Indicators in this volume provide international benchmarks for assessing the condition of education in U.S. states and in the United States as a whole by comparison with many other industrialized countries for which data are available. On six sets of indicators (37 indicators in all), country-level and state-level measures are arrayed side-by-side to facilitate comparison. The indicators are grouped into six categories: (1) background; (2) participation; (3) processes and institutions; (4) achievement and attainment; (5) labor market outcomes; and (6) finance. The presentation of each indicator includes an explanation of what it measures, why it is important, and key results from a comparison of countries and states. Throughout the report, comparisons are most often made in the text among like-sized entities. The presentation of each indicator also includes separate tables for states and countries and graphs that display states and countries together. Supplemental notes and a statistical appendix include supplemental and technical information on how measures in the indicators were calculated, and a glossary is included. (Contains 37 two-part tables and 37 figures, some of which have several parts.) (SLD)

Sponsored by the Association for Education Finance and Policy (AEFP), this groundbreaking new handbook assembles in one place the existing research-based knowledge in education finance and policy, thereby helping to define this evolving field of research and practice. It provides a readily available resource for anyone seriously involved in education finance and policy in the United States and around the world. The Handbook traces the evolution of the field from its initial focus on school inputs and the revenue sources used to finance these inputs to a focus on educational outcomes and the larger policies used to achieve them. It shows how the current decision-making context in school finance inevitably interacts with those of governance, accountability, equity, privatization, and other areas of education policy. Because a full understanding of the important contemporary issues requires input from a variety of perspectives, the Handbook draws on contributors from a variety of disciplines. While many of the chapters cover complex state-of-the-art empirical research, the authors explain key concepts in language that non-specialists can understand.

This book makes a compelling case for better international equity indicators in education. A conceptual framework for a system of comparable indicators is proposed and a spectrum of findings and perspectives presented. Topics include: the sociology of equality and equity in education; the application of theories of justice to educational equity, the trade-off between effectiveness and equity, heterogeneous versus homogeneous classrooms, and the influence of parental education.

China is experiencing an unprecedented phenomenon: breakneck industrialization on a scale and at a pace not seen before. It is trying to achieve in just a few decades what Western nations took more than a century to do. The arrival in the country’s cities of tens of millions of rural dwellers, at most semi-skilled, has put huge strain on the country’s system of vocational education, known as TVET. How have the Chinese authorities and their education administrators responded? Is China’s TVET system adapting to the rapidly evolving needs of its industry? Using the province of Yunnan as a subject, this detailed case study is a closely argued and sanguine analysis of the operation of TVET in China. The authors deployed a set of internationally comparable criteria to offer a searching assessment of current performance, at the same time documenting areas of strength and weakness. The question the authors’ methodology answers is how well China’s TVET system is performing compared to technical and vocational education structures in other countries. In fact, they discover that in Yunnan, a province representative of the challenges faced nationwide, much has indeed been done, from a wholesale overhaul of programs to make them relevant to industry requirements, to major investment in infrastructure. Teacher training has been reformed, and take-up of professional master’s and doctoral courses has been encouraged. Joint initiatives with bodies such as UNESCO have improved training and vocational education at high school level. While there is a strong international history of such comparative evaluations, which are essential for policy makers to benchmark their administration, few studies have included China despite the enormous amount of value that can be learned from that country’s experience. This work will provide vital material for researchers, governments and development agencies alike.

Work. Hard work! And plenty of it. That is what has made the United States into the world's foremost economic superpower. But while we Americans value and respect work, we are also concerned about economic justice. We like to see all workers earn a fair day's pay for a fair day's work. And we like having a safety net to catch those who cannot compete successfully in our labor markets. America works because of this balance between the desire to reward work and our concerns about economic justice. But according to Jon Forman, America could work even better. In Making America Work, Forman explains how current government policies influence work and work behavior and makes the case for changing government tax, welfare, Social Security, pension, and labor market policies to encourage work and promote greater economic justice. It is a clear, provocative declaration of principles and a bold prescription for policies that restore and preserve the balance of work rewards and economic justice.