms. This paper explores the coupling of coding and mathematics education to create the possibility that coding may serve as a Trojan Horse for mathematics education reform. That is,…

  12. Free transfer, limited mobility: A decade of higher education reform in Egypt and Morocco

    OpenAIRE

    Florian Kohstall

    2012-01-01

    This article aims to demonstrate how countries with a relative low performance in higher education like Egypt and Morocco, are informed and worked by the forces of internationalization in this domain. It compares the path of university reforms in both countries over the last decade, from their emergence on the agenda to their implementation. Through the lenses of a public policy approach it illustrates how higher education is subject to a complex negotiation process between international orga...

  13. Philanthropy and Educational Reform during the Great Depression

    Science.gov (United States)

    Watras, Joseph

    2005-01-01

    The author discusses philanthropy and educational reform from the Great Depression to the present, contrasting the views of that time to "Making It Count" (Chester E. Finn, Jr. and Kelly Amis, 2001.) Although Finn and Amis presented their suggestions as advancing democracy, they thought that educational reform took place best when elite groups…

  14. International Education Policy Transfer--Borrowing Both Ways: The Hong Kong and England Experience

    Science.gov (United States)

    Forestier, Katherine; Crossley, Michael

    2015-01-01

    This paper analyses how the impact of international student achievement studies and the recent economic crisis in Europe are influencing the development of educational policy transfer and borrowing, from East to West. This is contrasted with education reform movements in East Asia, which have long legacies of borrowing from so-called…

  15. Reforming STEM Undergraduate Education: What's a Faculty Member to Do?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fairweather, J.

    2011-12-01

    Efforts to improve undergraduate STEM education lie at the forefront of many national educational policies. The recent National Academies of Science study of discipline-based educational research (DBER)is typical of such efforts. Most of the initiatives to improve student learning in STEM focus on the the student or the instructor in the classroom (Austin, 2011). This focus is consistent with the work by Seymour & Hewitt (1997), which found that poor teaching in STEM adversely affects learning and retention in the major. Professional development efforts focus on helping the individual STEM faculty member to figure out what to do to improve student learning. Substantial research (Austin, 2011) shows that the origin of many learning problems lies beyond the control of the instructor or the individual classroom. In these circumstances what is a STEM faculty member to do? This paper explores answers to this question. The first step is to define the nature of the problem. Is it related to classroom teaching and learning such as knowledge, skills, and interest in the major? If so then what environmental factors affect strategic alternatives, including type of course, instructor characteristics, and prior teaching experience (Fairweather & Rhoads, 1995)? Does good disciplinary-based research on the learning problem exist? If so then how can the research results be translated into practice? If not then does good research from other disciplines exist? If relevant evidenced-based research does not exist at all then how can STEM instructors learn to evaluate key learning outcomes and find ways to ameliorate problems? Despite appearances not all STEM teaching and learning problems are classroom-based. Some problems derive from curricula, others from faculty work-related issues such as rewards and work load. Any classroom reform effort must reflect accurately the system in which the teaching and learning take place. Understanding these systemic interactions improves the ability

  16. Examining the Potential of Critical and Kaupapa Maori Approaches to Leading Education Reform in New Zealand's English-Medium Secondary Schools

    Science.gov (United States)

    Berryman, Mere; Egan, Margaret; Ford, Therese

    2017-01-01

    This paper discusses expectations, policies and practices that currently underpin education within the New Zealand context. It acknowledges the ongoing failure of this policy framework to positively influence reform for Indigenous Maori students in regular, state-funded schools and highlights the need for extensive change in the positioning and…

  17. Deciding Who Decides Questions at the Intersection of School Finance Reform Litigation and Standards-Based Accountability Policies

    Science.gov (United States)

    Superfine, Benjamin Michael

    2009-01-01

    Courts hearing school finance reform cases have recently begun to consider several issues related to standards-based accountability policies. This convergence of school finance reform litigation and standards-based accountability policies represents a chance for the courts to reallocate decision-making authority for each type of reform across the…

  18. La reforma educativa y las reformas a la administracion (Educational Reform and Reforms in Educational Administration).

    Science.gov (United States)

    El Maestro, Mexico, 1971

    1971-01-01

    This document is an English-language abstract (approximately 1500 words) summarizing a report presented to the Eighth National Plenary Assembly of the National Technical Council for Education by the Mexican Academy of Education, a private association of teachers. It recommended the adoption of four basic educational administrative reforms by the…

  19. The "Hollywoodization" of Education Reform in "Won't Back Down"

    Science.gov (United States)

    Goering, Christian Z.; Witte, Shelbie; Jennings Davis, Jennifer; Ward, Peggy; Flammang, Brandon; Gerhardson, Ashley

    2015-01-01

    What happens when forces attempting to privatize education create and produce a Hollywood film with an education reform plot line? This essay explores "Won't Back Down" through cultural studies and progressive education lenses in an effort to unveil misrepresentations of education and education reform. Drawing on scholarship in these…

  20. Brokering Knowledge Mobilization Networks: Policy Reforms, Partnerships, and Teacher Education

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ng-A-Fook, Nicholas; Kane, Ruth G.; Butler, Jesse K.; Glithero, Lisa; Forte, Rita

    2015-01-01

    Educational researchers and policy-makers are now expected by funding agencies and their institutions to innovate the multi-directional ways in which our production of knowledge can impact the classrooms of teachers (practitioners), while also integrating their experiential knowledge into the landscape of our research. In this article, we draw on…

  1. Understanding Educational Reform in Global Context: Economy, Ideology, and the State.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ginsburg, Mark B., Ed.

    This book presents a set of national case studies on educational reform of higher education that views reform as processes of ideological and social struggles. The titles and authors are as follows: "Educational Reform: Social Struggles, the State and the World Economic System" (Mark B. Ginsburg, et al.); "Restructuring Education…

  2. Reductions in abortion-related mortality following policy reform: evidence from Romania, South Africa and Bangladesh

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Benson Janie

    2011-12-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Unsafe abortion is a significant contributor to worldwide maternal mortality; however, abortion law and policy liberalization could lead to drops in unsafe abortion and related deaths. This review provides an analysis of changes in abortion mortality in three countries where significant policy reform and related service delivery occurred. Drawing on peer-reviewed literature, population data and grey literature on programs and policies, this paper demonstrates the policy and program changes that led to declines in abortion-related mortality in Romania, South Africa and Bangladesh. In all three countries, abortion policy liberalization was followed by implementation of safe abortion services and other reproductive health interventions. South Africa and Bangladesh trained mid-level providers to offer safe abortion and menstrual regulation services, respectively, Romania improved contraceptive policies and services, and Bangladesh made advances in emergency obstetric care and family planning. The findings point to the importance of multi-faceted and complementary reproductive health reforms in successful implementation of abortion policy reform.

  3. Barreda, Vasconcelos, and Mexican Educational Reforms.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Skirius, John

    1983-01-01

    Reviews the contributions to Mexican education of Gabino Barredas' positivism between 1867-1898 and the contributions of Jose Vasconcelos during the 1920s. Discusses the secondary curriculum reforms of Barreda's era and the vocational education and the education for women and adults during the Vasconcelos era. (SB)

  4. Changing Professional Discourses in Teacher Education Policy Back Towards a Training Paradigm: A Comparative Study

    Science.gov (United States)

    Beach, Dennis; Bagley, Carl

    2013-01-01

    Modern definitions of professions connect professional knowledge to scientific studies and higher education. In the present article we examine the changing nature of this relationship in initial teacher education in two European countries: Sweden and England. The article is based on policy analyses from recent decades of teacher education reforms.…

  5. Basic Education Curriculum Reform in Rural China: Achievements, Problems, and Solutions

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wang, Jiayi; Zhao, Zhichun

    2011-01-01

    The latest wave of basic education curriculum reform, carried out over the past ten years, has achieved significant results and promoted the development of rural education. There are still some problems in the reform of basic education in rural areas, however, such as a serious shortage of funds for rural school curriculum reform, the continuing…

  6. Exploring the role of curriculum materials to support teachers in science education reform

    Science.gov (United States)

    Schneider, Rebecca M.

    2001-07-01

    educative supports for teachers. Overall, findings indicate curriculum materials that include detailed descriptions of lessons accompanied by educative features can help teachers with enactment. Therefore, design principles to improve materials to support teachers in reform are suggested. However, results also demonstrate materials alone are not sufficient to create intended enactments; reform efforts must include professional development in content and pedagogy and efforts to create systemic change in context and policy to support teacher learning and classroom enactment.

  7. Reform in Secondary Education: The Continuing Efforts to Reform Secondary Education, and a Modest Proposal. Curriculum Bulletin Vol. XXXII, No. 340.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Saylor, Galen

    The author begins by examining the functions of the school and the basic principles governing the provision of education in the American democracy as a way of providing a framework for analyzing proposals for the reform of secondary education. He then examines proposals for reform. His major focus is on ten proposals made by agencies,…

  8. Policy Patrons: Philanthropy, Education Reform, and the Politics of Influence. Educational Innovations Series

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tompkins-Stange, Megan E.

    2016-01-01

    "Policy Patrons" offers a rare behind-the-scenes view of decision making inside four influential education philanthropies: the Ford Foundation, the W. K. Kellogg Foundation, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, and the Eli and Edythe Broad Foundation. The outcome is an intriguing, thought-provoking look at the impact of current…

  9. Enlargement of the European Union and agricultural policy reform

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Jensen, Maria Skovager; Lind, Kim Martin Hjorth; Zobbe, Henrik

    2009-01-01

    A connection exists between enlargement of the European Union and reforms of the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP). Based upon rational choice theory, we examine whether the member states’ CAP positions are related to structures in their agricultural sectors. The overall hypothesis...

  10. Policy initiatives for change and innovation in basic education programmes in Ghana

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Stanislaus Kadingdi

    2006-04-01

    Full Text Available Using an historical perspective, the recent history of educational policy making in Ghana, as it relates to the provision of basic education, is examined. Three periods or phases are identified corresponding to the situation prior to Independence, the period between 1951 and 1986 and the reforms instituted in 1987 and the years that followed. Despite the willing cooperation of various donor agencies and the availability of resources, progress has been limited. The policy and contextual reasons for this comparative lack of progress are examined in turn. The paper concludes with what can be learnt from these attempts at reform and suggests that, whilst the issues involved are complex, greater attention needs to be focused on the training and support of teachers in their classroom role rather than focusing on the provision of resources. Helping teachers to understand the desired changes in their practice and the need to make pupils independent learners, coupled with reforms of teacher training and support, and the nature and quality of teacher continuing professional development, can all be seen as key ways in which further progress may be made

  11. Access to Elementary Education in India: Politics, Policies and Progress. CREATE Pathways to Access. Research Monograph No. 44

    Science.gov (United States)

    Little, Angela W.

    2010-01-01

    This monograph examines progress in, and policies for, access to elementary education over the past 60 years, the role played by political factors in the process of policy formulation and implementation and the drivers and inhibitors of the implementation of reforms in elementary education in recent years in India. Drawing on interviews and…

  12. Structural higher education reform - design and evaluation: synthesis report

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    File, Jonathan M.; Huisman, Jeroen; de Boer, Harry F.; Seeber, Marco; Vukasovic, Martina; Westerheijden, Donald F.

    2016-01-01

    This study analyses how different types of system-level (or ‘landscape’) structural reforms in higher education have been designed and implemented in selected higher education systems. In the 12 case studies that form the core of the project, the researchers examine reforms aimed at: - Increasing

  13. Mental health policy and development in Egypt - integrating mental health into health sector reforms 2001-9

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Siekkonen Inkeri

    2010-06-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background Following a situation appraisal in 2001, a six year mental health reform programme (Egymen 2002-7 was initiated by an Egyptian-Finnish bilateral aid project at the request of a former Egyptian minister of health, and the work was incorporated directly into the Ministry of Health and Population from 2007 onwards. This paper describes the aims, methodology and implementation of the mental health reforms and mental health policy in Egypt 2002-2009. Methods A multi-faceted and comprehensive programme which combined situation appraisal to inform planning; establishment of a health sector system for coordination, supervision and training of each level (national, governorate, district and primary care; development workshops; production of toolkits, development of guidelines and standards; encouragement of intersectoral liaison at each level; integration of mental health into health management systems; and dedicated efforts to improve forensic services, rehabilitation services, and child psychiatry services. Results The project has achieved detailed situation appraisal, epidemiological needs assessment, inclusion of mental health into the health sector reform plans, and into the National Package of Essential Health Interventions, mental health masterplan (policy guidelines to accompany the general health policy, updated Egyptian mental health legislation, Code of Practice, adaptation of the WHO primary care guidelines, primary care training, construction of a quality system of roles and responsibilities, availability of medicines at primary care level, public education about mental health, and a research programme to inform future developments. Intersectoral liaison with education, social welfare, police and prisons at national level is underway, but has not yet been established for governorate and district levels, nor mental health training for police, prison staff and teachers. Conclusions The bilateral collaboration programme

  14. The new reform educational in the Ecuador and its application in education special

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Rocio Ernestina García Liscano

    2017-03-01

    Full Text Available The Ecuador over the years, the government of the citizen revolution has made drastic changes in the education system,with the aim of improving the quality of learning of Ecuadorians. This article is aimed at analyzing the educational reform in Ecuador from the new institutions of the country, which constitutes the government of Econ. Rafael Correa Delgado with the new educational model that began in January 2010, from this restructuring conducted an analysis of special education in our country, if considered in the reforms and if taken due importance concerning the preparation of disabled people. This analysis also helps to demonstrate what are the benefits generated by the educational reform within specialized educational units, based on the perspective of before and after, and as by their application has been made to strengthen the processes of quality improvement, relevance, equity and efficiency of special education in Ecuador.

  15. Electoral reform and public policy outcomes in Thailand: the politics of the 30-Baht health scheme.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Selway, Joel Sawat

    2011-01-01

    How do changes in electoral rules affect the nature of public policy outcomes? The current evidence supporting institutional theories that answer this question stems almost entirely from quantitative cross-country studies, the data of which contain very little within-unit variation. Indeed, while there are many country-level accounts of how changes in electoral rules affect such phenomena as the number of parties or voter turnout, there are few studies of how electoral reform affects public policy outcomes. This article contributes to this latter endeavor by providing a detailed analysis of electoral reform and the public policy process in Thailand through an examination of the 1997 electoral reforms. Specifically, the author examines four aspects of policy-making: policy formulation, policy platforms, policy content, and policy outcomes. The article finds that candidates in the pre-1997 era campaigned on broad, generic platforms; parties had no independent means of technical policy expertise; the government targeted health resources to narrow geographic areas; and health was underprovided in Thai society. Conversely, candidates in the post-1997 era relied more on a strong, detailed national health policy; parties created mechanisms to formulate health policy independently; the government allocated health resources broadly to the entire nation through the introduction of a universal health care system, and health outcomes improved. The author attributes these changes in the policy process to the 1997 electoral reform, which increased both constituency breadth (the proportion of the population to which politicians were accountable) and majoritarianism.

  16. The formation of ‘policy truths’: Foucault and social policy discourse

    OpenAIRE

    Pickerden, Alex; Evans, Donna; Piggott, David

    2015-01-01

    Discuss current approaches to policy analysis Illustrate an alternative method for policy analysis influenced by the theoretical concepts of Michel Foucault Briefly analyse current research which has focused upon education policy and education reform in the United Kingdom (UK) Introduce the concept of ‘policy truths’ and explain how this idea can aid in the critique of neoliberal policies and neoliberal governmentality

  17. Education Policy as an Act of White Supremacy: Whiteness, Critical Race Theory and Education Reform

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gillborn, David

    2005-01-01

    The paper presents an empirical analysis of education policy in England that is informed by recent developments in US critical theory. In particular, I draw on 'whiteness studies' and the application of critical race theory (CRT). These perspectives offer a new and radical way of conceptualizing the role of racism in education. Although the US…

  18. Sponsors of Policy: A Network Analysis of Wealthy Elites, Their Affiliated Philanthropies, and Charter School Reform in Washington State

    Science.gov (United States)

    Au, Wayne; Ferrare, Joseph J.

    2014-01-01

    Background/Context: Charter school policy has evolved into a major component of the current education reform movement in the United States. As of 2012, all but nine U.S. states allowed charter schools, and in one of those nine, Washington State, charter school legislation was passed by popular vote in November 2012. There is a substantial, if…

  19. Making the link: climate policy and the reform of the UK construction industry

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Sorrell, Steve

    2003-01-01

    This paper explores the barriers to energy efficiency in the construction of non-domestic buildings in the UK. The source of the barriers is argued to lie in the organisation of the construction industry, including the linear design process, the reliance on cost-based competitive tendering and the incentives placed upon different actors. The consequences include oversizing of equipment, reduced quality, neglect of whole life costs and lack of integrated design. Each of these problems can usefully be interpreted using concepts from the new institutional economics. While the barriers are well known to construction industry specialists, they are relatively neglected in the academic literature on energy policy. Furthermore, conventional policy measures such as building regulations leave these barriers largely untouched. The UK construction industry is currently undergoing a series of reforms which aim to change the relationship between different actors and to achieve improvements in product quality and productivity. While these reforms have the potential to address many of the barriers, the reform agenda makes practically no reference to sustainability. This paper argues that climate policy objectives must be integrated into the reform agenda if the UK is to begin the transition to a low carbon built environment

  20. Reforming Romanian energy policy

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Perkins, S.

    1993-01-01

    Success in reforming energy sector depends on the implementation of the programme of economic reform agreed in February 1993. The difficulty of the negotiations between the International Monetary Fund and the Romanian government reflects the wider difficulties faced by the economy as a whole. They can be blamed in part on the legacy of uneconomic and inflexible industrial development and in part on opposition from interest groups which stand to lose from reform. Nonetheless, in spite of hesitant approach, the government does appear committed to the economic reform necessary to establish a market-oriented economy. But as the danger of a financial crisis engendered by the inadequately supported short-term borrowing of foreign exchange becomes urgent, the question is whether economic reform can be now implemented fast enough to protect economic enterprises and saving from a debt crisis. The scope for further delay in implementing the 1993 economic reform programme is fast disappearing. Procrastination should not be allowed to threaten the success of the reforms achieved in the energy and other sectors of the economy. 8 refs., 2 figs

  1. Beneath the Surface of Accountability: Answerability, Responsibility and Capacity-Building in Recent Education Reforms in Norway

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hatch, Thomas

    2013-01-01

    Recent educational reforms in Norway include national tests and monitoring mechanisms to see if key outcomes are being achieved. At the same time, Norway has not established the follow-up mechanisms like high-stakes incentives and rewards that are characteristic of accountability policies in some other countries. As a consequence, one could argue…

  2. Response to science education reforms: The case of three science education doctoral programs in the United States

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gwekwerere, Yovita Netsai

    Doctoral programs play a significant role in preparing future leaders. Science Education doctoral programs play an even more significant role preparing leaders in a field that is critical to maintaining national viability in the face of global competition. The current science education reforms have the goal of achieving science literacy for all students and for this national goal to be achieved; we need strong leadership in the field of science education. This qualitative study investigated how doctoral programs are preparing their graduates for leadership in supporting teachers to achieve the national goal of science literacy for all. A case study design was used to investigate how science education faculty interpreted the national reform goal of science literacy for all and how they reformed their doctoral courses and research programs to address this goal. Faculty, graduate students and recent graduates of three science education doctoral programs participated in the study. Data collection took place through surveys, interviews and analysis of course documents. Two faculty members, three doctoral candidates and three recent graduates were interviewed from each of the programs. Data analysis involved an interpretive approach. The National Research Council Framework for Investigating Influence of the National Standards on student learning (2002) was used to analyze interview data. Findings show that the current reforms occupy a significant part of the doctoral coursework and research in these three science education doctoral programs. The extent to which the reforms are incorporated in the courses and the way they are addressed depends on how the faculty members interpret the reforms and what they consider to be important in achieving the goal of science literacy for all. Whereas some faculty members take a simplistic critical view of the reform goals as a call to achieve excellence in science teaching; others take a more complex critical view where they question

  3. Merging Educational Finance Reform and Desegregation Goals

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Deborah M. Kazal-Thresher

    1993-06-01

    Full Text Available Educational finance reforms and desegregation have both sought to address inequities in educational opportunities for minorities and low income families. The recent methods of addressing desegregation issues have tended to focus on attaining racial balance rather than educational quality, however. This paper explores how desegregation goals can be merged with educational finance reform to more systematically address educational quality in schools serving low income and minority populations. By moving toward centralized control over school financing, the inequity of school outcomes that are based on unequal school resources can be reduced. In addition, state determined expenditures when combined with desegregation monies, would meet the original intention of desegregation funds by clearly providing add-on monies for additional services for minority children, while at the same time, creating a better monitoring mechanism.

  4. Reflection on the Education Policy Orientation in Post-May 31 Reform in Korea

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lee, Chong Jae; Kim, Yong

    2016-01-01

    For the last 70 years, since the establishment of the Republic of Korea, Korean education has achieved universal expansion of educational opportunity from elementary to secondary to higher education. Planning, centralized policy making, top-down implementation, and administrative control had been the standards of the first few decades of Korean…

  5. Israeli Ministry of Education's District Managers' and Superintendents' Role as Educational Leaders--Implementing the New Policy for Teachers' Professional Development

    Science.gov (United States)

    Avidov-Ungar, Orit; Reingold, Roni

    2018-01-01

    In Israel, the Ministry of Education determines all aspects of educational policy, including teachers' initial teacher education, licensing and professional development. As part of the New Horizon educational reform, the Ministry announced in 2010 a new plan for the professional development of teachers in Israel. The Ministry assigned a mediating…

  6. Indirect Monetary Policy Reforms and Output Growth in Nigeria: An ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    BRRE). The efforts in repositioning these banks through the current banking reforms (recapitalization and consolidation) the paper notes are a right step in the right direction. Keywords: Indirect monetary policy, Granger – causality, output growth

  7. The single most important education reform in developing country

    Science.gov (United States)

    Orija, O.

    2007-05-01

    I deciding teaching as peer educator and working with NGOs in my country, as method to need to consider students' background knowledge, environment, and their learning goals as well as standardized curriculum as determined by their school district. Strengthening relationships among students and adults, Improving engagement, alignment and rigor of teaching and learning in every classroom, every day. My single most reform achieves is the rural school and community trust is a national non-profit organization addressing the crucial relationship between good schools and thriving communities. Our mission is to help rural schools and communities get better together. Working in some of the poorest, most challenging places, the rural trust involves young people in learning linked to their communities, improves the quality of teaching and school leadership, and advocates in a variety of ways for appropriate state educational policies, including the key issue of equitable and national agenda (serve Peer Educator) where rural people and their issues are visible and credible for rural schools.

  8. The Public Understanding of Assessment in Educational Reform in the United States

    Science.gov (United States)

    Brookhart, Susan M.

    2013-01-01

    The United States education system depends on legislation and funding at the federal, state and local levels. Public understanding of assessment therefore is important to educational reform in the USA. Educational reformers often invoke assessment information as a reason for reform, typically by citing unacceptable achievement on some measure or…

  9. Reforms in pedagogy and the Confucian tradition: looking below the surface

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ho, Felix M.

    2018-03-01

    This Forum article addresses some of the issues raised in the article by Ying-Syuan Huang and Anila Asghar's paper entitled: Science education reform in Confucian learning cultures: teachers' perspectives on policy and practice in Taiwan. An attempt is made to highlight the need for a more nuanced approach in considering the Confucian education tradition and its compatibility with education reforms. In particular, the article discusses issues concerning the historical development of the Confucian education tradition, challenges in reform implementation that are in reality tradition-independent, as well as opportunities and points of convergence that the Confucian education tradition presents that can in fact be favorable to implementation of reform-based pedagogies.

  10. Reforming minute reserve policy in Germany. A step towards efficient markets?

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Rammerstorfer, Margarethe; Wagner, Christian

    2009-01-01

    The present paper provides an empirical assessment of the effects associated with the reorganization of minute reserve markets in Germany. As the aim of the regulator is to assure a competitive market with transparent pricing, we analyze whether the recent policy reform has had an impact on the dynamics of minute reserve prices. Our results show that the level and volatility of positive and negative minute reserve prices decreased substantially. Furthermore, we provide evidence that the degree of integration between reserve and spot markets has increased. Overall, prices reacted to the policy change in a manner that is in line with the regulator's objective. The reform can thus be viewed as a step towards an efficient reserve market. (author)

  11. Recommended Capacities for Educational Leadership: Pre-Reform Era Scholars versus Reform-Era Scholars versus National Standards

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gordon, Stephen P.; Taylor-Backor, Karen; Croteau, Susan

    2017-01-01

    We reviewed the scholarship on capacities for educational leadership for the past decade of the pre-reform era (1976-1985), as well as a recent decade of the reform era (2005-2015), and compared scholarship from both decades with the current Professional Standards for Educational Leaders. We found that scholars in the past decade of the pre-reform…

  12. Telecom Reform

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Telecom Reform: Principles, Policies and Regulatory Practices, provides a comprehensive and definitive review and assessment of the unfolding telecom reform process, and its implications for information society development. It is an invaluable resource and authoritative reference on telecom reform...... and information infrastructure issues - for people in government, academia, industry and the consulting community. This book addresses the process of policy and regulatory reform in telecom that is now in its formative stage. It draws on detailed knowledge of industry development and regulatory experience......, as well as expertise in the new technologies, industries, economics, policy development, and law to present and critique the principles, policies and regulatory practices associated with telecom reform. Twenty six international experts address thirty two topics that are essential to successful telecom...

