Showing papers in "Journal of Education Policy in 1989"
TL;DR: Psacharopoulos and Woodhall as discussed by the authors, A World Bank Publication by Oxford University Press (1985), £9.95, ISBN 0-19 520478-6, p.
Abstract: ∗ By George Psacharopoulos and Maureen Woodhall, A World Bank Publication by Oxford University Press (1985), £9.95 ISBN 0-19 520478-6.
237 citations
TL;DR: The Real School: a universal drama amid disparate experience as discussed by the authors is a classic example of such a drama, which is also a metaphor for our own experience in the real school setting.
Abstract: (1989). Real School: a universal drama amid disparate experience. Journal of Education Policy: Vol. 4, No. 5, pp. 75-91.
155 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors take as their starting point an apparent tension within the Education Reform Act between its imposition of a national curriculum and its stress elsewhere on parental choice and market for...
Abstract: This paper takes as its starting point an apparent tension within the Education Reform Act between its imposition of a national curriculum and its stress elsewhere on parental choice and market for...
138 citations
TL;DR: This paper made an initial contribution to what they see as the need: for ethnographic, classroom-based research on IT in education using the interactionist model; to locate IT and its role in education in its broader social, historical and cultural setting; to dismantle the technoromantic rhetoric or theology of IT, and to replace it with a more balanced and realistic assessment of its strengths and shortcomings; to develop a range of critical and analytical concepts to move us towards a theor...
Abstract: The starting point for this paper is that the use and discussion of information technology (IT) in education is uncritical. The dominant emphasis is on more being inherently better; and questions about the relationship of the technology to teaching and learning ‐ the sorts of questions which educationalists have traditionally asked about educational innovations ‐ have not featured prominently on the agenda. Rather, problems and limitations have been played down in the emphasis on the technological hard and software. This paper makes an initial contribution to what we see as the need: for ethnographic, classroom based research on IT in education using the interactionist model; to locate IT in education in its broader social, historical and cultural setting; to dismantle the technoromantic rhetoric or theology of IT in education, and to replace it with a more balanced and realistic assessment of its strengths and shortcomings; to develop a range of critical and analytical concepts to move us towards a theor...
27 citations
TL;DR: For example, many local authorities now admit children at the beginning of the school year following their fourth birthday as mentioned in this paper, which breaks with long established conventions about the kind of educational environment that is appropriate for children above and below the statutory starting age.
Abstract: The 1944 Education Act requires that children commence full‐time education in the term following their fifth birthday. But many local authorities now admit children at the beginning of the school year following their fourth birthday. This trend breaks with long established conventions about the kind of educational environment that is appropriate for children above and below the statutory starting age. The origin of these conventions is explored, first in the debate surrounding the 1870 Act and secondly in reports in the first decade of this century which led to exclusion of under‐fives from school and establishment of a separate nursery education sector. The recent break with convention has come about because of the opportunity created by falling school rolls to meet parental demand for early educational provision. The specific policy of annual admission has been justified educationally as helping compensate for the disadvantages experienced by summer born children under termly entry arrangements. While a...
23 citations
TL;DR: The politics of school restructuring was studied in this paper, where the authors discuss the role of teachers' unions in school restructuring, and propose a framework for teacher re-training and reclassification.
Abstract: (1989). The politics of school restructuring. Journal of Education Policy: Vol. 4, No. 5, pp. 55-74.
21 citations
TL;DR: The authors examined the data from interviews with 200 American teachers from the State of Pennsylvania who had been subjected to a particular form of in-class supervision known as the Madeline Hunter Model, which promoted a form of "ritualism" which teachers failed to take seriously; it concealed their personal and professional histories through episodic visits by outside experts; and it actively denied having a political agenda by claiming to be neutral, objective, value-free and substantiated by findings from research on teaching.
Abstract: The study reported upon in this paper examines the data from interviews with 200 American teachers from the State of Pennsylvania who had been subjected to a particular form of in‐class supervision known as the Madeline Hunter Model. Broadly representative of a range of intrusive surveillance schemes allegedly aimed at checking on efficiency and effectiveness, this process seems to have gained some pseudo‐legitimacy from the recommendations of a number of national reports on education. The data, however, reveal that this form of supervision promoted a form of ‘ritualism’ which teachers failed to take seriously; it concealed their personal and professional histories through episodic visits by outside experts; and it actively denied having a political agenda by claiming to be neutral, objective, value‐free and substantiated by findings from research on teaching. Although this research has made some useful beginnings on exploring the mediating linkage between macro‐school reforms as espoused by policymakers ...