  13. A programme evaluation of pre-primary education reform, and policy, in Plateau State, Nigeria

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Sumaye Fadimatu Hamza

    2006-05-01

    Full Text Available Contextualisation This paper presents a brief overview of the educational system in Nigeria with an emphasis on the pre-primary education level. It addresses the international literature on early childhood pedagogy and assesses to what extent pre-primary education policy in Nigeria is inspired by this literature. The paper will pay special attention to the shortcomings and obstacles encountered in trying to implement the pre-primary education policy of Plateau State in Nigeria Abstract: The current study is an evaluation of the pre-primary education policy in Plateau State in Nigeria. It was inspired by my own experience as a school teacher/principal who has seen the effects on primary schools and the results of a lack of government investment in the sector, itself leading to a proliferation of ‘private owners’. Because of these circumstances the implementation of central policy is highly dependent on the varying understanding of these owners. The study will employ both qualitative and quantitative techniques in data collection through the use of questionnaire, interviews, classroom observation and use of documents. The data will be analysed both quantitatively and qualitatively. The results will hopefully be used, not only to add to existing literature, but also to improve the system serving as a basis for further research in the area.

  14. Medical workforce education and training: A failed decentralisation attempt to reform organisation, financing, and planning in England.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ovseiko, Pavel V; Buchan, Alastair M

    2015-12-01

    The 2010-2015 Conservative and Liberal Democrat coalition government proposed introducing a radical decentralisation reform of the organisation, financing, and planning of medical workforce education and training in England. However, following public deliberation and parliamentary scrutiny of the government's proposals, it had to abandon and alter its original proposals to the extent that they failed to achieve their original decentralisation objectives. This failed decentralisation attempt provides important lessons about the policy process and content of both workforce governance and health system reforms in Europe and beyond. The organisation, financing, and planning of medical workforce education is as an issue of national importance and should remain in the stewardship of the national government. Future reform efforts seeking to enhance the skills of the workforce needed to deliver high-quality care for patients in the 21st century will have a greater chance of succeeding if they are clearly articulated through engagement with stakeholders, and focus on the delivery of undergraduate and postgraduate multi-professional education and training in universities and teaching hospitals. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

  15. Dewey and Italian School Policy: Proposals for Reform by Scuola e Città (1950–1960

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Andrea Mariuzzo

    2016-07-01

    Full Text Available The paper analyses the role of Ernesto Codignola’s «Florence School of Pedagogy» in the renewal of Italian democratic and secular education after World War II, particularly its commitment to the diffusion of John Dewey’s educational thinking across Italy, previously dominated by the influence of traditional neo-idealism. Through a systematic analysis of the journal Scuola e Città, the group’s mouthpiece, the paper highlights the importance of Dewey’s ideas in the elaboration of educational policy proposals and potential legislative measures for school reform. It analyses the extent to which the «Deweyan laboratory» in Florence contributed to the emergence and foundation of the positions held by one of its exponents, Ernesto Codignola’s son Tristano – the Italian Socialist Party’s Education minister, in the parliamentary debate of the Sixties. The paper focuses on three main themes: (i assessment of the government’s primary school curricula, drawn up in the mid-fifties, characterized by an overhaul of the existing educational practices, which Scuola e città authors considered to be insufficient and contradictory; (ii universal access to a junior secondary education along the lines of the comprehensive school model to guide the active stimulation of students’ abilities and interests; and (iii school administration reform in response to the persistence of pre-war centralism and the authoritarian character of traditional Italian pedagogy.

  16. Can We Pay for Current Education Reform?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Odden, Allan

    2012-01-01

    For more than 30 years, the United States has been engaged in education reform efforts designed to dramatically boost student performance and close achievement gaps linked to poverty and ethnicity. Can schools afford those education ambitions? Most educators have their doubts. The author believes educators can improve student learning even when…

  17. The Free Education Policy in Kenya: A Critique

    Science.gov (United States)

    Limukii, Kaberia E.; Mualuko, Ndiku J.

    2012-01-01

    Educational reforms are crucial in a country if the reforms benefit the intended target group. One of the educational reforms in Kenya was the introduction of Free Primary Education. This was informed by the need to improve access and equity in provision of education. Informed by the need to eradicate ignorance, poverty and disease, the…

  18. Redesigning and reforming European regional policy : The reasons, the logic and the outcomes

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    McCann, P.; Ortega-Argilés, R.

    This article discusses the reforms to European Union (EU) regional development policy, or more precisely EU Cohesion Policy, which have been taking place over recent years. Following a discussion of the evolution of the policy, the changes in the rationale, the logic, the architecture, and the

  19. Experimental teaching reforms of optical fiber communication based on general education

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lan, L.; Liu, S.; Zhou, J. H.; Peng, Z. M.

    2017-08-01

    It's necessary that higher education experimental teaching reforms on the basis of general education. This paper put forward the experimental teaching reform mode of optical fiber communication in the context of general education. With some reform measures such as improving the experimental content, enriching the experimental style, modifying the experimental teaching method, and adjusting the evaluation method of experimental teaching, the concept of general education is put throughout the experimental teaching of optical fiber communication. In this way, it facilitates the development of students and improvement of experimental teaching quality.

  20. Energy sector reforms status of Danish energy policy - 2000

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Gullev, L.

    2000-01-01

    The new millennium brings change and new ways of thinking to the energy sector. Today the sector faces new challenges which it must deal with at a time where increasing market liberalisation and increasing internalisation is creating completely new frameworks for the sector. The Danish tradition of progressive energy policy action plans is the best possible basis on which to build. The target remains set. Energy policy must create the framework for structuring future energy systems so as to ensure that they are sustainable. Over many years there have been numerous initiatives to transfer consumption to cleaner energy sources, which has now led to a steady reduction in CO 2 emissions. The government places great importance on a continuation of this current development, both short term and long term. The adoption of the Electricity Reform in spring 1999 was an important step in the right direction. The government can, with great satisfaction, conclude that an agreement has now been made with most of the Parliament regarding a Gas reform, modernisation of the heat Supply Act and a new Energy Saving Act. In addition to this, the agreement also includes a follow up to the Electricity Reform concerning utilisation of biomass, offshore wind turbines, harmonisation of costs for priority electricity production, private generator's payment to priority electricity and the establishment of a market for electricity based on renewable. (author)

  1. Policies for higher education in Colombia: the effects of contemporary governance

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Olga Cecilia Díaz Flórez

    2016-05-01

    Full Text Available This article contextualize social and educational policies in the forms of government intervention characterized by a pragmatism at keeps the suction set "friendly approaches to the market" which will swing less to greater coordination between them. These reforms, which are governed by the growth stimulated by the market are based on government practices, which combine two important strategies that provide flexibility: the global frame design with different ways to achieve the focused objectives in the growth and use of OMCs operating with a degree of variability which are monitored through regular monitoring ongoing for several organizations and social partners. Thus, the purpose of this discussion is to understand the place of politics in contemporary forms of government, analyzing both the scope as the questions related to the reform process driven by the Bologna Declaration. Besides this, the debate deepens the affectations of policies generated in countries like Colombia, showing how one of its most visible effects is presented by the guidelines for skills and the mass evaluation, conceived as a strategic place, as a kind of hinge, which seeks to articulate the world education with the productive sector. To illustrate some of the effects produced by these strategies of government, the text also thematizes the new issues raised, particularly the level of hierarchy, stratification and inequality derived from forms of social regulation undertaken in higher education that took place in Colombia in the last decade. In conclusion presents a few current guidelines from the environment experienced in recent years in the country, showing that a reform in higher education confirms this trend .; but it managed to contain this movement thanks to the active role of the student movement which secured the transforming role of education, the nature of the common good that belongs to all of society making possible the opportunity to provide a dignified life

  2. The Use (and Misuse) of PISA in Guiding Policy Reform: The Case of Spain

    Science.gov (United States)

    Choi, Álvaro; Jerrim, John

    2016-01-01

    In 2013 Spain introduced a series of educational reforms explicitly inspired by the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) 2012 results. These reforms were mainly implemented in secondary education--based upon the assumption that this is where Spain's educational problems lie. This paper questions this assumption by attempting to…

  3. Thinking Whimsically: Queering the Study of Educational Policy-Making and Politics

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lugg, Catherine A.; Murphy, Jason P.

    2014-01-01

    This paper discusses employing queer theory (QT) and queer legal theory (QLT) for critical policy analysis as applied to education. In doing so, the authors will highlight how both QT and QLT can empower analyses to look beyond the identity politics of a particular time period or space and toward potential reforms in curriculum, pedagogy, and…

  4. Reforming Administrator Training: Here We Go Again!

    Science.gov (United States)

    Drury, William R.

    1989-01-01

    The National Policy Board for Educational Administration report ("Improving the Preparation of School Administrators: An Agenda for Reform") reiterates the need for program improvements for educational administrators. Obstacles to any real change occurring in the near future are pointed out. (six references) (SI)

  5. Fiscal Policy in Urban Education. A Volume in Research in Education Fiscal Policy and Practice.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Roellke, Christopher, Ed.; Rice, Jennifer King, Ed.

    This volume focuses on school finance challenges in large urban school districts, fiscal accountability in these schools, and the fiscal dimensions of urban school reform. The 12 papers are (1) "School Finance and Urban Education Reform" (Christopher Roellke and Jennifer King Rice); (2) "Can Whole-School Reform Improve the…

  6. Education and Health Care Policies in Ghana

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ziblim Abukari

    2015-10-01

    Full Text Available Education and health care policies in Ghana since independence have been universalist in approach providing free universal health care and free basic and tertiary education until the early 1980s. Precipitated primarily by a severe drought, stagnant economic growth, mismanagement, and political instability, Ghana undertook major economic reforms with prodding from the World Bank and International Monetary Fund in a bid to salvage the economy. These economic measures included cost recovery and cutback spending in education and health sectors. However, in recent years, purposive targeted interventions have been pursued to address inequalities in education and health care. These new programs include the Education Capitation Grant, school feeding program, and the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS, which are propelling Ghana toward the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals. The prospects of these programs in addressing disparities in access to education and health care in the country and recommendations for improved delivery are discussed.

  7. Modernising Education: New Public Management Reform in the Norwegian Education System

    Science.gov (United States)

    Møller, Jorunn; Skedsmo, Guri

    2013-01-01

    Since the end of the 1980s, the Norwegian education system has gone through major reform, influenced largely by new managerialist ideas. Strategies to renew the public sector were promoted as the new public management (NPM). This paper investigates the way ideas connected to NPM reforms have been introduced and interpreted in the Norwegian…

  8. The Intersections of Selves and Policies: A Poetic Inquiry into the Hydra of Teacher Education

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cross, Stephanie Behm; Dunn, Alyssa Hadley; Dotson, Erica K.

    2018-01-01

    This article explores the intersection of selves and policies for teacher educators in an era of teacher education reform. Borne out of a promise to one another to write about our experiences navigating increasingly complex market-driven, neoliberal attacks on our work and world, we collected data across several years that documented our attempt…

  9. Education Reform: A Managerial Agenda.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bacharach, Samuel B.; Conley, Sharon C.

    1986-01-01

    Education reform has wrongly focused on teacher motivation and rewards, when the organizational system itself is at fault. Research shows that effective school management hinges on increased individual discretion and decision-making opportunities for teachers and less controlling behavior by administrators. Ten characteristics of effective…

  10. Property rights and hierarchies of power: a critical evaluation of land-reform policy in South Africa

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    André van der Walt

    1999-03-01

    Full Text Available The programme of land reform laws introduced in South Africa since 1991 is often seen and discussed as nothing more than a highly technical, black-letter aspect of South African law. In this article, the author directs attention to the policies that underly the land reform laws, and discusses the transformative potential and effect of land reform laws in view of these policies. The main question is whether the land reform programme has succeeded in breaking away from or undermining the hierarchies of power that were inherent in traditional common-law property relationships and, particularly, in the politically sanctioned and statutorily entrenched system of apartheid land law. Through the analysis of the most important land reform laws the author concludes that the land reform programme is only partially successful in this regard, since many of the new laws still uphold or entrench the underlying hierarchies o f power that characterised apartheid land law.

  11. Education System Reform in China after 1978: Some Practical Implications

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sun, Miantao

    2010-01-01

    Purpose: This paper aims to provide an overview of education system reform in China since 1978, and its practical implications. Design/methodology/approach: Data were collected from literature review and interview. An overview of education system reform and its practical implications was found through data analysis. Findings: There has been two…

  12. Testing and school reform in Danish education

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Kousholt, Kristine; Hamre, Bjørn

    2016-01-01

    This chapter will focus on shared characteristics of the Danish national standardized testing in public school and the ideals of being a student according to the Danish School Reform of 2014. In the chapter we argue that both kinds of materials (documents regarding the newly implemented national ...... and that this intermingles with the explicated intentions of the Danish school reform as a more profound educational intervention....

  13. Recent State Education Reform in the United States: Looking Backward and Forward.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kirst, Michael W.

    1988-01-01

    Reviews the past progress and outcomes of the educational reform movement at the state level and outlines strategies for the second wave of reform. Contends that the future of education reform depends primarily on the growth of the American economy and how this growth is distributed among the states. (TE)

  14. Qualitative analysis of the dynamics of policy design and implementation in hospital funding reform.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Karen S Palmer

    Full Text Available As in many health care systems, some Canadian jurisdictions have begun shifting away from global hospital budgets. Payment for episodes of care has begun to be implemented. Starting in 2012, the Province of Ontario implemented hospital funding reforms comprising three elements: Global Budgets; Health Based Allocation Method (HBAM; and Quality-Based Procedures (QBP. This evaluation focuses on implementation of QBPs, a procedure/diagnosis-specific funding approach involving a pre-set price per episode of care coupled with best practice clinical pathways. We examined whether or not there was consensus in understanding of the program theory underpinning QBPs and how this may have influenced full and effective implementation of this innovative funding model.We undertook a formative evaluation of QBP implementation. We used an embedded case study method and in-depth, one-on-one, semi-structured, telephone interviews with key informants at three levels of the health care system: Designers (those who designed the QBP policy; Adoption Supporters (organizations and individuals supporting adoption of QBPs; and Hospital Implementers (those responsible for QBP implementation in hospitals. Thematic analysis involved an inductive approach, incorporating Framework analysis to generate descriptive and explanatory themes that emerged from the data.Five main findings emerged from our research: (1 Unbeknownst to most key informants, there was neither consistency nor clarity over time among QBP designers in their understanding of the original goal(s for hospital funding reform; (2 Prior to implementation, the intended hospital funding mechanism transitioned from ABF to QBPs, but most key informants were either unaware of the transition or believe it was intentional; (3 Perception of the primary goal(s of the policy reform continues to vary within and across all levels of key informants; (4 Four years into implementation, the QBP funding mechanism remains

  15. Qualitative analysis of the dynamics of policy design and implementation in hospital funding reform.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Palmer, Karen S; Brown, Adalsteinn D; Evans, Jenna M; Marani, Husayn; Russell, Kirstie K; Martin, Danielle; Ivers, Noah M

    2018-01-01

    As in many health care systems, some Canadian jurisdictions have begun shifting away from global hospital budgets. Payment for episodes of care has begun to be implemented. Starting in 2012, the Province of Ontario implemented hospital funding reforms comprising three elements: Global Budgets; Health Based Allocation Method (HBAM); and Quality-Based Procedures (QBP). This evaluation focuses on implementation of QBPs, a procedure/diagnosis-specific funding approach involving a pre-set price per episode of care coupled with best practice clinical pathways. We examined whether or not there was consensus in understanding of the program theory underpinning QBPs and how this may have influenced full and effective implementation of this innovative funding model. We undertook a formative evaluation of QBP implementation. We used an embedded case study method and in-depth, one-on-one, semi-structured, telephone interviews with key informants at three levels of the health care system: Designers (those who designed the QBP policy); Adoption Supporters (organizations and individuals supporting adoption of QBPs); and Hospital Implementers (those responsible for QBP implementation in hospitals). Thematic analysis involved an inductive approach, incorporating Framework analysis to generate descriptive and explanatory themes that emerged from the data. Five main findings emerged from our research: (1) Unbeknownst to most key informants, there was neither consistency nor clarity over time among QBP designers in their understanding of the original goal(s) for hospital funding reform; (2) Prior to implementation, the intended hospital funding mechanism transitioned from ABF to QBPs, but most key informants were either unaware of the transition or believe it was intentional; (3) Perception of the primary goal(s) of the policy reform continues to vary within and across all levels of key informants; (4) Four years into implementation, the QBP funding mechanism remains misunderstood; and

  16. Cultural Narcissism and Education Reform

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pajak, Edward F.

    2011-01-01

    Background/Context: Scholars have described American culture in recent decades as narcissistic, manifested by displays of self-absorption tantamount to a pathological syndrome that has reached epidemic proportions. An education reform movement that is highly critical of public schools, teachers, and students has simultaneously emerged, espousing a…

  17. Reforming a University during Political Transformation: A Case Study of Yangon University in Myanmar

    Science.gov (United States)

    Esson, James; Wang, Kevin

    2018-01-01

    Since 2010, Myanmar has been transitioning from an authoritarian military regime towards a parliamentary democracy. Several education policies have been launched as part of this political transformation process, including the reform of Myanmar's flagship higher education institution, Yangon University. This article investigates the reform of…

  18. Coordinating Policies for Human Resources Development

    OpenAIRE

    G.A. Meagher

    1996-01-01

    In its recent White Paper on Employment and Growth, the Australian Government announced a comprehensive new agenda to supplement its existing employment policies. It includes the following major elements * reforms to labour market assistance; * training and education reforms; * a reconstructed social security system; * a regional strategy; * workplace agreements; and * microeconomic reforms. An important consideration in the implementation of such a multi-faceted policy program is that its va...

  19. How Neoliberal Globalization Is Shaping Early Childhood Education Policies in India, China, Singapore, Sri Lanka and the Maldives

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gupta, Amita

    2018-01-01

    In rapidly globalizing systems of schooling around the world, economic considerations have led to a push to impose neoliberal reforms in the field of education. Under this influence early childhood education and teacher education in Asia have increasingly become positioned as regulated markets governed by neoliberal policies, leading to peak…

  20. On the choice of farm management practices after the reform of the Common Agricultural Policy in 2003.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Schmid, Erwin; Sinabell, Franz

    2007-02-01

    The Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) was fundamentally reformed in 2003. From 2005, farmers will receive decoupled income support payments instead of production premiums if basic standards for environment, food safety, animal health and welfare are met. Farmers are likely to adjust production and management practices to the new policy framework. We describe how this reform fits into the EU strategy of making agricultural production more environmentally friendly by concentrating on the financial aspects of the reforms. Using an agricultural sector model for Austria, we show that the reform will further decrease agricultural outputs, reduce farm inputs, lessen nitrogen surpluses and make environmentally friendly management practices more attractive for farmers.

  1. Trade Policy Reform and the Missing Revenue

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Arndt, Thomas Channing; Tarp, Finn

    2008-01-01

    into a computable general equilibrium model of an African economy (Mozambique) to study the implications of trade policy reform. Model simulations indicate that lowering tariff rates and reducing duty-free importation in a manner that maintains official revenue benefit nearly everyone. The main exception is those......In many African countries, large discrepancies exist between revenues implied by published tariff rates multiplied by estimated import volumes and actual receipts. We develop a stylised trade model where average and marginal tariff rates diverge and incorporate insights from this model...

  2. Why do policies change? Institutions, interests, ideas and networks in three cases of policy reform.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Shearer, Jessica C; Abelson, Julia; Kouyaté, Bocar; Lavis, John N; Walt, Gill

    2016-11-01

    Policy researchers have used various categories of variables to explain why policies change, including those related to institutions, interests and ideas. Recent research has paid growing attention to the role of policy networks-the actors involved in policy-making, their relationships with each other, and the structure formed by those relationships-in policy reform across settings and issues; however, this literature has largely ignored the theoretical integration of networks with other policy theories, including the '3Is' of institutions, interests and ideas. This article proposes a conceptual framework integrating these variables and tests it on three cases of policy change in Burkina Faso, addressing the need for theoretical integration with networks as well as the broader aim of theory-driven health policy analysis research in low- and middle-income countries. We use historical process tracing, a type of comparative case study, to interpret and compare documents and in-depth interview data within and between cases. We found that while network changes were indeed associated with policy reform, this relationship was mediated by one or more of institutions, interests and ideas. In a context of high donor dependency, new donor rules affected the composition and structure of actors in the networks, which enabled the entry and dissemination of new ideas and shifts in the overall balance of interest power ultimately leading to policy change. The case of strategic networking occurred in only one case, by civil society actors, suggesting that network change is rarely the spark that initiates the process towards policy change. This analysis highlights the important role of changes in institutions and ideas to drive policymaking, but hints that network change is a necessary intermediate step in these processes. © The Author 2016. Published by Oxford University Press in association with The London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine. All rights reserved. For

  3. Can conditional health policies be justified? A policy analysis of the new NHS dental contract reforms.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Laverty, Louise; Harris, Rebecca

    2018-06-01

    Conditional policies, which emphasise personal responsibility, are becoming increasingly common in healthcare. Although used widely internationally, they are relatively new within the UK health system where there have been concerns about whether they can be justified. New NHS dental contracts include the introduction of a conditional component that restricts certain patients from accessing a full range of treatment until they have complied with preventative action. A policy analysis of published documents on the NHS dental contract reforms from 2009 to 2016 was conducted to consider how conditionality is justified and whether its execution is likely to cause distributional effects. Contractualist, paternalistic and mutualist arguments that reflect notions of responsibility and obligation are used as justification within policy. Underlying these arguments is an emphasis on preserving the finite resources of a strained NHS. We argue that the proposed conditional component may differentially affect disadvantaged patients, who do not necessarily have access to the resources needed to meet the behavioural requirements. As such, the conditional component of the NHS dental contract reform has the potential to exacerbate oral health inequalities. Conditional health policies may challenge core NHS principles and, as is the case with any conditional policy, should be carefully considered to ensure they do not exacerbate health inequities. Copyright © 2018 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.. All rights reserved.

  4. Complicating the Rhetoric: How Racial Construction Confounds Market-Based Reformers' Civil Rights Invocations

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hernández, Laura E.

    2016-01-01

    Reformers today maintain the use of civil rights rhetoric when advocating for policies that address educational inequity. While continuing the legacy of earlier civil rights activists, the leaders invoking this rhetoric and the educational platforms they promote differ greatly from previous decades. Not only does this new crop of reformers differ…

  5. A Decade of Education Reform in Thailand: Broken Promise or Impossible Dream?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hallinger, Philip; Lee, Moosung

    2011-01-01

    This study addresses the perceived gap between the vision of education reform in Thailand embodied in its Education Reform Law of 1999 and the results of implementation a decade later. Drawing upon opportunistic data obtained from a sample of 162 Thai school principals, we analyze trends in reform implementation across schools in all regions and…

  6. Teacher Education Reform and Subaltern Voices: From Politica to Practica in Bolivia

    Science.gov (United States)

    Delany-Barmann, Gloria

    2010-01-01

    In 1994, the National Educational Reform in Bolivia instituted reforms that called for a model of education that held at its center the knowledge and languages of Indigenous people. The types of change called for by the reforms in Bolivia signify major transformations in teacher preparation practices and a concerted emphasis on training in…

  7. Intertextuality in Educational Reform: Reflections on Equity in Swedish School Reform La Intertextualidad en las reformas educativas: reflexiones sobre la equidad en la reforma escolar sueca.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Guadalupe Francia

    2008-03-01

    Full Text Available This article proposes intertextuality as a conceptual instrument for the deeper understanding of the phenomenon of equity in educational Reform in times of decentralization. This analysis starts from a dynamic vision of education reforms as interactions of texts. To illustrate the use of intertextual analysis of equity in education, this article introduces and discusses the analyzed examples of the educational national policy and of educational practice in the educational reform implemented in the 90?s and currently in force in the compulsory school in Sweden. It is argued that the meaning of equity is never a fixed one; it varies according to the interactions between political texts at a national level and texts of educational practice at communal and school levels. En este artículo se propone la intertextualidad como herramienta conceptual para lograr una mayor comprensión de la equidad en las reformas educativas en tiempos de descentralización. En este análisis se parte de una visión de reforma educativa como sistema dinámico de interacciones de textos. Para ilustrar la utilidad del análisis intertextual de la equidad educativa se presentan y discuten ejemplos de la política y de la práctica escolar en la reforma introducida en la década de los noventa y actualmente vigente en la escuela obligatoria sueca. Se argumenta que el significado de equidad nunca es fijo, sino que varía de acuerdo con las interacciones de los diferentes textos de la política educativa y de la práctica escolar.

  8. The New Technology and Educational Reform: Guidelines for School Administrators.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Matthews, Mark; Karr-Kidwell, PJ

    This paper presents the results of a literature review on educational methodology reforms. The first section discusses five factors in broad-based school reforms: change theory; organizational theory; state/national politics; local politics/governance; and leadership theory. Five types of reforms for school-wide success are described in the second…

  9. Reform in Literacy Education in China. Literacy Lessons.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yianwei, Wang; Jiyuan, Li

    Literacy in China is mainly concerned with illiteracy in rural areas. Therefore, reforming literacy education is largely a problem of how to eliminate rural literacy within the general framework of reform in contemporary China. From 1949 to 1988, the illiteracy rate among the population decreased from 80 percent to 20 percent. There are still…

  10. The Fiscal and Macroeconomic Impacts of Reforming Energy Subsidy Policy in Malaysia

    OpenAIRE

    Nora Yusma Bte Mohamed Yusoff; Hussain Ali Bekhet

    2017-01-01

    The rationalization of a gradual subsidies reforms plan has been set out by the Malaysian government to achieve the high-income nation target. This paper attempts to analyze the impacts of energy subsidy reform policy on fiscal deficit and macroeconomics variables in Malaysia. The Computable General Equilibrium (CGE) Model is employed. Three simulations based on different groups of scenarios have been developed. Importantly, the overall results indicate that removal of fuel subsidy has signif...

  11. Energy subsidies: lessons learned in assessing their impact and designing policy reforms

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Moltke, A. von; McKee, C.; Morgan, T.

    2004-02-01

    This book, which is based on the work carried out by the International Energy Agency and UNEP, explores the potential impacts of energy subsidies and provides guidelines for policy makers on how to implement reform of energy subsides. The background on energy subsidies is traced and an analytical framework is presented covering defining and measuring energy subsidies, the size of the subsidies, and analysis of the impact of subsidies and their reform. Energy subsidies in OECD countries, Czech and Slovak Republics, Russia, India, Indonesia, Korea, Iran and Senegal are examined along with the impact of removing energy subsidies in Chile, the findings of country case studies, and the design and implementation of energy subsidies reforms. Methodological approaches to analysing the economic, environmental and social effects of energy subsidy reform are considered in the Annex

  12. Learning Autonomy: Higher Education Reform in Kazakhstan

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hartley, Matthew; Gopaul, Bryan; Sagintayeva, Aida; Apergenova, Renata

    2016-01-01

    Higher education is a key economic and social priority in the global arena. Many countries have sought to advance reforms aimed at increasing access, promoting greater educational quality, and ensuring financial responsibility and sustainability. Often, strategies for achieving these aims are informed by experiences elsewhere. However,…

  13. Education management process implementation of reforms

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    A. V. Kondratyeva

    2013-12-01

    In the dissertation research looks at the problem of the study. This article contains material research and evaluate different points of view on the issue of a systematic approach using educational management in the implementation of reforms.

  14. The Evaluation of Higher Education Expenditure Performance and Investment Mechanism Reform

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wang, De; Fu, Meiying

    2009-01-01

    Along with the reform of Chinese Government public finance, higher education belongs to the public product, gradually changes from "fund investment management" to the "expenditure performance management". The evaluation of expenditure performance system becomes the key point of higher education investment mechanism reform. This…

  15. Reforming Higher Education in "Transition": Between National and International Reform Initiatives--The Case of Slovenia

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zgaga, Pavel; Miklavic, Klemen

    2011-01-01

    The article analyzes the last two decades of higher education reforms in Slovenia. During the "period of transition," they were led by national as well as international initiatives. At an early stage, the national initiatives were mainly based on criticisms of the last reform made by the former regime, although the generation of new…

  16. Ethical and Civic Education. Difficulties during the Curricular Reform in Argentine Patagonia

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Isabelino Siede

    2015-04-01

    Full Text Available DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.17227/01234870.41folios51.68 What type of ethical and civic education is effectively provided at school? This article analyzes the curricular prescriptions of Ethical and Citizenship Education in primary schools of the Argentine Patagonia, as well as its relations and contradictions with the school practices of moral education It inquires the process of definition of the area in the context of the Educational Reform in the 90s. Also, it pursuits to remake the way it was incorporated in the provincial curriculum design. Throughout focus groups and interviews to teachers from different public and private schools of three towns from de north of Santa Cruz, we analyze the descriptions and expectative of the teachers about their teaching practice in the moral area, as well as the possible causes of the differences and the contradictions between the policies of the curricular statement and educational proposals offered at school.

  17. Steepest Ascent Tariff Reform

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Raimondos-Møller, Pascalis; Woodland, Alan

    2014-01-01

    . In undertaking this task, and by focusing on tariff reforms, we introduce the concept of a steepest ascent policy reform, which is a locally optimal reform in the sense that it achieves the highest marginal gain in utility of any feasible local reform. We argue that this reform presents itself as a natural......The policy reform literature is primarily concerned with the construction of reforms that yield welfare gains. By contrast, this paper’s contribution is to develop a theoretical concept for which the focus is upon the sizes of welfare gains accruing from policy reforms rather than upon their signs...... benchmark for the evaluation of the welfare effectiveness of other popular tariff reforms such as the proportional tariff reduction and the concertina rules, since it provides the maximal welfare gain of all possible local reforms. We derive properties of the steepest ascent tariff reform, construct...

  18. EIA: Educational Reform or Repression?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Monteith, Dianne S.

    A recent study (Cook, 1989) involving 58 randomly selected South Carolina elementary schools indicated that none of these schools could be characterized as having an "open climate." This paper suggests that this situation may have its origins in the educational reform movement of the 1980s, first ignited by the publication of "A…

  19. Synthesis of Findings from 15?years of Educational Reform in Thailand: Lessons on Leading Educational Change in East Asia

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hallinger, Philip; Bryant, Darren A.

    2013-01-01

    The past two decades have been a period of active education reform throughout much of the world, and East Asia is no exception. This paper synthesizes findings from a series of empirical studies of educational reform in Thailand where an ambitious educational reform law was adopted in 1999. The purpose is to identify lessons learned about…

  20. Education reforms: consequences for the systems and the workers in education

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Heleno Araújo Filho

    2011-10-01

    Full Text Available This article approaches the consequences of the reforms in basic education, which started with the promulgation of the Federal Constitution of 1988. These reforms were elaborated without the social participation, resulting, nowadays, in high number of no literate people, big percentage of functional illiterates, the non universalization of the service school, low quality of the learning and a school with difficulties to accomplishing its paper of preparing the citizen for the life and the work. Besides, the education politics took a long time, after the Constitution, for being approved and they didn't assist to the claims and expectations of the workers’ in education. However, in the last three years, there were changes in the structure of the Brazilian education, causing some progresses; but, still, there are challenges to be overcome. The author concluded getting the attention for the importance of the participation, organization and intervention of the organized entities of the social movements so that the present challenges in the education are overcome and that the education is in the right direction.

  1. Equitable science education in urban middle schools: Do reform efforts make a difference?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hewson, Peter W.; Butler Kahle, Jane; Scantlebury, Kathryn; Davies, Darleen

    2001-12-01

    A central commitment of current reforms in science education is that all students, regardless of culture, gender, race, and/ or socioeconomic status, are capable of understanding and doing science. The study Bridging the Gap: Equity in Systemic Reform assessed equity in systemic reform using a nested research design that drew on both qualitative and quantitative methodologies. As part of the study, case studies were conducted in two urban middle schools in large Ohio cities. The purpose of the case studies was to identify factors affecting equity in urban science education reform. Data were analyzed using Kahle's (1998) equity metric. That model allowed us to assess progress toward equity using a range of research-based indicators grouped into three categories critical for equitable education: access to, retention in, and achievement in quality science education. In addition, a fourth category was defined for systemic indicators of equity. Analyses indicated that the culture and climate of the case study schools differentially affected their progress toward equitable reform in science education.

  2. Reforming the educated person in Bolivia

    OpenAIRE

    Uski, Juha Janne Olavi

    2011-01-01

    The Bolivian educational reform law nr. 070 was approved in 2010 and its implementation is beginning in 2012. Basing itself on a combination of Marxist and Cultural Studies -influenced theories, the thesis examines the tensions between the vision of Law 070 and the conditions and aspirations of the stakeholders. A central concept in this discussion is ”the cultural production of the educated person”, and the development of the concept of the educated person through the history of Bolivia is d...

  3. EDUCATION POLICY AND EFL CURRICULUM IN INDONESIA: BETWEEN THE COMMITMENT TO COMPETENCE AND THE QUEST FOR HIGHER TEST SCORES

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Anita Lie

    2007-01-01

    Full Text Available Education policies and curricula provide the context and specific expectations that drive student learning and achievement towards a sustainable future. The underlying policies and practices in the EFL classrooms do not always match consistently. There is an emerging need to counterbalance the power of policymakers in ensuring that balanced, pedagogically sound education policies and EFL curriculum are produced, carried out, and monitored. As one of civil society organizations, TEFLIN is well positioned to serve that mission. TEFLIN may take the initiative to engage in the EFL curriculum review project, EFL curriculum design, and reform in EFL teacher education and certification.

  4. Contextual Analysis of Hong Kong Education Policy in 20 Years: The Intention of Making Future Citizens in Political Conflicts

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Steven Chung Fun Hung

    2017-08-01

    Full Text Available Originally, the capitalist society in Hong Kong under communism is exceptional, but the “one country, two systems” formula was a makeshift stratagem by the Communist Chinese government. The twenty years of history witnessed the tension of ruling and policy implementation. Education policy in political conflicts is, of course, the other arena in the Hong Kong context which reveals competitions, controversies and struggles among the cultural hegemonic engineering. This paper can contribute to enigmatic understanding and interpretation of generating educational reform and implementing education policy in this twenty-year history of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region.

  5. GLOBALIZATION, NEOLIBERALISM, EDUCATIONAL REFORMS AND CREATIVITY

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Octavio González-Vázquez

    2015-07-01

    Full Text Available Globalization and neoliberalism strongly affect education reforms in our country. Changes involving the three processes have conditions that can promote or inhibit the development of creativity. We can use one or the other with the development of our own creativity.

  6. On Quality Education Reform in International Trade Major

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ma, Jing; Xiao, Jing

    2011-01-01

    The purpose of this paper is to analyze the existing problems of quality education of specialization of international trade in current colleges and universities of China, and then propose several pieces of corresponding suggestion on educational reform. According to the characteristics of college and university education, we shall emphasize on the…

  7. Relations between educational research, policy, planning and implementation: The Thai experience

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ketudat, Sippanondha; Fry, Gerald

    1981-06-01

    The relations between educational research, policy, planning and implementation in Thailand are the topic of this paper. The major focus is on the research/policy linkage. A complex educational administrative structure and a pluralistic informal power structure characterize the Thai research context. A tetrahedral model of linkages provides the conceptual framework for the analysis. Details are then provided with respect to the actual operationalization of the model in terms of the Thai approach in practice. Major elements in the Thai approach include the use of expert policy committees, joint committees involving both administrators and researchers, problem-oriented seminars, and commissioned research. Actual examples of research efforts described are an educational reform study, local level school mapping, a school cluster experiment, a budget exercise to improve the equity of primary school resource allocations, and a policy evaluation of sub-district secondary schools. Finally, lessons to be learned from the Thai experience are summarized. Thailand has experienced some success in building analytical educational research capacity and ensuring its utilization. Key elements in this success have been an emphasis on strengthening human capacities; judging political will in a timely, flexible manner; creatively utilizing bureaucratic forms such as committees; and remaining both politically detached and sensitive.

  8. Reform of the Educational Finance System as the Foundation of Compulsory Education

    Science.gov (United States)

    Suetomi, Kaori; Murray, Nadezhda

    2014-01-01

    The conditions required for a reform of the educational finance system as the foundation of compulsory education are 1) devolution to schools and introduction of national standards in order to deal with "individual equality" while compensating for the insufficiency of "aspectual equality," and 2) dealing with educational needs…

  9. Outlook on Student Retention in Higher Education University Reforms in Morocco

    OpenAIRE

    Zoulal Mansouri; Mohamed El Amine Moumine

    2017-01-01

    High student attrition rates at university have become one of the most challenging issues in higher education worldwide in the last five decades. Moroccan universities are no exception. At-risk students drop out of studies for a plethora of reasons, and the attrition rate is increasing despite the efforts made in education reforms carried out since 1999. This article reviews the most important components of the higher education reforms that have been adopted in Moroccan higher education in th...

  10. Outlook on Student Retention in Higher Education University Reforms in Morocco

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Zoulal Mansouri

    2017-04-01

    Full Text Available High student attrition rates at university have become one of the most challenging issues in higher education worldwide in the last five decades. Moroccan universities are no exception. At-risk students drop out of studies for a plethora of reasons, and the attrition rate is increasing despite the efforts made in education reforms carried out since 1999. This article reviews the most important components of the higher education reforms that have been adopted in Moroccan higher education in their endeavor to enhance student retention in university. These components are chronologically reviewed, first in the National Charter of Education and Training (NCET launched in 1999, second in the Emergency Plan conducted in 2009-2012, and finally in the latest Strategic Vision of Reform 2015-2030. It is concluded that more efforts are necessary to strike a balance between quantity and quality in terms of student retention in university education.

  11. Balancing Tensions in Educational Policy Reforms: Large-Scale Implementation of Assessment for Learning in Norway

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hopfenbeck, Therese N.; Flórez Petour, María Teresa; Tolo, Astrid

    2015-01-01

    This study investigates how different stakeholders in Norway experienced a government-initiated, large-scale policy implementation programme on "Assessment for Learning" ("AfL"). Data were collected through 58 interviews with stakeholders in charge of the policy; Ministers of Education and members of the Directorate of…

  12. Agrarian Reform Policies and Development in the Arab Middle East.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Baali, Fuad

    The purpose of this paper is to analyze and evaluate the nature, scope, and implications of the rural development in the Arab countries of the Middle East and North Africa. The first section of the paper deals with the forces that have caused changes in agrarian reform policies as they affected rural development in these countries. Specifically…

  13. Policies lost in translation? Unravelling water reform processes in African waterscapes

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Kemerink-Seyoum, J.S.

    2015-01-01

    Since the 1980s a major change took place in public policies for water resources management. The role of governments shifted under this reform process from an emphasis on investment in the development, operation and maintenance of water infrastructure to a focus on managing water resources systems

  14. Strengthening revenue cycle capabilities in an era of reform.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Glaser, John

    2011-05-01

    Strategies that healthcare finance professionals should incorporate to help their organizations respond effectively to payment reforms include: Assessing the organization's ability to capture and share relevant data. Educating themselves, the board of trustees, and the medical staff on pertinent rules as payment reforms are rolled out. Examining inefficiencies related to care processes. Establishing policies and procedures to address "commingled" data.

  15. Turning Lightning into Electricity: Organizing Parents for Education Reform

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kelly, Andrew P.

    2014-01-01

    Families are the primary clients of public schools, but they are one of many constituencies who have a say in how schools actually operate. In all the technocratic fervor around "education reform"--the broad effort to implement standards and accountability, reform teacher tenure and evaluation, and increase parental choice--it is easy to…

  16. On the Choice of Farm Management Practices after the Reform of the Common Agricultural Policy in 2003

    OpenAIRE

    Schmid, Erwin; Sinabell, Franz

    2004-01-01

    The Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) was fundamentally reformed in 2003. From 2005 on, farmers will receive decoupled income support payments instead of production premiums if basic standards for environment, food safety, animal health and welfare are met. Farmers will likely adjust production and management practices to the new policy framework. We describe how this reform fits into the EU strategy of making agricultural production more environmentally friendly by concentrating on financial ...

  17. The Globalisation Challenge for European Higher Education: Convergence and Diversity, Centres and Peripheries. Higher Education Research and Policy. Volume 4

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zgaga, Pavel, Ed.; Teichler, Ulrich, Ed.; Brennan, John, Ed.

    2013-01-01

    The last decade has marked the European higher education with a particular dynamics. Today, after a decade of a «concerted» policy, national systems look much more convergent but new questions and dilemmas are emerging: about its nature and quality, about real impact of recent reforms in different countries as well as about its future. The book…

  18. Motherhood, Gender Education Reforms, Empowerment, MDGS ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    reforms/innovations in motherhood/gender education in enhancing attainment of the Millennium Development Goals in Africa for sustainable development. In doing this, responses of 1,672 working mothers, randomly selected from North, South, East, and West Africa were analyzed which identified top among ten others as ...

  19. The Anthropology of Science Education Reform: An Alabama Model for Building an Integrated Stakeholder Systems Approach

    Science.gov (United States)

    Denson, R. L.; Cox, G. N.

    2004-12-01

    education through facilitating communication among education, business, and public policy organizations. Through the AMSTEC approach to systemic Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM) education reform, business and other aspects of our culture play a vital role as stakeholders in the development of the integrated stakeholder model. Using the STEMnet model developed by National Space Science and Technology Center (NSSTC), each of the stakeholders has been working in support of the Alabama Department of Education's Math Science and Technology K-12 research-based Initiative (AMSTI) . In this respect, Alabama has the education aspects of science education reform underway. AMSTI continues to grow and strengthen its program now using an integrated stakeholder model. The integrated stakeholder approach enhances and strengthens Alabama's STEM educational activities in support of systemic K-12 education reform called for in our nation to meet the needs of the 21st century workforce. In addition, aspects of culture including the media, the health community, and local business and industry will also align messages and programs to work in support of systemic K-20 education reform. It truly "takes a village" of good communicating stakeholders who have created a shared vision and common language for discussing and aligning resources and strategies for changing the perceptions, feelings and teaching and learning of science in our society http://www.amstec.org, http://www.nsstc.org

  20. Administrative Reform and the Egyptian Ministry of Education.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hanson, E. Mark

    1990-01-01

    Identifies and analyzes the organizational constraints acting upon and within the Egyptian Ministry of Education that deter its capacity for administrative reform. Despite being highly bureaucratic, the ministry's administrative structure operates with relative efficiency. However, the ministry cannot seem to change the educational system's…

  1. Outcomes of the Two 1990s Family Policy Reforms at the Turn of the 2000s in Finland

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Anita Haataja

    2005-01-01

    Full Text Available Finnish family policy faced two rather different reform waves in the 1990s. They were justi? ed by saving public spending but relied on different social policy philosophies. The article assesses the impact of the reforms on public spending and poverty rates at the turn of the 2000s. The method is based on tax-bene? t models and representative micro data, i.e. on static microsimulation. The results suggest that the increased poverty is due more to changes in the socioeconomic structure than changes in the levels of family policy bene? ts, even though the biggest cutbacks in the reforms focused on families with small children and single parents. The reforms also had an impact on gender relations by offering more incentives to reinforce than alleviate the traditional division of child care and paid work between the parents. That in part may have affected the mothers labor market position and increased income differences between families.

  2. Finding Meaningful Roles for Scientists in science Education Reform

    Science.gov (United States)

    Evans, Brenda

    Successful efforts to achieve reform in science education require the active and purposeful engagement of professional scientists. Working as partners with teachers, school administrators, science educators, parents, and other stakeholders, scientists can make important contributions to the improvement of science teaching and learning in pre-college classrooms. The world of a practicing university, corporate, or government scientist may seem far removed from that of students in an elementary classroom. However, the science knowledge and understanding of all future scientists and scientifically literate citizens begin with their introduction to scientific concepts and phenomena in childhood and the early grades. Science education is the responsibility of the entire scientific community and is not solely the responsibility of teachers and other professional educators. Scientists can serve many roles in science education reform including the following: (1) Science Content Resource, (2) Career Role Model, (3) Interpreter of Science (4) Validator for the Importance of Learning Science and Mathematics, (5) Champion of Real World Connections and Value of Science, (6) Experience and Access to Funding Sources, (7) Link for Community and Business Support, (8) Political Supporter. Special programs have been developed to assist scientists and engineers to be effective partners and advocates of science education reform. We will discuss the rationale, organization, and results of some of these partnership development programs.

  3. The Curricular Reform of Art Education in Primary School in Slovenia in Terms of Certain Components of the European Competence of Cultural Awareness and Expression

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Rajka Bračun Sova

    2012-01-01

    Full Text Available One of the important positions of the last curricular reform in Slovenia, which included systemic issues of education (White Paper on Education, 2011 and curricula for compulsory subjects in primary school, is the fact that Slovenia has been integrated into Europe, and thus education should also include the development of core European competences. One such competence is cultural awareness and expression, which until now has been an issue more in the context of cultural policies than school policies in Slovenia. The purpose of the present article is to critically analyse the curricular reform of art education (i.e., visual art education, through which, in terms of certain components of the competence of cultural awareness and expression, it is foreseen that the student will gain a knowledge of art, develop an ability to experience works of art and develop a creative attitude towards art and heritage. Because the starting point and goal of curricular change is the curriculum, our analysis is derived from curriculum theories, and not from the art theories and pedagogical theories that have predominantly framed previous attempts at curriculum analysis. Critical consideration of the curricular reform of art education in primary school in terms of certain components of the competence of cultural awareness and expression was undertaken by comparing curricula in the field of aesthetic education. We compared art education with music education and literature within the Slovenian language curriculum. Qualitative analysis showed that, despite the reform, the curriculum for arts education does not realise selected components of the competence of cultural awareness and expression, largely due to the curriculum’s conceptual structure. Art education is centred principally on art-making activities, with an obvious neglect of appreciation. The integration of arts subjects at school, as proposed by the White Paper, is therefore not possible, due to the existing

  4. The Lesotho curriculum and assessment policy: Opportunities and ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Hennie

    The Curriculum and Assessment Policy 2009 represents the latest education reform, which marks a ... statements create for educational development in Lesotho. We adopt a ...... approach is adopted in the higher grades, where there is policy ...

  5. Reforms in Education: The Need for Re-Engineering Teacher Education for Sustainable Development

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ofoego, O. C.; Ebebe, I. E.

    2016-01-01

    The paper is concerned with reforms in Education and the need for re-engineering Teacher education in Nigeria for better professionalism and National Development. In the process, key concepts like Teacher Education and professionalism were explained. A brief review of the state of Teacher Education and Development in Nigeria revealed the…

  6. Big Business as a Policy Innovator in State School Reform: A Minnesota Case Study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mazzoni, Tim L.; Clugston, Richard M., Jr.

    1987-01-01

    The Minnesota Business Partnership (MBP) was studied as a policy innovator in state school reform (for kindergarten through grade 12) in relation to agenda setting, alternative formulation, and authoritative enactment. Focus is on the MBP's policy-making involvement during the 1985 state legislative session. Overall, the MBP's influence was…

  7. Politics and Culture in Croation Higher Education: A Comparative Perspective on Educational Reform.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Reichard, Max

    1992-01-01

    Offers a historical overview of a series of reforms of higher education in the former Yugoslavia republic, stressing the cultural importance of "obrazovanje" (formal education/training) and "odgoj" (moral education/personal development) in Croatia. Describes the development of "visa skola," comparable to U.S.…

  8. Educational Change by Commission: Attempting "Trickle Down" Reform.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ginsberg, Rick; Wimpelberg, Robert K.

    1987-01-01

    The processes and procedures of national commissions on education are discussed. Elements of commonality are presented with a review of competing explanations of the popularity of such commissions. A sociopolitical thesis of educational reform through commissions is advanced, based on the "trickle down" theory of economics. (SLD)

  9. Quality reform and "the learning pre-school child" in the making

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Krejsler, John B.

    2012-01-01

    The article argues that Early Childhood Education & Care (ECEC) is being redesigned based on quality reform discourse with references to global knowledge economy across Nordic countries and the EU. This takes place in policy processes that extend from transnational agents like the OECD and EU...... to national governments, local municipalities and ECEC institutions. Drawing on theoretical insights from Foucauldian genealogy, Laclau and others, the article explores how these policy processes reconfigure what counts as quality in ECEC in a Danish context. It is substantiated how the Danish government...... promotes governance structures among municipalities and professionals that pull ECEC into comprehensive educational strategies. This process draws on policy advice from the OECD and EU. Quality reform thus changes in fundamental ways the organisation and content in ECEC. In discourse, learning displaces...

  10. Dysfunction and Educational Reform in Morocco

    OpenAIRE

    Llorent Bedmar, Vicente

    2015-01-01

    Since 1956, the year in Morocco achieved independence, until now, the school system has been the subject of many discussions and controversies in the most varied areas of the country. We provide data on the educational situation. We analyze the reforms from a critical perspective, ending with final proposals. We concluded by acknowledging the efforts made in recent years in the Moroccan education sector, although there is still a considerable number of clearly important aspects of improvement.

  11. Economic reform in Vietnam - the role of foreign direct investment and trade policy

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Tran, D.L.

    1998-11-01

    Vietnam was one of the five poorest countries in the world in the 1980's. Since then, Vietnam has adopted a market economic policy, and she has made substantial economic progress. In the last 10 years Meanwhile Vietnam's per capita income has increased by 3 times, the volume of export doubled very two years, and the inflation rate was reduced to 4.5 % in 1997 from 775 % in 1986. The GDP also has increased, the exchange rate with the US$ was stabilized and foreign direct investment (FDI) and trade has increased. There was about US$35 billion were invested by the foreign investors between 1987 to the middle of June 1998. However, the current crisis in the economies of Southeast Asian countries has put pressure on Vietnam to rethink seriously her future reform program with respect to stabilization and sustainable current economic policies. Since FDI is an imperative for the development of a country like Vietnam, it is necessary to use this capital very careful for her economy. Thus, the main objective of this dissertation is to study the role of FDI in the development of Vietnam. To examine this objective, various investigations were made, especially focusing on development dimensions such as reforming state enterprises, foreign trade policy, foreign investment and so on. Therefore, in the future, FDI and privatization policies should be strengthened to maintain and create an international market. Moreover, there are some major reforms required to transform the state sector into a private sector with appropriate policy measures, such as improving management of financial companies, developing the agricultural sector and minimizing bureaucracy and red tapism of the government. This dissertation provides a set of recommendations how to strengthen Vietnams economic and market situation in the 21st century. (author)

  12. America Y2K: The Obsolescence of Educational Reforms

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Sherman Dorn

    2000-01-01

    Full Text Available The passing of the deadline for fulfillment of the national education goals in the United States (the beginning of 2000 reflects the frequently hyperbolic statements of objectives and the manic pace of school reform efforts over the past two decades. The domination by schools of child and family life has combined with a longstanding reliance on schools to solve social problems to make school reform a politically opportune as well as visible issue. Thus, even if the phrasing of national education goals in the U.S. changes to reflect the passing of the nominal deadline, those pressures will remain.

  13. Local Instruction Theories as Means of Support for teachers in Reform Mathematics Education

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Gravemeijer, K.P.E.

    2004-01-01

    This article focuses on a form of instructional design that is deemed fitting for reform mathematics education. Reform mathematics education requires instruction that helps students in developing their current ways of reasoning into more sophisticated ways of mathematical reasoning. This implies

  14. Scaling up Education Reform: Addressing the Politics of Disparity

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bishop, Russell; O'Sullivan, Dominic; Berryman, Mere

    2010-01-01

    What is school reform? What makes it sustainable? Who needs to be involved? How is scaling up achieved? This book is about the need for educational reforms that have built into them, from the outset, those elements that will see them sustained in the original sites and spread to others. Using the Te Kotahitanga Project as a model the authors…

  15. Educational Partnership and the Dilemmas of School Reform.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Seeley, David

    Today's educational reform proposals are undermined by four dilemmas. First, the public may demand visible results before it will provide the funding needed to achieve them. Second, higher academic standards will increase failure rates, while more attainable standards will inadequately educate students. Third, the current focus on high schools may…

  16. Education Governance Reform in Ontario: Neoliberalism in Context

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sattler, Peggy

    2012-01-01

    This paper explores the relationship between neoliberal ideology and the discourse and practice of education governance reform in Ontario over the last two decades. It focuses on changes in education governance introduced by successive Ontario governments: the NDP government from 1990 to 1995, the Progressive Conservative government from 1995 to…

  17. Tax reforms in EU Member States - Tax policy challenges for economic growth and fiscal sustainability – 2012 Report

    OpenAIRE

    European Commission

    2012-01-01

    The 2012 edition of the report ‘Tax reforms in EU Member States’ intends to contribute to the tax policy debate in the EU. Following the successful 2011 edition, the report consists of two parts: i) a short analysis of tax revenue data and an overview of recent tax reforms in Member States, and ii) a discussion of selected up-to-date tax policy topics in the form of two analytical chapters. The first analytical chapter focuses on the economic implications and policy challenges of the EU VAT s...