20 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, it was found that the rates of provision are strongly related to the socio-economic characteristics of the authorities, such that playgroups predominate in the more affluent areas whereas high levels of nursery education are found in urban areas with more material disadvantage.
Abstract: It is estimated that in 1986 40‐50% of children in England aged 3 and 4 were attending pre‐school playgroups. Another 20% were receiving education in nursery schools and classes, mostly part time, whilst a further 20% were in the reception classes of infant schools, mostly full time. Using data on the provision of these services within each local authority in England it is shown that the numbers of nursery education and of playgroup places are strongly negatively correlated. Combining these statistics with data from the 1981 Census it is also shown that the rates of provision are strongly related to the socio‐economic characteristics of the authorities, such that playgroups predominate in the more affluent areas whereas high levels of nursery education are found in urban areas with more material disadvantage. 1. The work reported in this paper is part of a larger study of playgroups funded by the Department of Health, although the Department is not responsible for the views expressed.
19 citations
TL;DR: In this article, the authors argue that there are considerable tensions between the imperatives of a national training strategy, promoted centrally by the Training Commission, and its local implementation mainly by the local education authorities and their colleges of further education.
Abstract: Current policies aimed at promoting a ‘new vocationalism’ through changes in vocational training in further education are based upon a particular functional model of labour market behaviour, which sees the relationships between technical qualifications, training and recruitment to jobs as unproblematic. In fact, however, this model bears little relationship to the realities of actual labour markets, especially given the enormous diversity which exists between economic conditions in different localities. What this implies, therefore, is that there are considerable tensions between the imperatives of a national training strategy, promoted centrally by the Training Commission (and previously by the Manpower Services Commission), and its local implementation mainly by the local education authorities and their colleges of further education. In many local labour markets, far from promoting closer responsiveness to the needs of employers, current policy initiatives may actually be making it more difficult for th...
19 citations
18 citations
TL;DR: The Mini-Enterprise in Schools Project (MESP) as mentioned in this paper represents one aspect of the growing "education for enterprise" movement in Britain, catering for school students from the age of nine years, and making young people part-time capitalists or labourers during school time.
Abstract: The Mini‐Enterprise in Schools Project (MESP) represents one aspect of the growing ‘education for enterprise’ movement in Britain. It is distinctive in catering for school students from the age of nine years, and in making young people part‐time capitalists or labourers during school time. This paper examines some of the general issues relevant to the form of enterprise education promoted by the Mini‐Enterprise Project. MESP is analysed as an important development in the field of education‐industry relations, which has the potential to exert a significant influence on the future development of vocational schooling.
TL;DR: In this paper, the Education Reform Bill is contrasted with the 1944 Education Act, especially in regard to the schools sector and the responsibilities of local education authorities (LEAs), and the contrast is examined specifically in relationship to policies for access to education, where a right based on citizenship is compared with the differential opportunities required by a market place.
Abstract: The Education Reform Bill is contrasted with the 1944 Education Act, especially in regard to the schools sector and the responsibilities of local education authorities (LEAs). The 1944 Act is seen as part of the formation of a Welfare State after the devastation and social upheaval of the war, in which educational opportunity and notions of a just society were guiding principles. The 1988 bill is seen as based on the spirit of consumerism, individual entrepreneurism and competition: the values of the market. The contrast is examined specifically in relationship to policies for access to education, where a right based on citizenship is compared with the differential opportunities required by a market place, and through consideration of the different roles required of LEAs in a planned, comprehensive public service compared with a mixed economy of LEA and non‐LEA schools. It is argued that the strategic role of the LEA to plan and ensure provision as circumstances change will be more difficult to perform, a...
TL;DR: Burke and Rumberger as discussed by the authors, The Future Impact of Technology on Work and Education, by G. Burke and R. W.Rumberger, Falmer Press, London (1987), 250pp.
Abstract: ∗ The Future Impact of Technology on Work and Education, by G. Burke and R. W. Rumberger, Falmer Press, London (1987), 250pp. (cloth) £16.95, ISBN 185000 0832, (paper) £9.95, ISBN 0832.