  18. Challenges and policy implications of gas reform in Italy and Ukraine: Evidence from a benchmarking analysis

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Goncharuk, Anatoliy G.; Storto, Corrado lo

    2017-01-01

    This paper presents a cross-country benchmarking study of natural gas distribution to final consumers and compares two samples of companies in Italy and Ukraine. A 2-stage DEA procedure calculating efficiency of gas providers and identifying critical context factors and policy issues that affect it is implemented. Both countries are low performing in terms of operators’ technical and scale efficiency and there is room to design more efficient market configurations. Some issues need attention to develop an effective gas market policy: a) search for efficiency requires accurate investigation of its main drivers that depend on context factors; b) while greater efficiency is necessary to reduce cost and increase service quality, at different stages of progress of the reform process other goals may be more important; c) gas industry reform process should be planned adopting a systemic perspective as its development does not remain confined to the sector, but implies changes in the whole country economy, particularly when the gas market is of primary relevance to the economy; d) a more comprehensive package of reforms may be necessary to make gas market reform successful; e) even though the gas market reform is an economic process, it has unavoidably social and political implications. - Highlights: • Benchmarking of natural gas distribution industry in Italy and Ukraine is performed. • Average industry inefficiency is about 27% and decreasing returns to scale are dominant. • Gas industry reform process should be planned adopting a systemic perspective. • Gas reform needs a more comprehensive package of reforms and/or supporting legislation to be successful. • Gas industry reform has social and political implications.

  19. Down by the Riverside: A CRT Perspective on Education Reform in Two River Cities

    Science.gov (United States)

    Anderson, Celia Rousseau; Dixson, Adrienne D.

    2016-01-01

    In this article, the authors utilize core ideas from Critical Race Theory (CRT) to examine the nature of education reform in two river cities. Similar to other cases of education reform in urban districts, the reforms in the two focal cities reflect at least four characteristics in common: (1) a form of portfolio management; (2) the growth of…

  20. "Old, Borrowed, and Renewed": A Review of Early Childhood Education Policy in Post-Reform Indonesia

    Science.gov (United States)

    Octarra, Harla Sara; Hendriati, Agustina

    2018-01-01

    Early childhood education (ECE) is not new in Indonesia. However, in the past decade, it has received more attention, as shown by the growing number of ECE centres in both urban and rural areas. This growth is accompanied by policy development that corresponds to the global agenda of ECE. Policy development is inevitably linked with the support of…

  1. Ethical and Human Rights Foundations of Health Policy: Lessons from Comprehensive Reform in Mexico.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Frenk, Julio; Gómez-Dantés, Octavio

    2015-12-10

    This paper discusses the use of an explicit ethical and human rights framework to guide a reform intended to provide universal and comprehensive social protection in health for all Mexicans, independently of their socio-economic status or labor market condition. This reform was designed, implemented, and evaluated by making use of what Michael Reich has identified as the three pillars of public policy: technical, political, and ethical. The use of evidence and political strategies in the design and negotiation of the Mexican health reform is briefly discussed in the first part of this paper. The second part examines the ethical component of the reform, including the guiding concept and values, as well as the specific entitlements that gave operational meaning to the right to health care that was enshrined in Mexico's 1983 Constitution. The impact of this rights-based health reform, measured through an external evaluation, is discussed in the final section. The main message of this paper is that a clear ethical framework, combined with technical excellence and political skill, can deliver major policy results. Copyright © 2015 Frenk and Gómez-Dantés. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/3.0/), which permits unrestricted non-commercial use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.

  2. Tobephobia Experienced by Teachers in Secondary Schools: An Exploratory Study Focusing on Curriculum Reform in the Nelson Mandela Metropole

    Science.gov (United States)

    Singh, P.

    2011-01-01

    Because of its history from apartheid to democracy, the aspiration to reform schools is a recurrent theme in South African education. Efforts to reform education in schools based on the outcomes-based education (OBE) curriculum approach created major challenges for policy makers in South Africa. The purpose of this exploratory research was…

  3. Bourdieu, Department Chairs and the Reform of Science Education

    Science.gov (United States)

    Melville, Wayne; Hardy, Ian; Bartley, Anthony

    2011-11-01

    Using the insights of the French sociologist, Pierre Bourdieu, this article considers the role of the science department chair in the reform of school science education. Using Bourdieu's 'thinking tools' of 'field', 'habitus' and 'capital', we case study the work of two teachers who both actively pursue the teaching and learning of science as inquiry. One teacher, Dan, has been a department chair since 2000, and has actively encouraged his department to embrace science as inquiry. The other teacher, Leslie, worked for one year in Dan's department before being transferred to another school where science teaching continues to be more traditional. Our work suggests that there are three crucial considerations for chairs seeking to lead the reform of science teaching within their department. The first of these is the development of a reform-minded habitus, as this appears to be foundational to the capital that can be expended in the leadership of reform. The second is an understanding of how to wield power and position in the promotion of reform. The third is the capacity to operate simultaneously and strategically within, and across, two fields; the departmental field and the larger science education field. This involves downplaying administrative logics, and foregrounding more inquiry-focused logics as a vehicle to challenge traditional science-teaching dispositions-the latter being typically dominated by concerns about curriculum 'coverage'.

  4. State Reforms in the Field of Education in Russia (Late 18th-Early 19th Centuries

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Nataliya M. Rumyantseva

    2018-03-01

    Full Text Available The article examines the state policy of Russia in the field of education during the late 18th - early 19th centuries. This period is characterized by a great democratization of education and the definition of new goals, objectives and content of education: the professional training of a young person becomes inseparable from the education of a citizen - a patriot of a state and a broadly enlightened personality in different sciences. The paper analyzed historical documents (orders of Russian emperors concerning public education, school and university statutes, historical references. In the chronological order, state reforms in the field of education in Russia were constructed and characterized at the end of the 18th and the beginning of the 19th centuries, the statistical data on the number of pupils, teachers and schools within the period under review were presented.

  5. United States Army Officer Personnel Reforms and the Decline of Rank Flexibility, 1890s-1920s

    Science.gov (United States)

    2014-12-04

    like that displayed by Emory Upton. The system has adopted a bureaucratic comic -point is that despite a vast education , his reliance on rote...Management Policies, 84-85. 41 Todd R. Brereton, Educating the U.S. Army: Arthur Wagner and Reform, 1875-1905 (Lincoln, NE: University of Nebraska...interwa r debate on military reform to efficiency, professionalism, and education .47 The further removed the traditional system

  6. Social Justice and Resisting Neoliberal Education Reform in the USA

    Science.gov (United States)

    Au, Wayne

    2016-01-01

    Efforts to reform public education along free-market, corporate-styled models have swept across many nations. In the USA these reforms have included an intense focus on the use of high-stakes, standardized tests to quantify students, teachers, and schools for market comparisons, the deprofessionalization of teaching, and the establishment of…

  7. Jump-Starting Educational Reform. Implementing British Columbia's Comprehensive School Act.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Goldman, Paul

    An educational reform effort to implement a comprehensive school act in British Columbia (Canada) is analyzed with a focus on some sociotechnical and political aspects. An overview of the content, background, and implementation of the reform effort is followed by identification of seven contradictions inherent in the plan. Contradictions are as…

  8. Education policies, school organization and the work of teachers

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Licínio C. Lima

    2011-10-01

    Full Text Available Big changes in the state´s role in public education policies have occurred throughoutthe last decades by the action of transnational and supranational entities. An increasing process of subordination of education to economic imperatives in late capitalism and to entrepreneurial theories of school organization and leadership hasfollowed. Some dimensions of what is called by the author the managerialist canonand the hyper-bureaucratization of schools are analyzed with reference to international tendencies and also to the most recent Portuguese reform of the management system of state schools. Possible impacts of the political and organization changes introduced are suggested for future research, mainly concerning the working process of teachers and the tendencies towards competitiveness, deprofessionalization, subordination and alienation.

  9. What lessons have been learned in reforming the Renewables Obligation? An analysis of internal and external failures in UK renewable energy policy

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Wood, Geoffrey; Dow, Stephen

    2011-01-01

    Despite operating a delivery programme for RES-E since 1990, UK targets and policy goals have not been achieved. In response, the Government reformed the RO. This article re-examines UK renewable energy policy by analysing the internal and external failures of the various mechanisms to determine if Government has learnt from previous experience in reforming the RO. Government did not learn from their own actions during the NFFO/RO transition, evidenced by high-levels of similarity in internal/external failures. The reformed-RO is expected to significantly increase deployment, has provided a 'renewables package' by comprehensively addressing both internal/external failures but major internal failures (price/financial risk) still remain, resulting in contiguous failures over two decades and two mechanism changes (NFFO, RO, RO/reformed-RO). Success will again be heavily dependent on a select few technologies and new/untested measures to combat external failures. Mechanism-extension to 2037 is probably the single most important factor underlying potential deployment increases. However, introducing a FIT-like system via the sheer number of 'bolt-on' reforms to counter policy failures indicates loss of direction and clarity. Overall, although Government appears to have learnt some of its lessons from the past two-decades, significant doubt remains whether renewable energy policy objectives will be met via the latest mechanism change. - Research highlights: → Review of UK renewable energy policy learning behaviour via the 2009 Renewable Obligation reform. → Applies key lessons and analysis of NFFO/RO, RO reform and possible FIT schemes. → Finds UK Government has learnt some lessons from the past but some failures remain contiguous over two decades. → In contrast to previous changes, 2009 reform provided a comprehensive reform package. → Significant doubt remains whether objectives will be met via latest mechanism change.

  10. A synthesis of welfare reform policy and its impact on substance users.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Montoya, Isaac D; Atkinson, John S

    2002-01-01

    The purpose of this study was to provide an overview of welfare reform and its impact on the substance-abusing recipient. The data for this paper were derived from sources including the US Department of Health and Human Services and the National Institute on Drug Abuse. The number of individuals on public assistance has decreased in the years following implementation of welfare reform legislation. Factors relevant to transitioning welfare recipients into the workplace, such as transportation and childcare, have special ramifications for the drug-using population. Additionally, these individuals require treatment for their addictions in order to become employable. The issue of concern is that recipients may be deterred from seeking benefits by various provisions of welfare reform legislation and turn instead to other sources (including illicit activities) for sustenance. Welfare caseloads have been dropping over the past two years. However, the number of substance abusers continues to rise. It is not known in what ways welfare reform will affect substance abusers who are welfare recipients. Important policy issues arise from this nexus; it is argued that these issues will require careful investigation.

  11. Implementing plant clinics in the maelstrom of policy reform in Uganda

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Danielsen, Solveig; Matsiko, F.B.; Kjær, A.M.

    2014-01-01

    government commitment and a growing demand for this new type of farmer service, effective implementation of plant clinics turned out to be a challenge.We examine how agricultural policies and institutional setups, and their political context, influenced the implementation of plant clinics from 2010 to 2011...... services. Implementation of plant clinics was further affected by a new district reform and the national elections taking place during the study period. The dual purpose of the plant clinics created uncertainty about their organisational belonging. They fell through the cracks of extension and disease...... the policy and institutional frameworks in which plant clinics operate, but also the effects of political imperatives and donors on policy implementation. This study provides a basis for institutional and policy analysis related to the implementation of plant clinics elsewhere....

  12. Education reform in Nepal

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Carney, Stephen; Rappleye, Jeremy

    2011-01-01

    The article discusses various reports published within the issue, including papers on various aspects of Nepal's education policy dynamic, a study on young people's experiences of education, especially the faith in schooling as a means to social and economic betterment, and a more radical critique...... of modernity and its relation to education in the South....

  13. The impact of education on the probability of receiving periodontal treatment. Causal effects measured by using the introduction of a school reform in Norway.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Grytten, Jostein; Skau, Irene

    2017-09-01

    The aim of the present study was to estimate the causal effect of education on the probability of receiving periodontal treatment in the adult Norwegian population. In Norway, a substantial part of the cost of periodontal treatment is subsidized by the National Insurance Scheme. In that case, one might expect that the influence of individual resources, such as education, on receiving treatment would be reduced or eliminated. Causal effects were estimated by using data on a school reform in Norway. During the period 1960-1972, all municipalities in Norway were required to increase the number of compulsory years of schooling from seven to nine years. The education reform was used to create exogenous variation in the education variable. The education data were combined with large sets of data from the Norwegian Health Economics Administration and Statistics Norway. Since municipalities implemented the reform at different times, we have both cross-sectional and time-series variation in the reform instrument. Thus we were able to estimate the effect of education on the probability of receiving periodontal treatment by controlling for municipality fixed effects and trend variables. The probability of receiving periodontal treatment increased by 1.4-1.8 percentage points per additional year of schooling. This is a reasonably strong effect, which indicates that policies to increase the level of education in the population can be an effective tool to improve oral health, including periodontal health. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  14. [Human resources for health in Chile: the reform's pending challenge].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Méndez, Claudio A

    2009-09-01

    Omission of human resources from health policy development has been identified as a barrier in the health sector reform's adoption phase. Since 2002, Chile's health care system has been undergoing a transformation based on the principles of health as a human right, equity, solidarity, efficiency, and social participation. While the reform has set forth the redefinition of the medical professions, continuing education, scheduled accreditation, and the introduction of career development incentives, it has not considered management options tailored to the new setting, a human resources strategy that has the consensus of key players and sector policy, or a process for understanding the needs of health care staff and professionals. However, there is still time to undo the shortcomings, in large part because the reform's implementation phase only recently has begun. Overcoming this challenge is in the hands of the experts charged with designing public health strategies and policies.

  15. Centrifugal Schooling: Third Sector Policy Networks and the Reassembling of Curriculum Policy in England

    Science.gov (United States)

    Williamson, Ben

    2012-01-01

    This article examines changes in curriculum policy in secondary education in England. It is concerned with recent curriculum policy and reform, and the proliferation of non-government actors in curriculum policy creation. It examines the emergence of a loose alliance of third sector organisations and their involvement in a series of alternative…

  16. Education Policy and "Friedmanomics": Free Market Ideology and Its Impact on School Reform

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fiala, Thomas J.; Owens, Deborah Duncan

    2010-01-01

    The purpose of this paper is to examine the impact of neoliberal ideology, and in particular, the economic and social theories of Milton Friedman on education policy. The paper takes a critical theoretical approach in that ultimately the paper is an ideological critique of conservative thought and action that impacts twenty-first century education…

  17. Artifacts as Authoritative Actors in Educational Reform

    Science.gov (United States)

    März, Virginie; Kelchtermans, Geert; Vermeir, Karen

    2017-01-01

    Educational reforms are often translated in and implemented through artifacts. Although research has frequently treated artifacts as merely functional, more recent work acknowledges the complex relationship between material artifacts and human/organizational behavior. This article aims at disentangling this relationship in order to deepen our…

  18. Personal and political histories in the designing of health reform policy in Bolivia.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bernstein, Alissa

    2017-03-01

    While health policies are a major focus in disciplines such as public health and public policy, there is a dearth of work on the histories, social contexts, and personalities behind the development of these policies. This article takes an anthropological approach to the study of a health policy's origins, based on ethnographic research conducted in Bolivia between 2010 and 2012. Bolivia began a process of health care reform in 2006, following the election of Evo Morales Ayma, the country's first indigenous president, and leader of the Movement Toward Socialism (Movimiento al Socialism). Brought into power through the momentum of indigenous social movements, the MAS government platform addressed racism, colonialism, and human rights in a number of major reforms, with a focus on cultural identity and indigeneity. One of the MAS's projects was the design of a new national health policy in 2008 called The Family Community Intercultural Health Policy (Salud Familiar Comunitaria Intercultural). This policy aimed to address major health inequities through primary care in a country that is over 60% indigenous. Methods used were interviews with Bolivian policymakers and other stakeholders, participant observation at health policy conferences and in rural community health programs that served as models for aspects of the policy, and document analysis to identify core premises and ideological areas. I argue that health policies are historical both in their relationship to national contexts and events on a timeline, but also because of the ways they intertwine with participants' personal histories, theoretical frameworks, and reflections on national historical events. By studying the Bolivian policymaking process, and particularly those who helped design the policy, it is possible to understand how and why particular progressive ideas were able to translate into policy. More broadly, this work also suggests how a uniquely anthropological approach to the study of health policy

  19. Education Policies and Policy Making in Arizona: Report on a Survey of Education Policy Actors

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lawton, Stephen B.

    2011-01-01

    This study provides an objective look at the education policies adopted by the State of Arizona since 2000, describes participants in the policy-making process, and identifies policy options for the future. The framework of the study uses a typology of educational policies with seven categories: school building and facilities, curriculum…

  20. Converging Paths or Ships Passing in the Night? An "English" Critique of Japanese School Reform.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Green, Andy

    2000-01-01

    Examines origins and potential effects of liberalizing reforms in Japanese secondary education in light of British experiences with policies such as local school management and school choice. Argues that Japanese reform involves necessary diversification of curriculum and pedagogic practices, but administrative shifts toward deregulation and…

  1. Major Reforms of the Swedish Education System: 1950-1975. Staff Working Paper No. 290.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Heidenheimer, Arnold J.

    To develop a mass education structure that met the goals of both equality and efficiency, Sweden carried out extensive educational reforms between 1950 and 1975, starting at lower educational levels and moving in gradual staqes to the highest levels. This report looks at the background, nature, and history of these reforms. Its chapter on the…

  2. Pushing up against the Limit-Horizon of Educational Change: A Critical Discourse Analysis of Popular Education Reform Texts

    Science.gov (United States)

    Anderson, Ashlee; Aronson, Brittany; Ellison, Scott; Fairchild-Keyes, Sherrie

    2015-01-01

    With this article, we work to identify the limit-horizon of possible ideas, practices, and ways of talking about education reform and schooling via a critical discourse analysis of selected popular political and governmental texts. To do so, we explore the popular discourse of education reform in the United States through our analyses of three…

  3. Policy Variation among Japan, Korea, England and the United States

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jaekyung Lee

    2001-04-01

    Full Text Available School reform initiatives during the last two decades in Japan, Korea, England, and the United States can be understood as balancing acts. Because policymakers in England and the United States saw their school systems fragmented and student outcomes mediocre, they focused reform efforts on raising educational standards, tightening curriculum and assessment, and improving academic achievement. In contrast, policymakers in Japan and Korea, who saw their school systems overstandardized and educational processes deficient, focused their reform efforts on deregulating schools, diversifying curriculum and assessment, and enhancing whole-person education. While school reform policies were formulated and adopted in response to each country’s unique problems, they also were driven by globalization forces that fostered an international perspective. If implemented successfully, such cross-cultural policy variations (i.e., standardization vs. differentiation in curriculum, unification vs. diversification in assessment, and privatization vs. democratization in governance would make distinctive educational systems more alike. Cultural and institutional barriers to educational convergence between the Eastern and Western school systems are discussed.

  4. Educational Development and Reformation in Malaysia: Past, Present, and Future.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ahmad, Rahimah Haji

    1998-01-01

    Discusses educational development in Malaysia, focusing on curriculum changes, issues, and future perspectives. Discusses the development of values education, its importance in the curriculum, and the government's efforts to mold a united nation with Malaysian values. Current reforms target tertiary education. The school curriculum has not been…

  5. Lebanon's 2011 ICT Education Reform Strategy and Action Plan: Curriculum Success or Abeyance

    Science.gov (United States)

    Awada, Ghada; Diab, Hassan

    2016-01-01

    The purpose of the present study was to investigate the effectiveness of Lebanon's Education Reform Strategy and Action Plan (LERSAP) set in 2011 as a form of the educational reform the curriculum underwent through focusing on promoting and employing the information communication technology (ICT) tools. The LERSAP was launched to equip teachers…

  6. Sustainable Administrative Reform Movements Policy in Joko Widodo's Administration

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Yogi Suprayogi Sugandi

    2017-05-01

    Full Text Available Joko Widodo (Jokowi is a leader that is widely expected to transform Indonesia into a better country. Hopes and wishes were rising when he was elected as the president of Indonesia. This paper will describe various innovations undertaken before and after his presidential inauguration as well as the assorted innovations made in reforming the administration of his cabinet. As the president of Indonesia, Joko Widodo is required to realize the aspirations of the people in freeing the government from corruption, collusion, and nepotism. The management of ministerial and non-ministerial institutions becomes the very first crucial issue undertaken by Joko Widodo. This led to a polemic in regards to reducing or increasing the number of institutions, as the Jokowi administration actually increased the amount. In Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono's administration, several policies were made systematically and based on legislations that had been approved by the lagislature. Joko Widodo's administration in more partial in nature. The administrative reform program that is highly anticipated is the continuation of the Public Service Act. This law is a step forward from the administrative reform program that aims at the creation of good governance. Changes is career path, salary system, pension and benefits for civil servants, performance-based staffing are various efforts of sustainability carried out by Joko Widodo's administration.

  7. Science education policy for emergency, conflict, and post-conflict: An analysis of trends and implications for the science education program in Uganda

    Science.gov (United States)

    Udongo, Betty Pacutho

    admission in higher institutions of learning, (b) curriculum reform, (c) professional development of teachers, (d) school security and safety, (e) science and technology education, and (f) increased funding for emergency education. The study proposes a model of "Schools as Islands of Peace and Hope" with science education as the tool for post-conflict economic recovery, as a blue print for emergency education policy framework.

  8. Market Accountability in Schools: Policy Reforms in England, Germany, France and Italy

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mattei, Paola

    2012-01-01

    This article concentrates on the policy reforms of schools in England, Germany, France and Italy, from 1988 to 2009, with a focus on the introduction of market accountability. Pressing demands for organisational change in schools, shaped by the objectives of "efficiency" and competition, which were introduced in England in the 1980s,…

  9. The financial crisis and recent family policy reforms in Finland, Germany and the United Kingdom : Is there a connection?

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Mikael Nygård

    2015-03-01

    Full Text Available The turmoil created by the financial crisis and economic recession in Europe has served as an impetus for austerity measures in many countries. In this article, we ask whether these crises have also triggered reforms in family policy, and we focus on three European welfare states – Finland, Germany and the United Kingdom – countries that are often considered members of different family policy regimes. The article addresses two main research questions. The first one relates to the number, direction and magnitude of family policy reforms in these three countries since the beginning of the financial crisis in 2008/2009, while in the second we discuss whether the reforms observed during this period can be seen as being related to the financial crisis and its later repercussions on the Euro-zone area, or if there are other explanations.

  10. Will Mayor De Blasio Turn Back the School Reform Clock?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Meyer, Peter

    2014-01-01

    While heads were spinning, policy watchers seemed genuinely perplexed by New York City's Mayor de Blasio's education opinions. De Blasio opposed many of Bloomberg's reform efforts despite the achievement gains realized by the nation's largest school district during the last 12 years. Yet on close reading, de Blasio's nine-page education plan…

  11. Proactive educational reforms in South Korea: Schools for Improvement and multicultural education

    OpenAIRE

    Lee, Hye-Won

    2014-01-01

    Introduction This paper discusses the educational issues and societal changes that have led to proactive reforms in the education system of South Korea. Korean pupils achieve high academic levels, but there have been some criticisms relating to sociocultural issues. In addition, Korea is being transformed into a multicultural society. Here we consider two examples of Korea’s educational interventions, introduced in response to contextual demands and societal changes: firstly, the Schools for...

  12. Policy versus Ground Reality: Secondary English Language Assessment System in Bangladesh

    Science.gov (United States)

    Das, Sharmistha; Shaheen, Robina; Shrestha, Prithvi; Rahman, Arifa; Khan, Rubina

    2014-01-01

    Any policy reform in education is highly effective when it is planned and implemented "holistically" and yet, it is the most challenging way forward. Many countries in Asia have reformed their English language policies and syllabi in the last two decades due to the increasing value of the language worldwide. Motivated by a…

  13. Fact-Challenged Policy. Policy Memorandum #182

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rothstein, Richard

    2011-01-01

    This paper is a response on the topic of school reform efforts being promoted by Bill Gates and other prominent education policy advocates. Last week, Microsoft Chairman Bill Gates published an op-ed in the Washington Post, "How Teacher Development could Revolutionize our Schools," proposing that American public schools should do a…

  14. The Challenges of Educational Reform in Modern-Day Peru

    Science.gov (United States)

    McDonald, Jane; Lammert, Jill

    2006-01-01

    The purpose of this article is to examine a nationwide effort of educational reform in Peru. Specifically, the authors take a close look at the nation's efforts to change secondary education through the implementation of a 2-year postsecondary learning opportunity called the "bachillerato." First, the authors briefly present the…

  15. Influence of Social Reform Ideologies on Industrial/Technology Education

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ireh, Maduakolam

    2016-01-01

    The founding of industrial/technology education in Ameria represents the convergence of many influences dating back to the pre-industrial revolution era. Social reform movement, one of these influences, set out to change conditions considered to be causes of poverty and other social problems through active engagements in political, educational,…

  16. Blended Learning: enabling Higher Education Reform

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Kathleen Matheos

    2018-01-01

    Full Text Available Blended learning research and practice have been areas of growth for two decades in Canada, with over 95% of Canadian higher education institutions involved in some form of blended learning. Despite strong evidence based research and practice blended learning, for the most part, has remained at sidelined in Canadian universities. The article argues the need for blended learning to situate itself within the timely and crucial Higher Education Reform (HER agenda. By aligning the affordances of blended learning with the components of HER, blended learning can clearly serve as an enabler for HER.

  17. Translating the human right to water and sanitation into public policy reform.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Meier, Benjamin Mason; Kayser, Georgia Lyn; Kestenbaum, Jocelyn Getgen; Amjad, Urooj Quezon; Dalcanale, Fernanda; Bartram, Jamie

    2014-12-01

    The development of a human right to water and sanitation under international law has created an imperative to implement human rights in water and sanitation policy. Through forty-three interviews with informants in international institutions, national governments, and non-governmental organizations, this research examines interpretations of this new human right in global governance, national policy, and local practice. Exploring obstacles to the implementation of rights-based water and sanitation policy, the authors analyze the limitations of translating international human rights into local water and sanitation practice, concluding that system operators, utilities, and management boards remain largely unaffected by the changing public policy landscape for human rights realization. To understand the relevance of human rights standards to water and sanitation practitioners, this article frames a research agenda to ensure that human rights aspirations lead to public policy reforms and public health outcomes.

  18. Policy Reforms, Trojan Horses, and Imaginary Friends: The Role of External Stakeholders in Internal Quality Assurance Systems

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rosa, Maria João; Teixeira, Pedro

    2014-01-01

    The governance of higher education has been changing across Europe, most notably in response to the reform agenda that has been pervading many higher education systems. This wave of reforms has given enhanced visibility to external stakeholders, which has been often received with contrasting views. Some regarded it as a factor that would undermine…

  19. Education Reform Sparks Teacher Protest in Mexico

    Science.gov (United States)

    Levinson, Bradley A.

    2014-01-01

    The current tumult in the Mexican education arena has deep roots in politics and tradition, but it is latter-day global competition and international measures of student performance that are driving reform efforts. Teacher strikes and demonstrations are not new in Mexico, but issues raised by today's protesting teachers represent a combination of…

  20. Mobile internet and technology for optical teaching reform in higher education

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhou, Muchun; Zhao, Qi; Chen, Yanru

    2017-08-01

    There are some problems in optical education such as insufficient flexibility, individuality and adaptability to students who need information and education at present. The development of mobile internet and technology provides support to solve these problems. Basic characteristics, advantages and developments of these techniques used in education are presented in this paper. Mobile internet is introduced to reform the classroom teaching of optical courses. Mobile network tool selection, teaching resources construction and reform in teaching methods are discussed. Academic record and sampling surveys are used to assess intention to adopt mobile internet and learning effect of academic major of students, the results show that high quality optical education can be offered by adopting mobile internet and technologies in traditional instruction.

  1. systemic chemical education reform [scer] in the global era

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    IICBA01

    growing the systemic way of thinking of our students that is one of the most important characteristics of Global Era. Here is the systemic education reform which means the change of our educational system from linearity to systemic in which we design the curriculum and write content systemically, which presented by SATL ...

  2. Access to Basic Education in Ghana: Politics, Policies and Progress. CREATE Pathways to Access. Research Monograph No. 42

    Science.gov (United States)

    Little, Angela W.

    2010-01-01

    This monograph examines the history and politics of educational reform in Ghana. Using data from interviews conducted with senior policy-makers, implementers and researchers, as well as documentary sources, to explore the drivers and inhibitors of change at the political, bureaucratic and grass-roots levels. The monograph explores the nature of…

  3. Continuing nursing education policy in China and its impact on health equity.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Xiao, Lily Dongxia

    2010-09-01

    The aim of this study was to evaluate the mandatory continuing nursing education (MCNE) policy in China and to examine whether or not the policy addresses health equity. MCNE was instituted in 1996 in China to support healthcare reform was to include producing greater equity in health-care. However, the literature increasingly reports inequity in participation in MCNE, which is likely to have had a detrimental effect on the pre-existing discrepancies of education in the nursing workforce, and thereby failing to really address health equity. Despite a growing appeal for change, there is lack of critical reflection on the issues of MCNE policy. Critical ethnography underpinned by Habermas' Communicative Action Theory and Giddens' Structuration Theory were used to guide this study. Findings are presented in four themes: (i) inaccessibility of learning programs for nurses; (ii) undervaluation of workplace-based learning; (iii) inequality of the allocation of resources; and (iv) demands for additional support in MCNE from non-tertiary hospitals. The findings strongly suggest the need for an MCNE policy review based on rational consensus with stakeholders while reflecting the principles of health equity.

  4. Educational reform and the public: Two case studies of Poland and Saskatchewan (Canada)

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kaproń, Danuta; Stephan, Werner

    1991-09-01

    The involvement of the public in educational reform processes in modern democratic societies primarily serves the purpose of politically legitimizing the reform agenda. This study examines the rationales implicitly or explicitly submitted to the public to explain why educational reforms in the two countries should be endorsed. Although differences in the political culture caution against a hasty comparison of the two case studies, a number of politico-economic similarities allow for a valid juxtaposition. In Poland the context of socio-political and economic renewal prompted the reformers to emphasize the human-capital model which heightened public awareness and participation in the debate surrounding the reform. Public involvement in Saskatchewan was negatively affected for mainly two reasons. First, the government evidently manipulated public input by various means and thereby appears to have predetermined the outcome. Second, the rationale for the reform, based on a free-market model, tightened the linkage between the needs of the labour market and the mandate of the schools. As a result, public interest and participation was greatly diminished.

  5. Teachers' Emotions in the Context of Education Reform: Labor Process Theory and Social Constructionism

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tsang, Kwok Kuen; Kwong, Tsun Lok

    2017-01-01

    In recent years, many teachers suffered different kinds of negative emotions in the context of education reforms. A typical explanation was that the education reforms disempowered teachers in teaching, so teachers were forced to do much non-instructional work. Teachers considered their work meaningless but were powerless to change it, and…

  6. It's Our School Too: Youth Activism as Educational Reform, 1951-1979

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ajunwa, Kelechi

    2011-01-01

    Activism has the potential for reform (Howard, 1976). Unlike previous studies on high school activism this study places a primary focus on underground newspapers and argues that underground newspapers allowed high school students to function as activists as well as educational reformers. In order to make this argument, this study examined over 150…

  7. [Exploration of the oral health education experimental teaching for oral health education reform].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jiang, Yingying; Hu, Wenting; Zhang, Juanjuan; Sun, Yan; Gao, Yuguang

    2014-04-01

    This study aimed to improve students' ability in practical and theoretical courses of oral health education and to promote students' learning interest and initiative. Fourth-year students of the oral medical profession from 2006 to 2008 at Weifang Medical University were chosen as research objects for oral health education to explore the experimental teaching reform. The students were divided into test and control groups, with the test group using the "speak out" way of teaching and the control group using the traditional teaching method. Results of after-class evaluation of the test group, as well as final examination and practice examination of the two groups, were analyzed and compared. After-class evaluation results of the test group showed that the "speak out" teaching method was recognized by the students and improved students' ability to understand oral health education. The final examination and practice examination results showed that the score of the test group was higher than that of the control group (P teaching methods can improve students' ability for oral health education, in accordance with the trend of teaching reform.

  8. The Role of PISA in Shaping Hegemonic Educational Discourses, Policies and Practices: The Case of Spain

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bonal, Xavier; Tarabini, Aina

    2013-01-01

    The aim of this article is to analyse the direct and indirect effects that PISA generates in the orientation of educational policies and reforms in Spain and the ways in which PISA data and results are used in political discourses, at both national and sub-national levels. The main hypothesis of the article is that PISA results have played a key…

  9. EDUCATION FOR SOCIAL COHESION ATTEMPTS IN LEBANON: REFLECTIONS ON THE 1994 AND 2010 EDUCATION REFORMS

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Maha Shuayb

    2016-12-01

    Full Text Available Following the end of the Lebanese civil war, education was put forward as a major means for rebuilding Lebanon and promoting social cohesion and unity. A huge education development plan was launched in 1994 culminating in a new national curriculum in 1997 and the production of new textbooks.  Although the quality of education improved in public schools, dropout rates continued to be high, particularly amongst the most disadvantaged groups. As education inequality soared, a new education reform strategy was launched in 2010. This paper investigates how social cohesion has been tackled in the two reforms (1994 and 2010. In defining social cohesion, the study adopts Nancy Fraser’s framework of social justice which includes redistribution, recognition, and participation. In addition, Novelli, Lopes Cardozo and Smith’s (2014 fourth component of social justice ‘reconciliation’ is added to the analytical framework. Findings revealed an emphasis on distributive justice by widening access to education including during early years and tackling causes of dropout, specifically in the 2010 reform. Reconciliation, in particular nationalism and promoting one narrative of the past, is given a major priority. Conflict is reduced to religious intolerance while structured barriers to social justice, including the use of languages that are considered foreign as mediums of instruction, the marginalisation of disadvantaged groups, a lack of participation, and sectarian nepotism, were downplayed. Critical reflections on the past has been suppressed in favour of building a national memory.  

  10. Quality assurance policies and practices in Scandinavian higher education systems: convergence or different paths?

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Kalpazidou Schmidt, Evanthia

    2017-01-01

    Because there is close cooperation on quality assurance in the Scandinavian countries, one would expect there to be convergence of quality assurance policies and practices in Scandinavian higher education. Few studies have analysed these quality assurance policies and practices from a comparative...... quality assurance. The debate is compelling with regard to the Swedish case in particular, with its ‘one size fits all’ approach and exclusive focus on outcomes which has been heavily criticised by the higher education institutions and has turned out to be controversial from the European viewpoint....... viewpoint. Based on empirical evidence produced in connection with studies of recent quality reforms in Scandinavia and an approach based on linking diffusion and translation theories with institutionalist perspectives focusing on path dependency, the paper contributes to the current debate on Scandinavian...

  11. The Significance of Post-Racial Ideology, Black Political Struggle, and Racial Literacy for Brazilian Anti-Racist Education Policy

    Science.gov (United States)

    Da Costa, Alexandre Emboaba

    2016-01-01

    This paper furthers current analysis of anti-racist, critical multicultural, and decolonial educational reforms in Brazil through a focus on the significant role played by post-racial ideology, black politics, and racial literacy in policy design and implementation. The paper first details the ways in which post-racial commonsense and anti-black…

  12. Between Accommodating and Activating: Framing Policy Reforms in Response to Workforce Aging across Europe.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kroon, Anne C; Vliegenthart, Rens; van Selm, Martine

    2017-07-01

    In the past decade, European governments have implemented activating policy reforms to maximize older workers' employment and employability, representing a paradigmatic change in approaches to work and retirement. This study isolates the factors that explain the relative success and failure of competitive frames that are either in favor of or against activating policies in European news coverage, by applying time-series analysis (ordinary least squares with panel-corrected standard errors) to monthly aggregated news coverage in the Netherlands, the United Kingdom, Denmark, and Spain over the timespan 2006-2013. The results show that pro-activating and counteractivating frames generally coincide in competitive framing environments. The pro-activating frame proliferated in times of high employment protection, whereas the counteractivating frame prevailed stronger in conservative compared with progressive newspapers, and gained momentum during the aftermath of the financial crisis and in times governments on the economic left were in power. The study advances knowledge of competitive issue framing by demonstrating how the economic, policy, and political context matters for the emergence and evolvement of competing frames. In addition, the findings contribute to the understanding of the factors that contribute to news representations that promote active aging in European news, which may foster support for policy reforms that sustain older workers' employability.

  13. 78 FR 17300 - Reform of Federal Policies Relating to Grants and Cooperative Agreements; Cost Principles and...

    Science.gov (United States)

    2013-03-21

    ... and II Reform of Federal Policies Relating to Grants and Cooperative Agreements; Cost Principles and... Relating to Grants and Cooperative Agreements; Cost Principles and Administrative Requirements (Including...

  14. Reforming the Discipline Management Process in Schools: An Alternative Approach to Zero Tolerance

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kajs, Lawrence T.

    2006-01-01

    There is a need for educational reform of zero tolerance policies in school disciplinary management procedures. Zero tolerance policies are rigid mandates of predetermined consequences for specific student misconduct. Common sense and fairness are not necessarily served by the application of inflexible disciplinary rules that do not address the…

  15. Recipients, Agents, or Partners?: The Contradictions of Teacher Participation in Mexican Secondary Education Reform

    Science.gov (United States)

    Levinson, Bradley A.; Blackwood, Janet; Cross, Valerie

    2013-01-01

    The countries of Latin America have been no exception to global calls for educational transformation and teacher professionalization at the secondary level. One of the newest of these reforms is Mexico's Reforma de la Educacion Secundaria (RS) (Reform of Secondary Education), launched in 2006. This article examines portrayals by various actors of…

  16. Moving towards an Educational Policy for Inclusion? Main Reform Stages in the Development of the Norwegian Unitary School System

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nilsen, Sven

    2010-01-01

    The purpose of the article is to study the development of educational policy in Norway in the field of the unitary school system and to analyse whether the development can be seen as a move towards increasing inclusion. The educational policy, when seen over a long time span, has progressively aimed towards the development of a common compulsory…

  17. Educating Leaders for Social Justice: The Case of Special Educational Needs Co-Ordinators

    Science.gov (United States)

    Liasidou, Anastasia; Svensson, Cathy

    2014-01-01

    In the light of policy imperatives to initiate and maintain inclusive education reforms, the role of special educational needs co-ordinators (SENCOs) in England and Wales should be reconceptualised with a view to their leading school reforms commensurate with the principles of an inclusive discourse. The article concentrates on the social justice…

  18. The policy and politics of the 2015 long-term care reform in the Netherlands.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Maarse, J A M Hans; Jeurissen, P P Patrick

    2016-03-01

    As of 2015 a major reform in LTC is taking place in the Netherlands. An important objective of the reform is to reign in expenditure growth to safeguard the fiscal sustainability of LTC. Other objectives are to improve the quality of LTC by making it more client-tailored. The reform consists of four interrelated pillars: a normative reorientation, a shift from residential to non-residential care, decentralization of non-residential care and expenditure cuts. The article gives a brief overview of these pillars and their underlying assumptions. Furthermore, attention is paid to the political decision-making process and the politics of implementation and evaluation. Perceptions of the effects of the reform so far widely differ: positive views alternate with critical views. Though the reform is radical in various aspects, LTC care will remain a largely publicly funded provision. A statutory health insurance scheme will remain in place to cover residential care. The role of municipalities in publicly funded non-residential care is significantly upgraded. The final section contains a few policy lessons. Copyright © 2016 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ireland Ltd.. All rights reserved.

  19. Education, Culture and Indigenous Rights: The Case of Educational Reform in Bolivia.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Comboni Salinas, Sonia; Juarez Nunez, Jose Manuel

    2000-01-01

    Examines the implementation of intercultural bilingual education throughout Bolivia and its relationship to the linguistic and cultural rights of the majority indigenous population. Discusses institutional and curriculum reforms, particularly in rural schools; a new emphasis on students' learning needs; relationship to indigenous…

  20. A Legal Guide to State Pension Reform. Education Sector Policy Briefs

    Science.gov (United States)

    Herriot-Hatfield, Jennie; Monahan, Amy; Rosenberg, Sarah; Tucker, Bill

    2012-01-01

    Just 18 minutes before the midnight signing deadline on May 15, 2010, Minnesota state legislators breathed a sigh of relief. Their bipartisan pension reform legislation, which passed both chambers by large margins and aimed to help shore up a potentially failing pension system, had just escaped a veto threat. Under pressure from his Republican…

  1. The Importance of Play in Early Childhood Education: A Critical Perspective on Current Policies and Practices in Germany and Hong Kong

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Stefan Faas

    2017-09-01

    Full Text Available In order to reflect international reform movements in a system- and culture-comparative perspective, the following article investigates the early childhood education systems in Germany and in Hong Kong, with reference to the respective social and educational roots, pedagogical development lines, and basic educational approaches. In addition, current developments, policies, and practices are described. The basic structural requirements of the respective systems will be presented, and the different reviews and implementation of international developments in Germany and Hong Kong will be explained. Special emphasis is placed on the importance of play in early childhood education. In this context, a current qualitative study of the authors is presented, which examines different perspectives on learning at play. The results of this exploratory study show that the interpretations and discussions of international reform approaches in different cultural settings are sometimes very different. The statements of the German and Chinese participants indicate that international developments are assessed primarily in the context of national educational traditions and structures. Against this backdrop, it is assumed that international reform movements—despite some assimilations—will have different effects in national education systems.

  2. Healthy Competition and Unsound Comparison: Reforming Educational Competition in Singapore

    Science.gov (United States)

    Christensen, Søren

    2015-01-01

    It is frequently claimed that the "competition state" responds to external competition by making competition increasingly central to its internal processes as well. This article discusses education reform in Singapore as departing from the opposite position. In Singapore "excessive" competition in education is now targeted by…

  3. The Cultural Politics of Borrowing: Japan, Britain, and the Narrative of Educational Crisis

    Science.gov (United States)

    Takayama, Keita; Apple, Michael W.

    2008-01-01

    In the recent debate over education reform, Japanese conservative politicians and intellectuals have selectively appropriated a particular crisis-and-success narrative of British education reform to de-territorialize contentious policy changes. They assert that Britain achieved successful education reform by transforming the very same teaching…

  4. Improved education after implementation of the Danish postgraduate medical training reform

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Kodal, Troels; Kjær, Niels Kristian; Qvesel, Dorte

    2012-01-01

    A reform of educational postgraduate medical training was launched in Denmark in 2004. The reform was based on a report by the Danish Medical Specialist Commission and consisted of a number of initiatives that were all aimed at improving the quality of medical training. Since 1998, all junior...... doctors in Denmark have been requested to rate the quality of their training on a Danish standardized questionnaire (DSQ) comprising 24 questions. In this study, we examined how junior doctors in hospitals rated their postgraduate medical training before and six years after the reform was implemented....

  5. Dental healthcare reforms in Germany and Japan: A comparison of statutory health insurance policy

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Mayumi Nomura

    2008-10-01

    Full Text Available This article aims to compare statutory health insurance policy during the dental healthcare reforms in Germany and Japan. Germany and Japan have categorized their statutory health insurance systems. People in both countries have been provided with a wide coverage of dental treatment and prosthetics. To compare the trends of the indicators of oral healthcare systems over time, it has been suggested that the strategic allocation of dental expenditure is more important than the amount of expense. German dental healthcare policy has shifted under political and socio-economic pressures towards a cost-effective model. In contrast, Japanese healthcare reforms have focused on keeping the basic statutory health insurance scheme, whereby individuals share more of the cost of statutory health insurance. As a result, Germany has succeeded in dramatically decreasing the prevalence of dental caries among children. On comparing the dental conditions of both countries, the rate of decline in replacement of missing teeth among adults and the elderly in Germany and Japan has been interpreted as indicating the price-conscious demands of prosthetics. The difference in the decline of DMFT in 12-year-olds in Germany and Japan could be described as being due to the dental health insurance policy being shifted from treatment-oriented to preventive-oriented in Germany. These findings suggest that social health insurance provides people with equal opportunity for dental services, and healthcare reforms have improved people's oral health. A mixed coverage of social health insurance coverage for dental care should be reconsidered in Japan.

  6. The pedagogical and ethical legacy of a "successful" educational reform: The Citizen School Project

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fischman, Gustavo E.; Gandin, Luis Armando

    2016-02-01

    The Citizen School Project (Escola Cidadã) was implemented from 1993 to 2004 in Porto Alegre, capital of the Brazilian state of Rio Grande do Sul. This article presents the conception behind the Citizen School Project, the basic mechanisms created to implement and evaluate its strengths and weaknesses, and some of its contradictions. After contextualising the educational reforms in Brazil during the 1980s and 1990s, the authors demonstrate how the Citizen School Project's emphasis on participation and democratisation was a radical departure from Brazil's traditional public education system. Next, they present the three main goals and structures of the Citizen School Project - democratisation of access to schools, democratisation of schools' administration, and democratisation of access to knowledge. They conclude by discussing some pedagogic, social and political dynamics which appear to be strong legacies of this pedagogical project. The authors also argue that the Citizen School Project has both improved the quality of education in Porto Alegre and is an important contribution to our collective thinking about the politics of "successful" educational policies.

  7. School-Based Management: The Next Needed Education Reform.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Guthrie, James W.

    1986-01-01

    Recommends the implementation of school-based management systems as one way to meet government demands for educational reform. Describes the functions of principals, school advisory councils, school-site budgeting and accounting, and annual planning and performance reports in successful school-based management systems. Presents examples of…

  8. Playing Hopscotch in Inclusive Education Reform: Examining Promises and Limitations of Policy and Practice in the US

    Science.gov (United States)

    Waitoller, Federico R.; Thorius, Kathleen King

    2015-01-01

    In this article, we provide commentary on the "state of play" of inclusive education in the United States. We focus on the promises and limitations of inter-related accountability- and market-driven policies and Response to Intervention (RTI) (Vaughn and Fuchs, 2003). We argue that these policies and practice have "hopscotched"…

  9. Education Inputs, Student Performance and School Finance Reform in Michigan

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chaudhary, Latika

    2009-01-01

    This paper estimates the impact of the Michigan school finance reform, "Proposal A," on education inputs and test scores. Using a difference-in-difference estimation strategy, I find that school districts in Michigan used the increase in educational spending generated through "Proposal A" to increase teacher salaries and reduce…

  10. Reformed Teaching and Learning in Science Education: A Comparative Study of Turkish and US Teachers

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ozfidan, Burhan; Cavlazoglu, Baki; Burlbaw, Lynn; Aydin, Hasan

    2017-01-01

    Achievements of educational reform advantage constructivist understandings of teaching and learning, and therefore highlight a shift in beliefs of teachers and apply these perceptions to the real world. Science teachers' beliefs have been crucial in understanding and reforming science education as beliefs of teachers regarding learning and…

  11. Are We There Yet? Early Years Reform in Queensland: Stakeholder Perspectives on the Introduction of Funded Preschool Programs in Long Day Care Services

    Science.gov (United States)

    Irvine, Susan; Farrell, Ann

    2013-01-01

    Australian educators are currently engaging with wide-ranging, national early childhood reform that is reshaping Early Childhood Education and Care (ECEC). The Australian reform agenda reflects many of the early childhood policy directions championed by bodies, such as the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development and the United…

  12. A Way of Policy Bricolage or Translation: The Case of Taiwan's Higher Education Reform of Quality Assurance

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hsieh, Chuo-Chun

    2016-01-01

    This paper focuses on the process and mechanism of higher education policy change related to quality assurance in a globalized world. In particular, the purpose of the study was to identify the impact of globalization on domestic policy change in Taiwan, characterized as a peripheral country. Taiwan's experience in terms of developing a national…

  13. The duopoly policy in the Brazilian model of telecommunications reform

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    César Mattos

    2004-09-01

    Full Text Available One of the important characteristics of the Brazilian Model of Telecommunications Reform (BMTR was the adoption of a duopoly policy, constraining the entry of new players in the wire segment in the transitional phase until free competition in 2002. This policy was also used in the reform experience of the United Kingdom in telecommunications in the 80's. The theoretical explanations behind this kind of policy are not strong enough to justify the duopoly policy in telecommunications. The most plausible idea rests on the prominent role conferred to privatization revenues in the design of the reform as a means of helping the efforts to consolidate price stabilization in the country. We introduce a model with the trade-offs between competition, duplication of fixed costs and privatization revenues. Despite the importance of fixed costs in the objective function of the regulator, we show that the privatization revenue target is the aspect, which justifies the imposition of entry constraints. The British experience shows that the sacrifice of this kind of policy regarding efficiency in the long run can be substantial.Uma das características mais importantes do Modelo Brasileiro de Reforma das Telecomunicações foi a adoção de uma política de duopólio, restringindo a entrada de novas empresas no segmento de telefonia fixa durante a fase de transição até a livre concorrência a ser adotada a partir de 2002. Essa política foi também utilizada na experiência de reforma das telecomunicações ocorrida no Reino Unido na década de 80. As explicações teóricas para justificar a adoção deste tipo de política não são satisfatórias o suficiente para justificar a política de duopólio como prescrição de política nas telecomunicações. A idéia mais plausível se baseia no papel proeminente conferido às receitas de privatização no desenho da reforma como forma de auxiliar os esforços de consolidação da estabilização de preços no

  14. Applying policy network theory to policy-making in China: the case of urban health insurance reform.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zheng, Haitao; de Jong, Martin; Koppenjan, Joop

    2010-01-01

    In this article, we explore whether policy network theory can be applied in the People's Republic of China (PRC). We carried out a literature review of how this approach has already been dealt with in the Chinese policy sciences thus far. We then present the key concepts and research approach in policy networks theory in the Western literature and try these on a Chinese case to see the fit. We follow this with a description and analysis of the policy-making process regarding the health insurance reform in China from 1998 until the present. Based on this case study, we argue that this body of theory is useful to describe and explain policy-making processes in the Chinese context. However, limitations in the generic model appear in capturing the fundamentally different political and administrative systems, crucially different cultural values in the applicability of some research methods common in Western countries. Finally, we address which political and cultural aspects turn out to be different in the PRC and how they affect methodological and practical problems that PRC researchers will encounter when studying decision-making processes.

  15. Jump-Starting Early Childhood Education at Home: Early Learning, Parent Motivation, and Public Policy.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Maloney, Erin A; Converse, Benjamin A; Gibbs, Chloe R; Levine, Susan C; Beilock, Sian L

    2015-11-01

    By the time children begin formal schooling, their experiences at home have already contributed to large variations in their math and language development, and once school begins, academic achievement continues to depend strongly on influences outside of school. It is thus essential that educational reform strategies involve primary caregivers. Specifically, programs and policies should promote and support aspects of caregiver-child interaction that have been empirically demonstrated to boost early learning and should seek to impede "motivational sinkholes" that threaten to undermine caregivers' desires to engage their children effectively. This article draws on cognitive and behavioral science to detail simple, low-cost, and effective tools caregivers can employ to prepare their children for educational success and then describes conditions that can protect and facilitate caregivers' motivation to use those tools. Policy recommendations throughout focus on using existing infrastructure to more deeply engage caregivers in effective early childhood education at home. © The Author(s) 2015.

  16. The Lesotho curriculum and assessment policy: Opportunities and ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Hennie

    The Curriculum and Assessment Policy 2009 represents the latest education reform, which marks a departure ... out of the dissatisfaction with a traditional education that ..... polities to modern (Western) and knowledge-based polities. Is this the ...