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors examine the effect of tax changes on independent schools and find that the schools' special exemption from VAT is far more important than their relief from the direct taxes which follows from charitable status, they are likely to have suffered significantly from the latest tax cuts.
Abstract: The election of the Conservative Government in the UK in 1979 has brought several major changes in tax policy which have sought to encourage private charitable giving, at the same time as tax rates have been reduced dramatically. We examine the effect of these changes on independent schools. Although the schools' special exemption from VAT is far more important than their relief from the direct taxes which follows from charitable status, they are likely to have suffered significantly from the latest tax cuts. Government subsidies to private schools through general concessions to charities are likely to decrease further in importance, and be replaced by more direct, targeted support through grants and particular special schemes.
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors examine some of the reasons why colleges and universities amalgamate and illustrate the importance of merger at the national systems level through a detailed examination of the merger experience in Australia and the UK.
Abstract: Institutional amalgamation in higher education is used to change not only the structure, function and character of individual institutions, but also that of national systems of higher education. Merger is used extensively as a mechanism to further the bureaucratic control of higher education and to enforce the political will of governments on this sector of public activity. Although institutional amalgamation is a common experience for the higher educational systems of many countries, the political, educational and administrative implications of merger are little understood. This paper examines some of the reasons why colleges and universities amalgamate and illustrates the importance of merger at the national systems level through a detailed examination of the merger experience in Australia and the UK.
TL;DR: In this article, the authors examine the selection of schools for closure or amalgamation and examine in detail the procedures adopted and the proposals advanced in one local authority (LEA) and conclude that the criteria cited by the LEA were generally not capable of strict application.
Abstract: For more than a decade, LEAs have been under pressure to close schools. During this period the scale of contraction in school provision has been substantial but has nevertheless lagged behind DES expectations. This paper is concerned with the selection of schools for closure or amalgamation and examines in detail the procedures adopted and the proposals advanced in one LEA. While existing evidence suggests that the selection of schools for closure has generally been less than rational, the case selected is an example of what has been officially described as ‘strategic planning’ and ‘good practice’. Policy statements, criteria for selecting schools, and the characteristics of schools earmarked for closure are compared to assess the relationship between theory and practice. In practice, the criteria cited by the LEA were generally not capable of strict application. In addition, unstated criteria, notably school size, appear to have been significant. Thus, the LEA's proposals did not correspond directly to i...
TL;DR: This article argued that the best prediction for federal educational policy, programs, and funds over the next decade is low priority, few initiatives, and declining fiscal support, and that there are a set of generic factors, that the new administration chooses to define as endemic, that will prevent the new Administration from being more than a minor perturbation in determining the likely future of federal educational policies in this century.
Abstract: Despite President Bush's claim to an education presidency, the best prediction for federal educational policy, programs, and funds over the next decade is low priority, few initiatives, and declining fiscal support. There are, we will argue, a set of generic factors, that the President chooses to define as endemic, that will prevent the new administration from being more than a minor perturbation in determining the likely future of federal educational policy in this century. These controlling contextual factors are economic, ideological in both a political and educational sense, and attitudinal.
TL;DR: In this article, business involvement in education in the 1990s is discussed, and the authors present a survey of the role of business in education, focusing on three types of companies:
Abstract: (1989). Business involvement in education in the 1990s. Journal of Education Policy: Vol. 4, No. 5, pp. 107-117.
TL;DR: In this paper, a discussion examines Form IV Cambridge School Certificate pupils' aspirations in Zimbabwe with special reference to the post-independence period was carried out based on two major studies, one conducted in 1985 and the other in 1987.
Abstract: This article is based on two major studies. One study was carried out in 1985 and the other in 1987. The discussion examines Form IV Cambridge School Certificate pupils' aspirations in Zimbabwe with special reference to the post‐independence period. Among the main factors said to determine pupils' aspirations, highlighted in the study include: the class structures of scoiety, parents' occupations, gender, the urban‐rural dichotomy and the type of schools attended. Pupils' aspirations for a developing country such as Zimbabwe have implications for the country's education policies. These implications are in areas such as the expansion of educational provisions, universal primary education, material provision, educational costs, manpower supply and demand and entry into the University. As far as cost implications are concerned, there is debate in Zimbabwe as to whether the country can afford free and compulsory primary education given limited resources. At the same time limited resources have affected the qu...