  17. School Stakeholders' Experience with Navigating ICT Policy Reforms in Singapore

    Science.gov (United States)

    Reyes, Vicente Chua, Jr.; Kheng, Catherine Chua Siew

    2015-01-01

    Using qualitative research inquiry methods, this inquiry attempts to explore how school stakeholders cope with incessant and seemingly endless transformations in schools. The central phenomenon to be studied focuses on how school stakeholders "make sense" of educational reform. In order to do this, an exploratory case study of two target…

  18. The future of graduate medical education in Germany - position paper of the Committee on Graduate Medical Education of the Society for Medical Education (GMA).

    Science.gov (United States)

    David, Dagmar M; Euteneier, Alexander; Fischer, Martin R; Hahn, Eckhart G; Johannink, Jonas; Kulike, Katharina; Lauch, Robert; Lindhorst, Elmar; Noll-Hussong, Michael; Pinilla, Severin; Weih, Markus; Wennekes, Vanessa

    2013-01-01

    The German graduate medical education system is going through an important phase of changes. Besides the ongoing reform of the national guidelines for graduate medical education (Musterweiterbildungsordnung), other factors like societal and demographic changes, health and research policy reforms also play a central role for the future and competitiveness of graduate medical education. With this position paper, the committee on graduate medical education of the Society for Medical Education (GMA) would like to point out some central questions for this process and support the current discourse. As an interprofessional and interdisciplinary scientific society, the GMA has the resources to contribute in a meaningful way to an evidence-based and future-oriented graduate medical education strategy. In this position paper, we use four key questions with regards to educational goals, quality assurance, teaching competence and policy requirements to address the core issues for the future of graduate medical education in Germany. The GMA sees its task in contributing to the necessary reform processes as the only German speaking scientific society in the field of medical education.

  19. Assessment and Educational Reform: Doing More than Polishing Brass on the Titanic, a Call for Discussion.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jackman, Andrew

    This exploration of evaluation strategies for systemic educational reform considers whether there is a way to design an assessment and delivery system that can accomplish the goals of the total educational process. A basic question that must be addressed in systemic reform is the role of education in the socialization processes of society. Beyond…

  20. Modernizing Schools in Mexico: The Rise of Teacher Assessment and School-Based Management Policies

    Science.gov (United States)

    Echávarri, Jaime; Peraza, Cecilia

    2017-01-01

    In this paper we analyze the evolution of the teacher assessment policy and the origins of school-based management initiatives in the Mexican education context from the late 1980s until the last 2012-2013 Education Reform (RE2012-2013). Mexico joined the Global Education Reform Movement during the 1990s through the National Agreement for the…

  1. Science Education Reform in Qatar: Progress and Challenges

    Science.gov (United States)

    Said, Ziad

    2016-01-01

    Science education reform in Qatar has had limited success. In the Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMMS), Qatari 4th and 8th grade students have shown progress in science achievement, but they remain significantly below the international average. Also, in the Program for International Student Assessment (PISA), Qatari…

  2. Education Reform in Bolivia: Transitions towards Which Future?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Arrueta, Jose Antonio; Avery, Helen

    2012-01-01

    This article concerns the impact of educational reforms on young people in Bolivian society as they transition into adulthood, against the backdrop of globalisation and far-reaching structural changes. Ethnicity and cultural capital are linked in complex ways with social stratification in Bolivia. In a pluricultural society, the language of…

  3. Farmers' preferences for water policy reforms: Results from a survey in Alberta

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhang, W.; Bjornlund, H.; Klein, K.

    2012-12-01

    Facing increasingly urgent stress on global water scarcity, many reforms have been launched in countries around the world. As the biggest group of natural resource managers, farmers' behaviour is drawing increasingly wide attention. Satisfying new demands for water will depend on farmers' support since, generally, water will need to be transferred from farmers who have historically secure rights. Although water pricing reform is widely considered to lead to water conservation, the uncertainty of its potential impacts hinders the process of reform. This farmer-level empirical research explores farmers' possible responses to introduction of reforms in water pricing. A survey was conducted of about 300 farm households that use water for irrigating crops in Southern Alberta, an area that is facing water shortages and has had to stop issuing new water licences. By using structural equation modelling, the strength and direction of direct and indirect relationships between external, internal and behavioural variables as proposed in general attitude theory have been estimated. Farming as a family engagement, family members' and family unit's characteristics doubtlessly affect farming practice and farm decisions. Farmers' behaviour was explored under the family and farm context. In developing and testing conceptual models that integrate socio-demographic, psychological, farming context and social milieu factors, we may develop a deeper understanding of farmers' behaviour. The findings and recommendations will be beneficial for environmental practitioners and policy makers.

  4. Reconstructing a lost tradition: the philosophy of medical education in an age of reform.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Martin, Christopher

    2013-01-01

    At the 100th anniversary of Abraham Flexner's landmark report on medical education, critical reassessment of the direction of medical education reform evinced valuable interdisciplinary contributions from biomedicine, sociology, psychology and education theory. However, to date, philosophy has been absent from the discussion despite its long standing contribution to studies on education in other professions. This discussion paper examines how the philosophical tradition can contribute to scholarship in medical education. It begins with an explanation of the scholarly tradition of philosophy of education and its role in thinking in education more generally. It then makes links between this tradition and the context of medical education in the Flexner era of education reform. The paper then argues that this tradition is necessary to the understanding of medical education reform post-Flexner and that doctors must benefit from an education derived from this tradition in order to be able to carry out their work. These foundations are characterised as a hidden, but always present, tradition in medical education. Two ways in which this 'lost tradition' can inform medical education theory and practice are identified: firstly, by the establishment of a public canon of medical education texts that express such a tradition, and, secondly, by the incorporation of a variety of 'signature pedagogies' exemplary of liberal education. © Blackwell Publishing Ltd 2013.

  5. Perspectives in medical education 9. Revisiting the blueprint for reform of medical education in Japan.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rao, R Harsha; Rao, Kanchan H

    2010-01-01

    Reform of medical education at Keio University has been underway since 2003. We measure the progress made since then in five specific categories that span fifteen recommendations presented in our "Blueprint for Reform" at the outset of the effort. These are effectiveness of leadership, curriculum reform, recognition of teaching, clinical competence, and comprehensive training in general internal medicine (GIM). First, effective leadership is being sustained through a succession of Deans, although a potentially crippling loss of leadership in the Department of Medical Education must be offset through timely appointment. Second, curriculum reform is awaiting the implementation in 2012 of an integrated, organ system-based curriculum with an emphasis on ward clerkships, but the introduction of PBL has been delayed indefinitely. Third, teaching is being recognized through the use of student feedback to reward good teachers and through funds for six full-time equivalent salaries dedicated to medical education, but promotions still depend exclusively on research, without consideration of teaching ability. Fourth, clinical skills training is still lacking, although enthusiasm for it seems to be building, thanks to the presence on the wards of a (still miniscule) cadre of dedicated teachers. Finally, exposure to GIM remains non-existent; however, visionary leadership in a newly-independent Emergency Department and the wide variety of medical problems seen there provide a remarkable opportunity to craft a uniquely Japanese solution to the problem. The changes implemented to date are impressive, and we remain enthusiastic about the future, even as we recognize the magnitude of the task that lies ahead.

  6. Elementary school teachers perspective about educative reform in Zacatecas, México

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Elizabeth Cristina Bañuelos Sánchez

    2017-04-01

    Full Text Available The results of a research carried out in the state of Zacatecas, México, aiming at probing teachers perceptions about the Educative Reform (RE to elementary school education approved in 2013 in the country are presented. Structural reforms served as the research theoretical frame and are the starting point to analyze changes that reorganized educative institutions in general. The information gathering was conducted by an interview with open answers, focusing on the aspects which have direct effects on teachers: evaluation, entry requirements and the job continuity. The results show that most teachers do not oppose the evaluation, provided that it is used as a tool for improving their teaching practice. Yet they do mistrust the transparency of the system, since they consider that the RE is a hidden mechanism to fire teachers, instead of a mechanism to improve the quality of education.

  7. Administrative Reform

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Plum, Maja

    Through the example of a Danish reform of educational plans in early childhood education, the paper critically addresses administrative educational reforms promoting accountability, visibility and documentation. Drawing on Foucaultian perspectives, the relation between knowledge and governing...... of administrative technology, tracing how the humanistic values of education embed and are embedded within ‘the professional nursery teacher' as an object and subject of administrative practice. Rather than undermining the humanistic potential of education, it is argued that the technology of accounting...

  8. Intercultural Policies and Education

    Science.gov (United States)

    Goncalves, Susana, Ed.; Carpenter, Markus A., Ed.

    2012-01-01

    Intercultural Policies and Education is concerned with educational challenges in multicultural societies. Educational policies, practices and strategies for fruitful coexistence in the multicultural school and classroom are explored and analysed through a collection of chapters designed and selected to provide readers with international,…

  9. Working on reform. How workers' compensation medical care is affected by health care reform.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Himmelstein, J; Rest, K

    1996-01-01

    The medical component of workers' compensation programs-now costing over $24 billion annually-and the rest of the nation's medical care system are linked. They share the same patients and providers. They provide similar benefits and services. And they struggle over who should pay for what. Clearly, health care reform and restructuring will have a major impact on the operation and expenditures of the workers' compensation system. For a brief period, during the 1994 national health care reform debate, these two systems were part of the same federal policy development and legislative process. With comprehensive health care reform no longer on the horizon, states now are tackling both workers' compensation and medical system reforms on their own. This paper reviews the major issues federal and state policy makers face as they consider reforms affecting the relationship between workers' compensation and traditional health insurance. What is the relationship of the workers' compensation cost crisis to that in general health care? What strategies are being considered by states involved in reforming the medical component of workers compensation? What are the major policy implications of these strategies?

  10. Place Matters: Mathematics Education Reform in Urban Schools

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rousseau Anderson, Celia

    2014-01-01

    While mathematics education research has often focused at the level of the classroom (Rousseau Anderson & Tate, 2008), there are emerging calls for attention to shift from individual classrooms to consider the process of reform at the school or district level. Investigating the role of the institution and conditions of the organization becomes…

  11. Higher education reform: getting the incentives right

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Canton, Erik; Venniker, Richard; Jongbloed, Benjamin W.A.; Koelman, Jos; Koelman, Jos; van der Meer, Peter; van der Meer, Peter; Vossensteyn, Johan J.

    2001-01-01

    This study is a joint effort by the Netherlands Bureau for Economic Policy Analysis (CPB) and the Center for Higher Education Policy Studies. It analyses a number of `best practices¿ where the design of financial incentives working on the system level of higher education is concerned. In Chapter 1,

  12. Critique of the „official critique” of neoliberal reforms in higher education

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Oskar Szwabowski

    2013-01-01

    Full Text Available In this article I criticise theoretical structure which is employed in critiquesof higher education reforms within the domain of pedagogy. I argue thatcritique of neoliberalism in education doesn’t recognise the dynamics of change and„necessity” of transformation. Both critique and defense of neoliberal reforms donot transcend capitalist „separation” and institutionalization typical of particularorders. In practical terms, it results in reactive resistance, either in the form of defenseof privileges of „leisure class or attempt to brink back the period of „class compromise”.In this way, it is not able to develop a radical practice, transcend „ideologicalstate apparatus” and produce a radical practice as well as education based on democracyand equality.

  13. Action Research as Professional Development: Its Role in Education Reform in the United Arab Emirates

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hathorn, Conley; Dillon, Anna Marie

    2018-01-01

    This paper is concerned with exploring the microsystem of teachers' experiences with education reform within the action research (AR) model for professional development (PD). Within the macrosystem of current major education reform in the UAE, it is timely to explore teachers' experiences of AR as PD to improve pedagogy. The process of engaging in…

  14. Policy reforms, rice production and sustainable land use in China: A macro-micro analysis

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Heerink, N.; Qu, F.; Kuiper, M.H.; Shi Xiaoping, X.; Tan Shuhao,

    2007-01-01

    This paper presents a macro¿micro analysis of the impact of policy reforms in China on agricultural production, input use and soil quality change for a major rice-producing area, namely Jiangxi province. This is done in three steps. First, a quantitative assessment is made of the impact of market

  15. International Experience in Reforming the System of Higher Education Governance in terms of Increasing the University Autonomy

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Chmutova Iryna M.

    2017-12-01

    Full Text Available The aim of the article is to summarize the international experience of reforming the system of higher education governance and develop directions that will contribute to increasing the effectiveness of the Ukrainian model for governance of higher education and ensuring its autonomy. There identified common elements and trends in European higher education reforms: greater autonomy for higher education institutions with less direct administrative intervention; greater emphasis on private rather than public funding; emphasis on the quality and effectiveness of education. The tools for implementing reforms in the European higher education system are identified: the New Public Management (NPM model, governance through networks, and new forms of governance. The changes in the university autonomy of European countries for the period of 2010-2016 are summarized. The content of the reforms in terms of increasing the autonomy of HEIs in the countries of Asia is disclosed. Possible vectors for reforming the system of higher education governance in Ukraine are identified: introduction of a model for funding HEIs on the basis of combining a one-time full budgeting and financing by results; assigning universities ownership of their buildings and their sale in the market; strengthening the decentralization of government control of higher education; development of legislative bases for the self-sufficiency of HEIs; inclusion of external stakeholders in decision-making governing bodies of HEIs; maximum involvement of students in decision-making.

  16. Moving from Traditional Teacher Education to a Field-Based Urban Teacher Education Program: One Program's Story of Reform

    Science.gov (United States)

    Waddell, Jennifer; Vartuli, Sue

    2015-01-01

    In recent years, teacher education has been charged with reforming programs to better align curriculum, clinical practice, and accountability. The sense of urgency for reform has been heightened by competition from alternative routes to teaching that jump straight to practice, often criticized for foregoing essential knowledge and theory. This…

  17. Education Reform in Hong Kong: The ``Through-Road'' Model and its Societal Consequences

    Science.gov (United States)

    Poon, Anita Y. K.; Wong, Yiu-Chung

    2008-01-01

    Although Hong Kong's education system has long been criticized as lacking in creativity and over-emphasising rote learning, on the whole it has served Hong Kong well in the past years, breeding outstanding business, academic and political leaders who continue to maintain Hong Kong's competitive edge. The traditional elite schools have played a crucial role in the process. The education reform, which is still on-going, aims to overhaul the entire system by introducing the "through-road" model. To accomplish this, some mechanisms need to be changed. J.P. Farrell's concepts of equality and equity, C.W. Mills' concept of elitism, and P. Bourdieu and J. Coleman's concepts of cultural and social capital will be applied to analyse the consequences of the reform. The paper argues that the education reform may be well-intentioned in eliminating some elements of inequality and inequity in education, but that this comes at the expense of Hong Kong's cultural and social capital and leads to the development of new forms of inequality.

  18. Educational Reforms in Morocco: Evolution and Current Status

    Science.gov (United States)

    Llorent-Bedmar, Vicente

    2014-01-01

    Since 1956, the year in Morocco achieved independence, until now, the school system has been the subject of many discussions and controversies in the most varied areas of the country. We provide data on the educational situation. We analyze the reforms from a critical perspective, ending with final proposals. He underlined that the sector was…

  19. The Politics of Education Policy in England

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gunter, Helen M.

    2015-01-01

    In this appreciative discussion paper I provide an overview of the reforms made to education in England, and engage with the politics of education through examining the simultaneous and inter-related processes of politicisation, depoliticisation and repoliticisation of educational matters. I engage in a discussion of the papers in this special…

  20. Environment, sustainability, and education policy research

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    McKenzie, Marcia; Rickinson, Mark; Bengtssen, Stefan

    Introduction: This session is a two part symposium on the topic of environment and sustainability in relation to educational policy development, enactment, and analysis. This format is modeled on similar formats used in other international conferences, such as the Association of American...... and methodological approaches to policy and policy research. Some key questions to be addressed include:- What kinds of understandings of policy and policy research are informing work in environmental and sustainability education?- Are there interdisiplinary approaches to policy research that can be useful...... for furthering critical education policy analysis?- What are the relationships between policy development and its enactment or implementation? - To what extent has the environmental education field researched policy development and/or enactment?- What might environmental education research have to offer...

  1. The European Common Agricultural Policy on fruits and vegetables: exploring potential health gain from reform.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Veerman, J Lennert; Barendregt, Jan J; Mackenbach, Johan P

    2006-02-01

    Consumption of fruits and vegetables is associated with a reduced risk of cardiovascular disease and cancer. The European Union Common Agricultural Policy keeps prices high by limiting the availability of fruits and vegetables. This policy is at odds with public health interests. We assess the potential health gain for the Dutch population of discontinuing EU withdrawal support for fruits and vegetables. The maximum effect of the reform was estimated by assuming that a quantity equivalent to the amount of produce withdrawn in recent years would be brought onto the market. For the calculation of the effect of consumption change on health we constructed a multi-state life table model in which consumption of fruits and vegetables is linked to ischaemic heart disease, stroke, and cancer of the oesophagus, stomach, colorectum, lung and breast. Uncertainty is quantified using Monte Carlo simulation. The reform would maximally increase the average consumption of fruits and vegetables by 1.80% (95% uncertainty interval 1.12-2.73), with an ensuing increase in life expectancy of 3.8 (2.2-5.9) days for men and 2.6 (1.5-4.2) days for women. The reform is also likely to decrease socio-economic inequalities in health. Ending EU withdrawal support for fruits and vegetables could result in a modest health gain for the Dutch population, though uncertainty in the estimates is high. A more comprehensive examination of the health effects of the EU agricultural policy could help to ensure health is duly considered in decision-making.

  2. Reform of investment policy in the function of sustainable development with special emphasis on investment in information technologies

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Dragičević-Radičević Tatjana

    2017-01-01

    Full Text Available Global economy still records a decline in FDI. The main causes are increased economic instability and geopolitical risks. Given the continued negative trend, it is clear that it is necessary to reform the investment policies at the national, regional, bilateral, multilateral and international level, to ensure sustainable economic development. Key elements of the reforms are: to provide instruments to reduce risks, create mechanisms of responsible investment, improve the structural coherence and promote regional investments. Refer to the current dates of the sectors investments (according to the report of UNCTAD from 2015th shows that the services sector recorded double growth compared to the investment in the manufacturing sector in 2012. Also, if we take into consideration the fact that investment in IT sector investment involves three aspects: transactional (minimizing costs, strategic (innovation technologies, achieving competitiveness and information (improving access to information and communications, it may be assumed that the reforms in the investment policies should be directly correlated with investments in information technology.

  3. Time for TIGER to ROAR! Technology Informatics Guiding Education Reform.

    Science.gov (United States)

    O'Connor, Siobhan; Hubner, Ursula; Shaw, Toria; Blake, Rachelle; Ball, Marion

    2017-11-01

    Information Technology (IT) continues to evolve and develop with electronic devices and systems becoming integral to healthcare in every country. This has led to an urgent need for all professions working in healthcare to be knowledgeable and skilled in informatics. The Technology Informatics Guiding Education Reform (TIGER) Initiative was established in 2006 in the United States to develop key areas of informatics in nursing. One of these was to integrate informatics competencies into nursing curricula and life-long learning. In 2009, TIGER developed an informatics competency framework which outlines numerous IT competencies required for professional practice and this work helped increase the emphasis of informatics in nursing education standards in the United States. In 2012, TIGER expanded to the international community to help synthesise informatics competencies for nurses and pool educational resources in health IT. This transition led to a new interprofessional, interdisciplinary approach, as health informatics education needs to expand to other clinical fields and beyond. In tandem, a European Union (EU) - United States (US) Collaboration on eHealth began a strand of work which focuses on developing the IT skills of the health workforce to ensure technology can be adopted and applied in healthcare. One initiative within this is the EU*US eHealth Work Project, which started in 2016 and is mapping the current structure and gaps in health IT skills and training needs globally. It aims to increase educational opportunities by developing a model for open and scalable access to eHealth training programmes. With this renewed initiative to incorporate informatics into the education and training of nurses and other health professionals globally, it is time for educators, researchers, practitioners and policy makers to join in and ROAR with TIGER. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  4. China's health care system reform: Progress and prospects.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Li, Ling; Fu, Hongqiao

    2017-07-01

    This paper discusses the progress and prospects of China's complex health care reform beginning in 2009. The Chinese government's undertaking of systemic reform has achieved laudable achievements, including the expansion of social health insurance, the reform of public hospitals, and the strengthening of primary care. An innovative policy tool in China, policy experimentation under hierarchy, played an important role in facilitating these achievements. However, China still faces gaps and challenges in creating a single payer system, restructuring the public hospitals, and establishing an integrated delivery system. Recently, China issued the 13th 5-year plan for medical reform, setting forth the goals, policy priorities, and strategies for health reform in the following 5 years. Moreover, the Chinese government announced the "Healthy China 2030" blueprint in October 2016, which has the goals of providing universal health security for all citizens by 2030. By examining these policy priorities against the existing gaps and challenges, we conclude that China's health care reform is heading in the right direction. To effectively implement these policies, we recommend that China should take advantage of policy experimentation to mobilize bottom-up initiatives and encourage innovations. Copyright © 2017 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

  5. Why the Best Isn't so Bad: Moderation and Ideals in Educational Reform

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kerdeman, Deborah

    2009-01-01

    In "Moderating the Debate: Rationality and the Promise of American Education," Michael Feuer counsels reformers to "satisfice": moderate their expectations and accept that flawed reforms can be good enough. Implicit in Feuer's view of satisficing is the assumption that moderating expectations entails eschewing ideals and replacing optimal goals…

  6. Higher Education in Brazil and the policies for increasing the number of vacancies from Reuni: advances and controversies

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Maria Célia Borges

    2012-01-01

    Full Text Available This paper presents a discussion on the policies to expand Higher Education, stating the influences of neoliberalism and explaining the contradictions in legislation and reforms at this level of education in Brazil after the 1990s. It questions the model of the New University with regard to the Brazilian reality and the poor investments available for such a reform. It calls attention to the danger of prioritizing the increase in the number of vacancies instead of the quality of teaching, something which would represent the scrapping of the public university. It highlights the contradictions of Reuni, with improvised actions and conditioning of funds, through the achievement of goals. On one hand, it recognizes the increasing number of vacancies in Higher Education and, on the other, it reaffirms that democratization of access requires universities with financial autonomy, well-structured courses with innovative curricula, qualified professors, adequate infrastructure, and high quality teaching, with research aiming the production of new knowledge, as well as university extension.

  7. Tertiary Education in the Czech Republic: The Pathway to Change

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pesik, Richard; Gounko, Tatiana

    2011-01-01

    This article analyzes recent policy proposals to reform Czech tertiary education. A brief overview of the evolution of Czech tertiary education presents the background against which emerging policy trends in education are examined. We relate the changes in tertiary education to the policy framework and recommendations of the OECD, underpinned by…

  8. Linking health education and sustainability education in schools

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Madsen, Katrine Dahl; Nordin, Lone Lindegard; Simovska, Venka

    2015-01-01

    , the focus is on transformation processes occurring on the trajectory from international policy frameworks to the national context. The chapter considers the consequences of these transformation processes for educational practices within schools in light of the current major reform of basic general education......This chapter addresses the relationships between international and national (Danish) policies regarding sustainability and health promotion which have the potential to affect school-based health education/promotion and education for sustainable development. Based on policy mapping and analysis...... in Denmark with its aims of ensuring overall school improvement, increasing pupil wellbeing and improving academic outcomes. Analysis of international policy documents, as well as of research literature in both fields, shows that school-based health education (HE) and education for sustainable development...

  9. Laying Bare Educational Crosstalk: A Study of Discursive Repertoires in the Wake of Educational Reform

    Science.gov (United States)

    McGrath, Cormac; Laksov, Klara Bolander

    2014-01-01

    In the wake of the Bologna process, many European universities are undergoing comprehensive educational reform. Our attention in this paper is focused on how a medical university came to terms with the challenges presented therein. We wished to explore how educators identify, understand and deal with opportunities for change at a medical…

  10. Medical society engagement in contentious policy reform: the Ethiopian Society for Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ESOG) and Ethiopia's 2005 reform of its Penal Code on abortion.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Holcombe, Sarah Jane

    2018-05-01

    Unsafe abortion is one of the three leading causes of maternal mortality in low-income countries; however, few countries have reformed their laws to permit safer, legal abortion, and professional medical associations have not tended to spearhead this type of reform. Support from a professional association typically carries more weight than does that from an individual medical professional. However, theory predicts and the empirical record largely reveals that medical associations shy from engagement in conflictual policymaking such as on abortion, except when professional autonomy or income is at stake. Using interviews with 10 obstetrician-gynaecologists and 44 other leaders familiar with Ethiopia's reproductive health policy context, as well as other primary and secondary sources, this research examines why, counter to theoretical expectations from the sociology of medical professions literature and experience elsewhere, the Ethiopian Society of Obstetricians & Gynecologists (ESOG) actively supported reform of national law on abortion. ESOG leadership participation was motivated by both individual and ESOG's organizational commitments to reducing maternal mortality and also by professional training and work experience. Further, typical constraints on medical society involvement in policymaking were relaxed or removed, including those related to ESOG's organizational structure and history, and to political environment. Findings do not contradict theory positing medical society avoidance of socially conflictual health policymaking, but rather identify how the expected restrictions were less present in Ethiopia, facilitating medical society participation. Results can inform efforts to encourage medical society participation in policy reform to improve women's health elsewhere in sub-Saharan Africa.

  11. Hospital Capacity, Waiting Times and Sick Leave Duration - an Empirical Analysis of a Norwegian Health Policy Reform

    OpenAIRE

    Aakvik, Arild; Holmås, Tor Helge; Kjerstad, Egil

    2012-01-01

    A health policy reform aiming to reduce hospital waiting times and sickness absences, the Faster Return to Work (FRW) scheme, is evaluated by creating treatment and control groups to facilitate causal interpretations of the empirical results. We use a unique dataset on individuals where we match hospital data with social security data and socio-economic characteristics. The main idea behind the reform is that long waiting times for hospital treatment lead to unnecessarily long periods of sick...

  12. Is it necessary to reform the policy of compensation in morocco ?

    OpenAIRE

    Tarbalouti, Mr

    2014-01-01

    Faut-il réformer la caisse de compensation au Maroc? Par Essaid Tarbalouti Version, Mars 2014 The debate on the efficiency of the subsidy of the prices of foodstuffs granted by the policy of compensation and his reform are deeply livened up between the government and the opposition in terms of its cost and its ineffectiveness. This debate concentrate on the social earnings to replace this mechanism of assistant by the granting of a minimum income to the poor people. We demonstrate that this m...

  13. America Y2K: The Obsolescence of Educational Reforms.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dorn, Sherman

    2000-01-01

    Notes the passing of the deadline for fulfillment of the national education goals in the United States, the beginning of the year 2000, and indicates that pressures on schools to solve social problems will continue to make school reform a politically opportune and very visible issue. (SLD)

  14. Seeing through Transparency in Education Reform: Illuminating the "Local"

    Science.gov (United States)

    Koyama, Jill; Kania, Brian

    2016-01-01

    Utilizing "assemblage," a notion associated with Actor-Network Theory (ANT), we explore what discourses of transparency can, and cannot, accomplish in a network of education reform that includes schools, government agencies, and community organizations. Drawing on data collected between July 2011 and March 2013 in an…

  15. Educational Management Organizations as High Reliability Organizations: A Study of Victory's Philadelphia High School Reform Work

    Science.gov (United States)

    Thomas, David E.

    2013-01-01

    This executive position paper proposes recommendations for designing reform models between public and private sectors dedicated to improving school reform work in low performing urban high schools. It reviews scholarly research about for-profit educational management organizations, high reliability organizations, American high school reform, and…

  16. The Implementation of Entrepreneurship Education through Curriculum Reform in Finnish Comprehensive Schools

    Science.gov (United States)

    Seikkula-Leino, Jaana

    2011-01-01

    How has entrepreneurship education been implemented in Finnish comprehensive schools. A two-part survey was undertaken in 43 municipalities with different educational and socio-economic backgrounds. The first part, in 2005, dealt with the local curriculum reform with a focus on the development of entrepreneurship education. The second part, in…

  17. Educational Reform in Japan towards Inclusion: Are We Training Teachers for Success?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Forlin, Chris; Kawai, Norimune; Higuchi, Satoshi

    2015-01-01

    Within a tradition of a dual regular and special education system in Japan, the Government is promoting education reform that encourages an inclusive approach to education. This research investigates whether teachers are being trained for successful inclusion in Japan by reviewing the perceptions of all pre-service teachers in one university…

  18. Policy entrepreneurship in the development of public sector strategy: the case of London health reform.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Oborn, Eivor; Barrett, Michael; Exworthy, Mark

    2011-01-01

    The development of health policy is recognized as complex; however, there has been little development of the role of agency in this process. Kingdon developed the concept of policy entrepreneur (PE) within his ‘windows’ model. He argued inter-related ‘policy streams' must coincide for important issues to become addressed. The conjoining of these streams may be aided by a policy entrepreneur. We contribute by clarifying the role of the policy entrepreneur and highlighting the translational processes of key actors in creating and aligning policy windows. We analyse the work in London of Professor Sir Ara Darzi as a policy entrepreneur. An important aspect of Darzi's approach was to align a number of important institutional networks to conjoin related problems. Our findings highlight how a policy entrepreneur not only opens policy windows but also yokes together a network to make policy agendas happen. Our contribution reveals the role of clinical leadership in health reform.

  19. The Radical Reform of Administrative Policies in New South Wales School Education: Practical and Theoretical Implications.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Macpherson, R. J. S.

    The government of New South Wales (Australia) is attempting to enhance the quality of public education by radically altering management structures and practices. Despite some popular objections, political intervention was mandated and warranted due to excessive centralization in administrative policy making, curriculum development, and resource…

  20. Addressing the Policy Churn in Public Education in the United States.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Koopmans, Matthijs

    2016-07-01

    Educational organizations, public schools in particular, are seen as being notoriously inert and resistant to change. While school reform efforts are widespread, educational outcomes such as high school graduation rates and achievement in reading and math continue to show disparity between socio-economic groups. Why is educational change so hard to accomplish? This article approaches the question from two perspectives: the school reform literature that identifies the factors inhibiting change in school systems, and the literature on complex dynamical systems (CDS), which facilitates understanding of the dynamics underlying inertia and transformation. The need is articulated for empirical research that focuses on reform as an implementation process, to provide further insight in what we know about its impact on educational outcomes.

  1. Prescription, Ceremony, or "Trickle Down": How Do National Commissions Try to Reform Education?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wimpelberg, Robert K.; Ginsberg, Rick

    Educational reform commissions and their reports can be traced back to the massive expansion of public schools during the 1890s. The reports of reform commissions over the years follow the same format: problems are identified, experts are selected to examine them, and improvement proposals are recommended. This report examines 14 national studies…

  2. In Flesh and Bone: Bodily Image and Educational Patterns in Early Reformation Theatre

    Science.gov (United States)

    Salvarani, Luana

    2018-01-01

    From its very beginning, the Protestant Reformation adopted the theatre as one of its educational tools. Together with choral music, visual arts, and preaching, Luther, Melanchthon, Oekolampad, and other Reformers promoted both the cultivated school theatre and the popular street theatre in order to spread the new faith, create a community ethos,…

  3. General Education Today. A Critical Analysis of Controversies, Practices, and Reforms.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gaff, Jerry G.

    The range of controversies and changes emerging from the current revival of general education are examined, and many ideas, examples, and recommendations for achieving realistic and successful curricular reform are offered. Instead of either offering an apology for general education or advocating any particular approach, the book draws on solid…

  4. Teachers' Views on an ICT Reform in Education for Social Justice

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tarman, Bülent; Baytak, Ahmet; Duman, Harun

    2015-01-01

    FATIH project (Movement of Enhancing Opportunities and Improving Technology) is an information and communication technologies (ICT) project to promote social justice for all schools in Turkey. The educational movements and reforms in Turkish Educational System (TES) are not new but this project has a purpose to integrate the newest technologies…

  5. Working the Boundaries between Education and Work: Transformations of the German Educational System Reconsidered

    Science.gov (United States)

    Niemeyer, Beatrix

    2014-01-01

    The Lisbon commitment for a European knowledge society together with the subsequently implemented policy of lifelong learning and social inclusion has significantly affected the German educational system and its teaching practices. This article examines the impact of these policy reforms on educational work in Germany through an analysis of the…

  6. STRATEGIC DIRECTIONS FOR REFORMING FISCAL POLICY OF UKRAINE

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Тymoshenko A.

    2018-01-01

    Full Text Available The article is about the current direction of the transformation of the Ukrainian fiscal policy. The analysis of tax revenues to the State Budget and expenditures from it was carried out. Negative trends in the implementation of fiscal policy have been identified. A mechanism for implementing the fiscal policy is proposed. The main strategic directions of reforming fiscal policy have been identified. It is substantiated that in order to achieve an effective fiscal policy at the macro level it is necessary to create conditions for optimal filling of the state budget and contain inflationary processes. At the meso level it is necessary to ensure the fulfillment of tasks that promote economic growth in the regions and at the micro level ̶ to identify and implement measures to enhance the development of business structures through improvement of the investment climate. It is argued that for this purpose it is important to develop and implement an effective fiscal policy of Ukraine strategy that should include the following smart directions in the field of fiscal policy: improving the combination of fiscal and budgetary spheres in regulation, planning, management with the goal of achieving the maximum results of increasing the welfare of the population; determination of effective communication chains between business centers and the state fiscal service in the course of tax administration, the formation of an objective tax control system. It is pointed that the implementation of the fiscal mechanism combines the fiscal and budgetary mechanisms and includes the mobilization of financial resources from tax payments, as well as their distribution and effective use. It is noted that the instruments of the fiscal mechanism are means for influencing the formation of the optimal amount of financial resources for their further use, in turn, each instrument within the fiscal mechanism has its own functional load. So, expanding the functional boundaries of

  7. What is the appropriate counterfactual when estimating effects of multilateral trade policy reform?

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Anderson, Kym; Jensen, Hans Grinsted; Nelgen, Signe

    2016-01-01

    the counterfactual price distortions in 2030 are shown to be much larger in the case where agricultural protection grows endogenously than in the case assuming no policy changes over the projection period. This suggests the traditional way of estimating effects of a multilateral agricultural trade agreement may...... of the DDA’s possible effects thus requires first modelling the world economy to 2030 and, in that process, projecting what trade-related policies might be by then without a DDA. Typically, modelers assume the counterfactual policy regime to be a ‘business-as-usual’ projection assuming the status quo. Yet we...... by projecting the world economy to 2030 using the Global Trade Analysis Project (GTAP) model with those two alternative policy regimes and then simulating a move to global free trade (the maximum benefit from a multilateral trade reform) in each of those two cases. The welfare effects of removing...

  8. Education Reform, Indigenous Politics, and Decolonisation in the Bolivia of Evo Morales

    Science.gov (United States)

    Howard, Rosaleen

    2009-01-01

    The paper explores the relationship between education reform and Intercultural Bilingual Education (IBE) for Bolivia's majority indigenous peoples, as this has evolved since the 1990s into the era of Evo Morales, Latin America's first indigenous president, elected in 2005. In order to bring out the significance of the new Education Bill awaiting…

  9. Reforming Society through Education for Gifted Children: The Case of Kazakhstan

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yakavets, Natallia

    2014-01-01

    This paper explores the current education reform agenda in Kazakhstan, which is underpinned, in part, by the argument that investment in human capital through elite institutions for gifted children can lift up the whole system of education. The paper revisits two broad theoretical perspectives, relating to human capital and to ideas about…

  10. Implementing the Strategy for financial reform of higher education in Mozambique (EFES)

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Fonteyne, Bart; Jongbloed, B.W.A.

    2018-01-01

    This report describes the results of more than fifteen years of cooperation between the Government of Mozambique, the Government of the Netherlands, the Mozambican higher education institutions and the relevant stakeholders in designing and implementing reforms in the financing of higher education

  11. Shaping Education Policy: Power and Process

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mitchell, Douglas E., Ed.; Crowson, Robert L., Ed.; Shipps, Dorothy, Ed.

    2011-01-01

    "Shaping Education Policy" is a comprehensive overview of education politics and policy during the most turbulent and rapidly changing period in American history. Respected scholars review the history of education policy to explain the political powers and processes that shape education today. Chapters cover major themes that have…

  12. Globalisation, Transnational Policies and Adult Education

    Science.gov (United States)

    Milana, Marcella

    2012-01-01

    Globalisation, transnational policies and adult education--This paper examines policy documents produced by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) and the European Union (EU) in the field of adult education and learning. Both these entities address adult education as an explicit object of policy. This paper…

  13. Education under the Heel of Caesar: Reading UK Higher Education Reform through Shakespeare's "Antony and Cleopatra"

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ward, Sophie

    2012-01-01

    UK higher education reform (BIS, ) has been presented as a common-sense movement towards efficiency. This article will argue that, in reality, the marketisation of higher education is a movement towards negative freedom, defined after Berlin (2007) as unrestricted choice. Using Shakespeare's "Antony and Cleopatra" as a means to explore…

  14. Point Climat no. 22 'Reform of the Common Agricultural Policy is laying the initial foundations for a European agricultural climate policy'

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Foucherot, Claudine; Bellassen, Valentin

    2012-01-01

    Among the publications of CDC Climat Research, 'Climate Briefs' presents, in a few pages, hot topics in climate change policy. This issue addresses the following points: The Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) has had a very small climate component since 1992. The recent inclusion of green payments and the climate risk management tools proposed for the CAP for the period beyond 2013 illustrate the European Commission's willingness to expand this climate component. Furthermore, there is little mention of the agricultural sector in the tools rolled out by the European climate policy, particularly those derived from the 2009 'Climate and Energy' Package. Therefore, even if this autumn's parliamentary debate results in the reform proposals being diluted, the post-2013 CAP could nevertheless become a principal tool for a common EU climate policy in the agricultural sector

  15. Educational reform as a dynamic system of problems and solutions: Towards an analytic instrument

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Luttenberg, J.; Carpay, T.; Veugelers, W.

    2013-01-01

    Large-scale educational reforms are difficult to realize and often fail. In the literature, the course of reform and problems associated with this are frequently discussed. The explanations and recommendations then provided are so diverse that it is difficult to gain a comprehensive overview of what

  16. Optimising Russian natural gas - reform and climate policy

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    NONE

    2006-07-18

    The world's largest gas producer and exporter, Russia has an enormous energy saving potential. At least 30 billion cubic meters, a fifth of Russian exports to European OECD countries, could be saved every year by enhanced technology or energy efficiency. As the era of cheap gas in Russia comes to an end, this potential saving is increasingly important for Russians and importing countries. And, as domestic gas prices increase, efficiency investments will become increasingly economic - not to mention the incentive for Gazprom to enhance its efficiency against a backdrop of high European gas prices. The book analyzes and estimates the potential savings and the associated reductions in greenhouse gas emissions in the oil extraction (flaring), gas transmission, and distribution sectors. Achieving these savings will require linking long-standing energy efficiency goals with energy sector reforms, as well as climate policy objectives. The book also describes Russia's emerging climate policy and institutional framework, including work still ahead before the country is eligible for the Kyoto Protocol's flexibility mechanisms and can attract financing for greenhouse gas reductions. Stressed is the need for Russia to tap the full potential of energy savings and greenhouse gas emission reductions through a more competitive environment in the gas sector to attract timely investments.

  17. Petro-state constraints on health policy: guidelines for workable reform in Venezuela.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Trujillo, Antonio J

    2004-01-01

    This article reviews the performance of the Venezuelan health care sector and suggests guidelines for workable health policy under difficult conditions. Two special circumstances constrain policy options. First, Venezuelans share a traditional value, solidarity, which includes a strong desire for equity. Reforms must comply with this norm to succeed. Second, foreign sales of state-controlled oil constitute the bulk of the government budget and the gross domestic product (GDP). Petroleum market fluctuations expose the country to extreme economic cycles. In response, policy making and stakeholders adopt a rentier attitude, focusing on preserving or enlarging entitlements to government oil monies. The side effects of this largesse include poor productivity, a weak private sector, a widespread sense of entitlement without accountability, and a crippled state which controls most of the available resources yet is unable to effectively tax, regulate, steer the economy, or pursue long-term policies. The health care sector shares these problems. As a result, Venezuela's health systems are fragmented, poorly coordinated, excessively centralized, inequitable, and ineffective. Policies to improve public health and public and private medical care must take into account these constraints.

  18. Viewpoint: methanol poisoning outbreak in Libya: a need for policy reforms.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Taleb, Ziyad Ben; Bahelah, Raed

    2014-11-01

    We address the controversies surrounding a 2013 outbreak of methanol poisoning in Tripoli, Libya. We critically examine and systematically analyze the outbreak to highlight the lessons learned from this disaster and how to act properly to prevent similar outbreaks in future. Many health problems have been directly attributed to drinking alcohol; the type and quality of alcohol determines the detrimental effects. An unregulated and flourishing black market in alcohol is among the factors behind the Libyan tragedy, where approximately 90 deaths and about 1000 hospital admissions were reported. We reviewed gaps in local and regional alcohol policy, and highlighted the issue of illegally produced and home-made alcohol. Collaboration between countries in the region plus critical health and policy reforms in Libya, with emphasis on public health preparedness, can dramatically decrease morbidity and mortality associated with such outbreaks.

  19. Outlook on Student Retention in Higher Education University Reforms in Morocco

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mansouri, Zoulal; Moumine, Mohamed El Amine

    2017-01-01

    High student attrition rates at university have become one of the most challenging issues in higher education worldwide in the last five decades. Moroccan universities are no exception. At-risk students drop out of studies for a plethora of reasons, and the attrition rate is increasing despite the efforts made in education reforms carried out…

  20. Enhancing Aid Effectiveness in Education through a Sector-Wide Approach in Cambodia

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hattori, Hiroyuki

    2009-01-01

    Since 2001 the government of Cambodia has striven to advance policy-led education reform based on a sector-wide approach. This paper critically reviews the status and progress of Cambodia's education reform from the perspective of the aid's effectiveness. The paper looks at the performance of the sector reform in the three priority areas…

  1. International Organisations and Transnational Education Policy

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Moutsios, Stavros

    2009-01-01

    This paper focuses on the World Bank/IMF (International Monetary Fund), the OECD (Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development) and the WTO (World Trade Organisation) as institutions of transnational policy making. They are all at present making education policies which are decisively...... shaping current directions and developments in national education systems. The paper reviews the enhanced role of these institutions in producing education policies and investigates the ideological basis as well as the processes through which these policies are made. It is argued that decisions are taken...... the transnationalisation of education policy making but also the full submission of education to the pursuits of global economy....

  2. Bilingual Education: A Reference Handbook. Contemporary Education Issues.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Feinberg, Rosa Castro

    This book describes the evolution of bilingual education in the United States, emphasizing its relationship to educational and civil rights reform. Federal, state, and district policies affecting the implementation of bilingual programs are identified, along with related legal, political, demographic, and economic factors and controversies.…

  3. France, initiatives for excellence in higher education: One of twelve case studies produced as part of the project on structural reform in higher education

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Boudard, Emmanuel; Westerheijden, Donald F.

    2016-01-01

    This study analyses how different types of system-level (or ‘landscape’) structural reforms in higher education have been designed and implemented in selected higher education systems. In the 12 case studies that form the core of the project, the researchers examine reforms aimed at:• Increasing

  4. Official pedagogic identities from South African policy – some implications for mathematics teacher education practice

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Diane Parker

    2006-10-01

    Full Text Available In South Africa the National Curriculum Statement for Grades 10 – 12 (General: Mathematics (DoE, 2003 together with the Norms and Standards for Educators (DoE, 2000a are key policy documents that provide the official basis for mathematics education reform and for the construction of new pedagogic identities. In this paper I use a framework based on the work of Bernstein (1996, 2000 to theorise the construction of pedagogic identities. I use this to build on Graven’s (2002 description of the new official pedagogic identity of the South African mathematics teacher, and on Adler et al. (2002 and others to raise questions related to teacher knowledge and the challenges  of developing specialist mathematics teacher identities through initial teacher education programmes.

  5. 77 FR 11778 - Reform of Federal Policies Relating to Grants and Cooperative Agreements; Cost Principles and...

    Science.gov (United States)

    2012-02-28

    ... and II Reform of Federal Policies Relating to Grants and Cooperative Agreements; Cost Principles and... available on OMB's Web site at http://www.whitehouse.gov/omb/circulars_default/ . The Cost Principles for... E (Principles for Determining Costs Applicable to Research and Development Under Grants and...

  6. 78 FR 7282 - Reform of Federal Policies Relating to Grants and Cooperative Agreements; Cost Principles and...

    Science.gov (United States)

    2013-02-01

    ... II Reform of Federal Policies Relating to Grants and Cooperative Agreements; Cost Principles and... further review, the Cost Principles for Hospitals at 45 CFR Part 74, Appendix E. The proposal consolidates... instructed the OMB Director to ``review and where appropriate revise guidance concerning cost principles...

  7. Policy risk in action: pension reforms and social security wealth in Hungary, Czech Republic, and Slovakia

    Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

    Dušek, Libor; Kopecsni, J.

    -, 9/2008 (2008), s. 1-34 R&D Projects: GA ČR GA402/05/0711 Institutional research plan: CEZ:AV0Z70850503 Keywords : pension reforms * social security * policy risk Subject RIV: AH - Economics http://ies.fsv.cuni.cz/default/file/download/id/8361

  8. Neoliberalism as Nihilism? A Commentary on Educational Accountability, Teacher Education, and School Reform

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tuck, Eve

    2013-01-01

    In this article, the author discusses neoliberalism as an extension of settler colonialism. The article provides commentary on five recent articles on teacher education and the neoliberal agenda. The article presents an analysis of neoliberalism as despair, and as a form of nihilism. The author discusses an indigenous model of school reform and…

  9. A Preliminary Investigation of Educational Change Management in ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    A combination of the narrative and evaluative case study methods is employed here to analyse the impact of some of the current reform programmes in the Nigerian education sector. Findings suggest that there are clear policy shifts by the government and its educational agencies aimed at reforming the university and other ...

  10. Cotton Trade Liberalizations and Domestic Agricultural Policy Reforms: A Partial Equilibrium Analysis

    OpenAIRE

    Pan, Suwen; Fadiga, Mohamadou L.; Mohanty, Samarendu; Welch, Mark

    2006-01-01

    This paper analyzed the effects of trade liberalizing reforms in the world cotton market using a partial equilibrium model. The simulation results indicated that a removal of domestic subsidies and border tariffs for cotton would increase the amount of world cotton trade by an average of 4% in the next five years and world cotton prices by an average of 12% over the same time horizon. The findings indicated that under the liberalization policy, the United States would lose part of its export ...

  11. The New Basic Education and Whole School Reform: A Chinese Experience

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bu, Yuhua; Li, Jiacheng

    2013-01-01

    Since the 1980s, China has entered an era of transformation which has extended its reach to education and school reforms. The "New Basic Education" (NBE) was born in this era and implemented by the East China Normal University together with schools around the country. NBE aims at nurturing the active, healthy development of a new…

  12. Malaysian water sector reform : policy and performance

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Kim, C.T.

    2012-01-01

    One of the measures that can help developing countries in meeting Target 10 of the Millennium Development Goals – halving the number of people without access to water and adequate sanitation by 2015 – is through a water sector reform. In this research the Malaysian water sector reform is

  13. Middlemen and Midwives of Reform: The In-Between Worlds of Albanian Educational Policy-Makers and Professionals

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gardinier, Meg P.

    2015-01-01

    Based on a vertical case study in post-communist Albania, this article examines how three local experts become "in-betweens" who strategically mediate processes of social change. For example, they negotiate constructions of time and place, East and West, policy and practice, state and society. As they localise global educational models,…

  14. Science as an early driver of policy: child labor reform in the early Progressive Era, 1870-1900.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Perera, Frederica

    2014-10-01

    Scientific evidence is an increasingly important driver of social and environmental policy concerning child health. This trend began earlier than generally recognized. The child labor reform movement of the Gilded Age and early Progressive Era reflected not only moral and economic forces but also the dramatic advances during the later decades of the 19th century in scientific knowledge concerning children's biological and psychological vulnerability to environmental and psychosocial stressors. The growing importance of scientific information in shaping policy concerning children's health between 1870 and 1900 is illustrated by the events leading up to and following the New York State Child Labor Law of 1886. Child labor reform during this period was a critical step in the development of a science-based as well as a value-driven movement to protect children's environmental health and well-being that continues today.

  15. NAFTA and Mexico's Tax Policy Reform

    OpenAIRE

    Jorge Martinez-Vazquez; Duanje Chen

    2001-01-01

    The North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) has had a significant effect on Mexico’s economy and institutions. The ongoing consideration of tax reform in Mexico requires an evaluation of the role of NAFTA in Mexico’s economy, including its tax structure; it also requires an assessment of the impact of the Mexico’s tax system on the trade and capital flows between Mexico and its NAFTA partners, the United States and Canada. Clearly, no good tax reform in Mexico can ignore the role of NAFTA...

  16. Do different welfare states engender different policy preferences?: opinions on pension reforms in Eastern and Western Europe

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Velladics, K.; Henkens, C.J.I.M.; van Dalen, H.P.

    2006-01-01

    This article examines whether the different welfare states of the European Union member states engender different policy preferences and attitudes among the population. More specifically, it investigates variations in attitudes towards population ageing and pension reforms, and variations in

  17. Effects of EU dairy policy reform for Dutch dairy farming : a primal approach using GMM estimation

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Ooms, D.L.; Peerlings, J.H.M.

    2005-01-01

    This paper estimates a production function for milk using a generalised method of moments estimator to avoid the endogeneity problem. Using the first-order conditions for profit maximisation, the economic effects for individual Dutch dairy farms of the 2003 EU dairy policy reform are analysed. With

  18. 77 FR 17360 - Reform of Federal Policies Relating to Grants and Cooperative Agreements; Cost Principles And...

    Science.gov (United States)

    2012-03-26

    ... II Reform of Federal Policies Relating to Grants and Cooperative Agreements; Cost Principles And...; cost principles and administrative requirements (including Single Audit Act). The original comment...-idx?c=ecfr&tpl=/ecfrbrowse/Title02/2cfrv1_02.tpl . The Cost Principles for Hospitals are in the...

  19. Education Policy Influence Efficacy: Teacher Beliefs in Their Ability to Change Education Policy

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hinnant-Crawford, Brandi

    2016-01-01

    Guided by Social Cognitive Theory (SCT) this study sought to understand how teachers view themselves as educational policy actors and to construct an instrument that measures teacher beliefs about their aptitude to advocate for changes in educational policy. This study employed a sequential explanatory design, characterized by quantitative data…

  20. Reviews of National Policies for Education: Spain.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development, Paris (France).

    Recent reforms affecting every aspect of Spain's educational system are reviewed in this report. The first part presents the observations of three educators from other European countries ("The Examiners' Report"). Part 2 is a "Record of the Review Meeting" held in Paris in December of 1985 10 months after the examiners' visit…

  1. Bearing the Cost: An Examination of the Gendered Impacts of Water Policy Reform in Malawi

    Science.gov (United States)

    Marra, Simona

    2008-01-01

    Water insecurity is one of the most pressing issues currently faced by Malawi. The consequences of these issues are borne significantly by women, who are most directly involved with water provision and use, particularly at the household level. Since the mid-1990s, Malawi has undertaken a process of water policy reform. Reflective of international…

  2. Governance and Funding Reforms in Dutch Higher Education: Past, Present, and Future

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ritzen, Jozef M. M.; Marconi, Gabriele

    2012-01-01

    This article reviews the history of higher education governance and funding in The Netherlands, generalising when possible to other European countries. It finds that governance reforms and the funding of higher education appear to be driven by economic and demographic factors, including massification. Furthermore, the Bologna Process can be…

  3. Welcome to the "New Normal": The News Media and Neoliberal Reforming Education

    Science.gov (United States)

    Goldstein, Rebecca A.; Macrine, Sheila; Chesky, Nataly Z.