TL;DR: The authors examines the system maintenance functions of the Catholic bureaucracy, especially its relaying of public resources and its filtering out of government and labour union controls, and examines the origins of demand for Catholic schools in the academic and social insecurities of the French middle and upper classes.
Abstract: Consumer demand for private schooling in France contributed to the fall of the Mauroy government in 1984 after attempts to integrate Catholic schools within the public system. While research has focused on the origins of demand for Catholic schools in the academic and social insecurities of the French middle and upper classes, less attention has been paid to the Catholic administration as a provider of schools and a defensive apparatus against state intervention. This paper examines the system‐maintenance functions of the Catholic bureaucracy, especially its relaying of public resources and its filtering out of government and labour union controls.
TL;DR: In this article, the authors examine the British Institute of Management/British Educational Management and Administration Society's code of practice and stimulate debate about proposals for a form of work experience which would provide equal opportunities and a radical education.
Abstract: In England and Wales during the 1980s there has been a large growth in the use of work experience as part of the education of school students. This has prompted an increasing number of organizations to produce guidelines aimed at facilitating the operation and educational aims of this activity. By examining critically the British Institute of Management/British Educational Management and Administration Society's code of practice, this paper aims to stimulate debate about proposals for a form of work‐experience which would provide equal opportunities and a radical education.
TL;DR: In this article, the authors introduce an explanatory framework to facilitate the analysis of country action in the field of information technologies (IT) and education, which includes three types of influence: social, political and economic context; information gained from current practice; the educational and other ideological assumptions of those who make decisions.
Abstract: This paper introduces an explanatory framework to facilitate the analysis of country action in the field of information technologies (IT) and education. The framework has components within the sphere of country action and ones external to it. External to the action are three types of influence. There is the wider social, political and economic context; the information gained from current practice; the educational and other ideological assumptions of those who make decisions. The action incorporates two logically distinct phases; policy formulation and implementation. Within the policy formulation phase is a separation of the specific IT and education policy from other educational, social, economic and political objectives. The policy itself is then categorized according to its location on four distinct scales. Activity in the implementation phase can be described by reference to five general characteristics; it being possible to identify several strategies for each characteristic. Each component of the ex...
TL;DR: In this article, the authors show that due to incrementalism and the existence of buffering factors in the form of political, legal and other constraints, the impact of economic austerity on the educational budget in F R Germany was less significant than expected.
Abstract: The article shows that due to incrementalism and the existence of ‘buffering factors’ in the form of political, legal and other constraints the impact of economic austerity on the educational budget in F R Germany was less significant than expected. Yet the same factors which protected the educational system from budget cuts seem to be dysfunctional from an internal point of view, since they prevent financial resources from being allocated according to political priorities. The recently updated ‘Comprehensive Education Development Plan’ forms the normative basis for the evaluation of allocation policy.
TL;DR: In the early 1980s political and economic constraints led to a withdrawal of support for major initiatives in Australia, this situation was reviewed by the newly elected Labor government in 1983 and the result was the reactivation of the national curriculum development centre with a brief to work collaboratively with local education authorities.
Abstract: Throughout the 1960s and 1970s efforts were made in the USA, UK and Australia to harnass national resurces to improve the quality of the school curriculum The various activities were initially well received but by the early 1980s political and economic constraints led to a withdrawal of support for major initiatives In Australia, this situation was reviewed by the newly elected Labor government in 1983 The result was the reactivation of the national Curriculum Development Centre with a brief to work collaboratively with local education authorities There was a deliberate move away from a centralized research and development model to one that relied on the identification of exemplary local initiatives that had the potential to inform educational practice on a national scale It is too early to provide any definitive evaluation of the success of this approach to national curriculum development Yet there are indicators that it has been accepted by both policy makers and practitioners thus creating an imp
TL;DR: Turner's views are seen as supportive of trends towards privatization, the enterprise culture and the restructuring of the education system as mentioned in this paper, in particular, the views of Turner are viewed as being supportive of the New Right on Conservative policy in education.
Abstract: In January 1989 one of the authors interviewed Andrew Turner, Director of the Grant Maintained Schools Trust. The full text of the interview is published in this article. An introductory section places the interview in the context of the growing influence of the New Right on Conservative policy in education. In particular, the views of Turner are seen as supportive of trends towards privatization, the enterprise culture and the restructuring of the education system.