    2011-01-01

    This article demonstrates how media coverage employs dominant neoliberal narratives and discourses to blame public education for societal ills. The authors examine how the media's use of neoliberal narrative and discourse has hegemonically become the "new normal" of public education and school reform. Utilizing data from media coverage…

  4. Reforms in Pedagogy and the Confucian Tradition: Looking below the Surface

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ho, Felix M.

    2018-01-01

    This Forum article addresses some of the issues raised in the article by Ying-Syuan Huang and Anila Asghar's paper entitled: "Science education reform in Confucian learning cultures: teachers' perspectives on policy and practice in Taiwan." An attempt is made to highlight the need for a more nuanced approach in considering the Confucian…

  5. Revolutions and Second-Best Solutions: Education for Sustainable Development in Higher Education

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cotton, Debby; Bailey, Ian; Warren, Martyn; Bissell, Susie

    2009-01-01

    Despite widespread policy support for education for sustainable development in higher education, and a strong academic literature arguing for a radical rethink of curriculum, pedagogy and institutional culture, progress towards the educational reforms advocated remains limited. Based on in-depth interviews with lecturers at a case-study…

  6. Success for All and Comprehensive School Reform: Evidence-Based Policies for Urban Education.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Slavin, Robert E.; Madden, Nancy A.

    This paper discusses comprehensive school reform (CSR), which accepts the importance of standards and accountability but adds to these strategies for introducing innovations in curriculum, instruction, school organization, governance, parent interactions, and other core features of practice. The paper reviews research on the nature and quality of…

  7. Documentos de consulta para iniciar la reforma educativa (Preparatory documents on educational reform).

    Science.gov (United States)

    Consejo Nacional Tecnico de la Educacion (Mexico).

    This document is an English-language abstract (approximately 1,500 words) of two booklets on Mexican educational reform. The first booklet cites the parts of the Mexican Constitution dealing with education, the legal foundation of Mexican education, stipulating that it shall be universal, democratic, national, compulsory, free and immune from…

  8. Curriculum Reform and the Displacement of Knowledge in Peruvian Rural Secondary Schools: Exploring the Unintended Local Consequences of Global Education Policies

    Science.gov (United States)

    Balarin, Maria; Benavides, Martin

    2010-01-01

    This paper draws attention to processes of policy implementation in developing contexts, and to the unintended consequences of education policies that follow international policy scripts without enough consideration of local histories and cultures. Drawing on a study of teaching practices in Peruvian rural secondary schools after a period of…

  9. Policy Board Proposals Ignore Real Problems.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hawley, Willis D.

    1989-01-01

    The recent National Policy Board for Educational Administration report ("Improving the Preparation of School Administrators: An Agenda for Reform") does not address fundamental questions or make convincing proposals concerning the preparation of school administrators. The report's nine overall recommendations for improving school administration…

  10. Teacher Agency in Educational Reform: Lessons from Social Networks Research

    Science.gov (United States)

    Datnow, Amanda

    2012-01-01

    This article provides a context for understanding how social networks among teachers support or constrain school improvement in terms of instructional practice, professional development, and educational reform. It comments on the articles in this special issue, summarizing their contributions to the field. This analysis reveals several important…

  11. Politica de las Construcciones Escolares (Policy for School Construction).

    Science.gov (United States)

    Storni, Adolfo Enrique, Ed.; And Others

    This document establishes the policy for school construction programs and projects to be conducted in Argentina. The first part establishes the bases for construction and defines the policy and its objectives. The second part discusses school construction in view of educational reform and planning and considers analysis of current systems,…

  12. Welfare implication of reforming energy consumption subsidies

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Breton, Michèle; Mirzapour, Hossein

    2016-01-01

    Reforming energy consumption subsidies, in particular for fossil fuels, has been frequently referred to as a quick-win policy to enhance environmental mitigation. In addition, the removal of such subsidies may release a sizeable portion of a country's national budget for use on more productive targets. One of the most recognized challenges of such reform is “selling” the new energy prices to citizens, particularly those with a more fragile purchasing power. Several empirical and technical studies have prescribed that the reform might be supported by a direct compensation mechanism in order to ensure feasibility. This is what was done during the recent energy subsidy reform in Iran. However, the compensation mechanism implemented in Iran's reform was successful at the beginning, but did not proceed as expected. This has raised questions about the feasibility and sustainability of the direct compensation mechanism, and even of the reform policy itself. In this paper, we consider a stylized model where direct compensation is the instrument proposed to restore consumers’ utility against increased energy prices. We find that, when prices of Other Goods are affected by the announced reform policy, the feasibility of a subsidy reform critically depends on the value of certain parameters: the initial subsidization rate, the share of energy in the consumers’ bundle, and the energy portion of price of Other Goods. - Highlights: • A model of energy subsidy reform with direct compensation is proposed. • Feasibility of the reform is related to three key parameters. • An illustrative example using data from the recent Iranian reform is discussed.

  13. Key Aspects of Current Educational Reforms in Islamic Educational Schools

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ibrahim Hashim

    2017-06-01

    Full Text Available This paper is based on the premise that Islamic education plays a significant role in producing an integrated personality of young generation in order to fulfil the needs of present society. This study is important to address the key educational changes in pedagogy, curricular and teaching approach that relate directly to the effectiveness of the implementation of Islamic Education in Islamic schools. Questions raised in this writing is whether and how Muslim schools have transformed to meet the changes and challenges of the globalizing world and what should be done to ensure Islamic schools meet current needs. Thus, it argues that there is a need for reform in contemporary Islamic schools with particular reference to the changes in the curriculum, teaching style, role of Islamic schools and gender participation. The paper considers the possibility of integrating new perspectives across the curriculum and outlines the integrated approach to ensure the quality and excellence of their graduates.

  14. Geography teachers' interpretation of a curriculum reform initiative: the case of the Lesotho Environmental Education Support Project (LEESP

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Mohaeka Raselimo

    2013-01-01

    Full Text Available This article addresses how teachers in a specific developing world context interpreted a curriculum reform initiative. It is located within a broader interpretive study that investigated the integration of Environmental Education into the formal education system of Lesotho with particular reference to secondary school geography. More specifically the focus was on a Danish donor-fundedproject, known as the Lesotho Environmental Education Support Project (LEESP. Driven by a sustainable development imperative, the project was intended to assist Lesotho with the implementation of local action for Agenda 21 by introducing environmental education into the formal education system. It is widely accepted that teachers play an important role in implementing curriculum change. Using a previous framework, we generate insights for understanding how teachers' epistemologies interact with contextual factors to impede the process ofcurriculum sense-making. Furthermore, guided by the notion ofcurriculum as a contextualised social process, we present the findings on the contextual/structural factors enabling or constraining implementation ofthe LEESP curriculum policy intentions as perceived by the teachers.

  15. National Policy on Education and Higher Education

    Science.gov (United States)

    Varughese, Rajan

    2017-01-01

    The Ministry of Human Resource Development (MHRD) has come out with the draft of 'National Education Policy (NEP) 2016' in April 2016. The new NEP 2016 seeks to create conditions to improve the quality of teaching, learning and assessment, and promote transparency in the management of education in the country. The policy prescriptions enunciated…

  16. Effects of comprehensive educational reforms on academic success in a diverse student body.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lieberman, Steven A; Ainsworth, Michael A; Asimakis, Gregory K; Thomas, Lauree; Cain, Lisa D; Mancuso, Melodee G; Rabek, Jeffrey P; Zhang, Ni; Frye, Ann W

    2010-12-01

    Calls for medical curriculum reform and increased student diversity in the USA have seen mixed success: performance outcomes following curriculum revisions have been inconsistent and national matriculation of under-represented minority (URM) students has not met aspirations. Published innovations in curricula, academic support and pipeline programmes usually describe isolated interventions that fail to affect curriculum-level outcomes. United States Medical Licensing Examination (USMLE) Step 1 performance and graduation rates were analysed for three classes of medical students before (matriculated 1995-1997, n=517) and after (matriculated 2003-2005, n=597) implementing broad-based reforms in our education system. The changes in pipeline recruitment and preparation programmes, instructional methods, assessment systems, academic support and board preparation were based on sound educational principles and best practices. Post-reform classes were diverse with respect to ethnicity (25.8% URM students), gender (51.8% female), and Medical College Admissions Test (MCAT) score (range 20-40; 24.1% scored ≤ 25). Mean±standard deviation MCAT scores were minimally changed (from 27.2±4.7 to 27.8±3.6). The Step 1 failure rate decreased by 69.3% and mean score increased by 14.0 points (effect size: d=0.67) overall. Improvements were greater among women (failure rate decreased by 78.9%, mean score increased by 15.6 points; d=0.76) and URM students (failure rate decreased by 76.5%, mean score increased by 14.6 points; d=0.74), especially African-American students (failure rate decreased by 93.6%, mean score increased by 20.8 points; d=1.12). Step 1 scores increased across the entire MCAT range. Four- and 5-year graduation rates increased by 7.1% and 5.8%, respectively. The effect sizes in these performance improvements surpassed those previously reported for isolated interventions in curriculum and student support. This success is likely to have resulted from the broad

  17. CONCEPTS AND INSTITUTIONS FOR A NEW BUDDHIST EDUCATION : REFORMING THE SAṂGHA BETWEEN AND WITHIN STATE AGENCIES

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Travagnin, Stefania

    2014-01-01

    Education reforms have played a key role in the turning points of Chinese history. Slogans like jiaoyu jiuguo 教育救國 became well-known when the first Republic succeeded the Empire, at the dawn of the Mao era, and with Deng Xiaoping in the 1980s. China used to base her reinvention on education reforms,

  18. In Pursuit of Social Democracy: Shena Simon and the Reform of Secondary Education in England, 1938-1948

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ku, Hsiao-Yuh

    2018-01-01

    Shena Simon (1883-1972), a leading English socialist and educationist, actively called for the reform of secondary education in the 1930s and 1940s in order to bring the ideal of 'equality of opportunity' into the English educational system. This paper explores the continuity and changes in Simon's proposed reforms in relation to her ideals of…

  19. Examining Practice Across International Policy Contexts: Organizational Roles and Distributed Leadership in the US and Denmark

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Hornskov, Søren; Bjerg, Helle; Kelley, Carolyn

    nations (Lingard et al., 2016). The similarities in policy content include an increased focus on accountability for school teachers and leaders, augmented testing programs for students, and changes to the working or professional culture for teachers, leaders and other professions often achieved through...... are having on their respective contexts. In Denmark, the Ministry of Education introduced a major school reform in Fall 2014. The reform was the latest initiative in more than a decade of national educational policy marked by the increased focus on accountability, international ranking systems...... the policies that the Ministry of Education has recently issued, and promoting the necessary changes in their school. This policy-driven focus on school leadership aims to realize a scenario in which school principals are expected not only to work closely within the team of formally designated leaders...

  20. Exploring associations between state education initiatives and teachers' sleep: A social-ecological approach.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fujishiro, Kaori; Farley, Amy N; Kellemen, Marie; Swoboda, Christopher M

    2017-10-01

    Social policies that are not specifically aimed at impacting health can still have health consequences. State education reforms, such as standardized testing and stringent accountability for schools and teachers, may affect teacher health by changing their working conditions. This study explores associations between state education initiatives and teachers' sleep, an important predictor of productivity and chronic health conditions. The Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System 2013 and 2014 data sets provided sleep and demographic data for 7836 teachers in 29 states in the United States. We linked the teacher data to state education reform data from the U.S. Department of Education. Logistic regression was used to estimate odds ratios (ORs) of reporting inadequate sleep (i.e., state education policies after adjusting for demographic characteristics. Teachers had significantly higher odds of reporting inadequate sleep if their state financed professional development, sanctioned or rewarded schools based on student performance, and regulated classroom materials for state-wide common core standards (ORs ranging from 1.25 to 1.84). More strictly defined inadequate sleep (states to implement reforms through regulations and legislations, was also associated with inadequate sleep (OR = 1.41, p state education policies may have impacts on teacher sleep. Consequences of education reform for teacher health deserve more attention. Published by Elsevier Ltd.

  1. Education reform for the expansion of mother-tongue education in Ghana

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rosekrans, Kristin; Sherris, Arieh; Chatry-Komarek, Marie

    2012-10-01

    In 1957 Ghana was the first sub-Saharan colonial nation-state to achieve independence from British rule. The language of literacy instruction, however, remained English throughout most of Ghana's independence, effectively thwarting reading and writing in 11 major and 67 minor indigenous languages in use today. After years of policy shifts, including the intermittent of mother tongue in early childhood schooling to facilitate English language and literacy instruction, prospects for a bold move towards multilingual education have emerged from a coalescence of forces inside and outside of Ghanaian education policy circles. This article discusses how the inertia of a dated language policy and a historic disregard for Ghana's multilingual landscape by the country's own policy makers are being overcome, at least partially, by progressive powers of change, albeit not without challenge. It undertakes an analysis of how a policy environment that supports bilingual education was created in order to implement a comprehensive and innovative multilingual programme, the National Literacy Acceleration Program (NALAP), which was rolled out across the nation's schools in early 2010. Having been involved in the process of designing NALAP, the authors describe the development of standards of learning and materials, as well as innovative aspects of a constructivist teacher education approach. The paper concludes with recommendations for further research, including combining a change process for key stakeholders and randomised language and literacy assessment with social marketing research in a unified approach.

  2. African Universities and the State: Prospects for Reform in Senegal and Uganda.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Eisemon, Thomas Owen; Salmi, Jamil

    1993-01-01

    In both Senegal and Uganda, higher education reform will occur only if the universities have more administrative and fiscal autonomy. A shift from government participation in governance, enrollment, and use of resources in favor of more indirect control is recommended. However, the specific policy approaches recommended for the two countries…

  3. Minority Language Issues in Chinese Higher Education: Policy Reforms and Practice among the Korean and Mongol Ethnic Groups

    Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)

    Weiyan XIONG; W.James JACOB; Huiyuan YE

    2016-01-01

    The purpose of this study is to compare Korean and Mongol minorities in the People's Republic of China in terms of their native language preservation and educational experiences at the higher education level,and to investigate differences and similarities between Korean and Mongol minorities' language issues.Content area experts on Chinese minority education from China,South Korea,and the United States were interviewed for this study.Findings include suggestions for helping to formulate government educational policies regarding issues related to language in Chinese minority education at the higher education level.This information is helpful to better understand and educate others in school and home settings where Chinese ethnic minority students reside.The advancement of Chinese minority education knowledge related to higher education will significantly strengthen and empower individuals,families,and communities throughout the People's Republic of China.

  4. The purpose of education

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Thingstrup, Signe Hvid; Schmidt, Lene Skytthe Kaarsberg; Andersen, Randi Nygård

    2017-01-01

    and social approach to learning and wellbeing. This article examines how teachers and pedagogues in an action research project negotiate their new common work and which understandings of good pedagogical practice these negotiations express. The article shows that international educational rationales about...... learnification and attainment that are found in the Danish reform, affect the professionals’ understandings of professionalism and educational practices, and that this marginalises some traditional pedagogical practices. However, the article also shows that both pedagogues and teachers critique dominant...... educational policy rationales and explore what space for action exists in the reform....

  5. Factors affecting science reform: Bridging the gap between reform initiatives and teaching practices

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pensak, Karl John

    In response to the perceived deficiencies in science education today, and to the expressed need for research into the culture of schools (due primarily to the failure of many science reforms in the past), this study used a broad based approach to study the gap between science education research and science education practice. This study identified 47 factors that may encourage or inhibit science curriculum reform. A survey was conducted to determine which factors were perceived to be important by local and national K-12 classroom teachers, science supervisors/coordinators, and college/university professors. Continual staff development (scheduled as part of teachers' work day/week/month), funding (for long-term staff development, teacher training and support, science laboratory facilities and materials), teacher motivation and "ownership" of the reform, the need for collaborative opportunities for classroom teachers, teachers' college preparation, textbook reform, community support, and reform initiatives that are "in tune" with assessment, are major factors identified as having a substantial affect on the successful adoption, implementation, and institutionalization of science reforms.

  6. Identifying Effective Policy and Technologic Reforms for Sustainable Groundwater Management in Oman

    Science.gov (United States)

    Madani, K.; Zekri, S.; Karimi, A.

    2014-12-01

    Oman has gone through three decades of efforts aimed at addressing groundwater over-pumping and the consequent seawater intrusion. Example of measures adopted by the government since the 1990's include a vast subsidy program of irrigation modernization, a freeze on drilling new wells, delimitation of several no-drill zones, a crop substitution program, re-use of treated wastewater and construction of recharge dams. With no major success through these measures, the government laid the ground for water quotas by creating a new regulation in 1995. Nevertheless, groundwater quotas have not been enforced to date due to the high implementation and monitoring costs of traditional flow meters. This presentation discusses how sustainable groundwater management can be secured in Oman using a suit of policy and technologic reforms at a reasonable economic, political and practical cost. Data collected from farms with smart meters and low-cost wireless smart irrigation systems have been used to propose sustainable groundwater withdrawal strategies for Oman using a detailed hydro-economic model that couples a MODFLOW-SEAWAT model of the coastal aquifers with a dynamic profit maximization model. The hydro-economic optimization model was flexible to be run both as a social planner model to maximize the social welfare in the region, and as an agent-based model to capture the behavior of farmers interested in maximizing their profits independently. This flexibility helped capturing the trade-off between the optimality of the social planner solution developed at the system's level and its practicality (stability) with respect to the concerns and behaviors of the profit-maximizing farmers. The idetified promising policy and technolgical reforms for Oman include strict enforcement of groundwater quotas, smart metering, changing crop mixes, improving irrigation technologies, and revising geographical distribution of the farming activities. The presentation will discuss how different

  7. Interest Groups and Trade Reform in Mexico

    OpenAIRE

    Luis Sanchez-Mier

    2005-01-01

    Mexico experienced widespread economic reform in the last two decades. From being a protectionist economy with a policy of import substitution, it has turned into an export-oriented open economy. Why was protectionism a stable policy, and how was it overturned by a reform that went against entrenched interests? I apply a game theoretic model of political influence and economic reform to answer these questions using data to calculate the payoffs for the relevant interest groups. In the underly...

  8. National Assessment and the Opportunity to Learn in Educational Reform

    Science.gov (United States)

    Snyder, Conrad Wesley, Jr.; Mereku, Kofi D.; Amedahe, Francis K.; Etsey, Kofui; Adu, John

    2013-01-01

    Over two decades, national assessments in Ghana have revealed generally poor performances across curriculum-based tests for primary school (Grades 1-6). Various reform agendas have been applied to the education system, sometimes with isolated success, but the overall performances remained stable and low. Surveying teacher mentors in schools…

  9. A Co-Construction Perspective on Organizational Change and Educational Reform

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mehan, Hugh; Hubbard, Lea; Datnow, Amanda

    2010-01-01

    In their earlier work, the authors explained how the co-construction perspective has been heuristic in the study of organizational change and educational reform, often providing more nuanced analyses and findings than "technical-rational" models that dominated the field previously (Datnow, Hubbard, & Mehan, 2002). In framing organizational change…

  10. Professional Development in a Reform Context: Understanding the Design and Enactment of Learning Experiences Created by Teacher Leaders for Science Educators

    Science.gov (United States)

    Shafer, Laura

    2017-01-01

    Teacher in-service learning about education reforms like NGSS often begin with professional development (PD) as a foundational component (Supovitz & Turner, 2000). Teacher Leaders, who are early implementers of education reform, are positioned to play a contributing role to the design of PD. As early implementers of reforms, Teacher Leaders…

  11. Electricity reform in developing and transition countries: A reappraisal

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Williams, J.H.; Ghanadan, R.

    2006-01-01

    Since about 1990, many developing and transition countries have undertaken market-oriented reforms in their electric power sectors. Despite the widespread adoption of a standard policy model, reform processes and outcomes have often failed to meet expectations. Drawing on an extensive literature review and case studies in Asia, Africa, Latin America, and Eastern Europe, this paper describes common features of non-OECD electricity reform and reappraises reform policies and underlying assumptions. Comparison with the sector-focused policy goals of deregulation in OECD countries highlights the importance of national fiscal crises, macroeconomic reforms, and persuasion by multilateral lenders in shaping non-OECD reforms. It also makes clear reform's dependence on attracting foreign capital, and consequent vulnerability to volatile international financial conditions. Case studies of Bolivia, Ghana, India, Poland, and Thailand illustrate reform's diverse pathways and problems in different settings. A broad range of non-OECD reform experiences indicates that disappointing results have often resulted from a narrow focus on finance and cost recovery, inflexibly applied. The paper concludes that improving reform will require emphasizing a broader set of objectives, including service provision, public benefits, effective regulation, and social/political legitimacy. Above all, reforms must be based on realistic assessments of national needs and capabilities. (author)

  12. The Politics of Accountability: Assessing Teacher Education in the United States

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cochran-Smith, Marilyn; Piazza, Peter; Power, Christine

    2013-01-01

    Currently there are multiple teacher education reform policies being proposed, piloted, and debated at a variety of levels and by various interest groups, stakeholders, and policy-makers. Along with an unprecedented sense of urgency about these important goals, what most U.S. reforms have in common is increased accountability. Using a discourse…

  13. Education for Sustainable Development in Malaysia's National Curriculum Reformation: A Theoretical Exploration

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Aai Sheau Yean

    2014-10-01

    Full Text Available This article aims to examine the feasibility and potential of including appropriate Education for Sustainable Development (ESD elements in the National Curriculum Reformation of Malaysia that is set to be introduced in the year 2017. This is done through the proposal of a theoretical approach for understanding ESD fit for Malaysia from an environmental epistemology. To start with, this article outlines dominant ideologies and epistemologies revolving around the concept of Sustainable Development (SD and focuses on critiquing the underlying anthropocentric tendencies found within. Drawing principally from the ideas of Schumacher (1973, Orr (2004, and Sterling (1992, the article then sets out to examine the ideologies and epistemologies needed to support education reformation that are more environmentally sensitive in nature.

  14. Teacher's voices in the context of higher education : reforms in Armenia

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Karakhanyan, S.; Veen, S.J.; Bergen, T.C.M.

    2011-01-01

    In this article, teachers' sense-making and reasoning about higher education reforms in a post Soviet country, namely Armenia, are examined using an analytical framework with six sensitising concepts: beliefs, emotions, attitudes, change knowledge, attributions and organisational culture. The

  15. Transformative Education? A Philosophic-Augustinian Response to the 2010 Albertan Reform Initiatives in "Inspiring Education"

    Science.gov (United States)

    Steel, Sean

    2012-01-01

    The Alberta Government's 2010 "Inspiring Education" reform proposals claim to be "transformational" in nature. This paper examines these proposals in light of ancient philosophy and various among the world's wisdom traditions. Drawing particularly on the philosophic reflections of St. Augustine in his "Confessions",…

  16. Perceptions of Higher Education Reforms in Russia: the Role of Institutions and Social Capital

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Volchik Vyacheslav, V.

    2016-07-01

    Full Text Available Recent reforms of higher education in Russia are aimed at boosting the quality and efficiency of the educational process. Nevertheless, in most cases, implemented institutional and organizational innovations do not work properly. Calculative technologies and various ratings, which are widespread today, opened up the opportunities for regular managerial interventions. These interventions are not neutral. In Russian higher education, the mania for measurement resulted in a deficit of trust and rampant bureaucracy. Historically, the system of higher education has been based on specific values and institutions. Academic freedom and autonomy are extremely important for the members of the academic community, and these values cannot be eliminated. Implemented reforms destroy old institutions and organizational structures. However, new institutions, being inconsistent with present working rules and practices, are not able to replace the old ones. Such inconsistency can result in inefficiency. Social capital plays a crucial role for development and growth in the field of higher education. The structure of social capital in the field embraces three components: trust, social engagement and social integration. These elements must be taken into account when implementing educational reforms. The higher the employees are motivated and experience personal growth, the more they feel embedded in their job. We have analyzed the discourses of the key actors within the universities of Rostov Region. The discourse analysis shows that bureaucracy, constant institutional and organizational changes and the reduction of academic freedom are perceived as significant factors that influence labor productivity, organizational efficiency and the quality of educational services in the field of higher education.

  17. Teacher Education Research and Education Policy-Makers: An Australian Perspective

    Science.gov (United States)

    White, Simone

    2016-01-01

    As teacher educators, we want our research to be influential in contributing to educational policy and practice, but there remains little understanding about ways in which teacher educators might more productively engage with each other and policy-makers so as to maximise their research impact. Drawing on an empirical study and policy document…

  18. Public Management Reform without Managers: The Case of German Public Schools

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mintrop, Rick

    2015-01-01

    Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to discuss the role of principals in light of public management reforms taking place in the German educational system and in reference to the empirical patterns uncovered by the papers contained in the Special Issue. Policy makers have created new expectations and new technologies that seem to suggest to…

  19. Using Practitioner Inquiry within and against Large-Scale Educational Reform

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hines, Mary Beth; Conner-Zachocki, Jennifer

    2015-01-01

    This research study examines the impact of teacher research on participants in a large-scale educational reform initiative in the United States, No Child Left Behind, and its strand for reading teachers, Reading First. Reading First supported professional development for teachers in order to increase student scores on standardized tests. The…

  20. Studying Policy Transfer through the Lens of Social Network Analysis

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Staunæs, Dorthe; Brøgger, Katja; Steiner-Khamsi, Gita

    Studying Policy Transfer through the Lens of Social Network Analysis The panelists present the findings of a joint empirical research project carried out at Aarhus University (DPU/Copenhagen) and at Teachers College, Columbia University (New York). The research project succeeded to identify...... discursive networks of political stakeholders and policy advisors that were considered key actors in the Danish school reform. The research team investigated how these networks interrelate, change over time, and represent different constituents (government, academe, business), at times contradicting...... or collaborating with each other, respectively. Against the backdrop of globalization studies in comparative education, the research project attempted to identify borrowers, translators, and brokers of educational reform drawing on a complementary set of expertise from social network analysis methodology (Oren...