A conspicuous production theory of resource allocation in higher education

Despite well-founded predictions that the 1970's and 80's would be characterized by excess capacity in graduate education, new graduate programs have continued to appear and existing programs have expanded capacity. This paper proposes a utility maximization theory to explain the continuation of the growth process and describes the nature of the public policy which will be necessary to effect changes in resource allocation in higher education. The basic hypothesis of the theory presented in this paper is that utility maximization of decision makers in higher education is functionally related to minimization of the gap between desired and prevailing institutional status. In an operational sense, status depends on an institution's factor complement, i.e., the institution's instructional and research programs and the quality of faculty and other inputs used to operate these programs. This implies that factor complements provide utility to decision makers in addition to their actual contribution to the educational process. Recognition of this factor and the oligopolistically interdependent nature of the decision making process in higher education is essential for the formulation of effective public policy to induce necessary reallocation of resources to graduate programs.     

Funding, resource allocation, and performance in higher education systems

This article analyzes forms of resourceallocation in university systems and theireffects on performance in institutions ofhigher education. Internationally, highereducation systems differ substantially withregard to research and education fundingsources and to ways that resources areallocated. European universities receive themajority of their funding from public sources,but private funding plays a more important rolein Anglo-American systems of higher education.Many governments use competitive elements inthe process of allocating public funds toinstitutions of higher education. Examplesinclude the implementation of performancemeasures through formula funding, or resourceallocation on the basis of evaluated projectproposals. Corresponding forms ofperformance-based resource allocation can befound within most higher educationinstitutions. This article analyzes how variousforms of funding and resource allocation affectuniversities at the macro-level and individualbehavior at the micro-level. A theoreticalapproach to this problem suggests thatperformance-based funding tends to bring aboutpositive changes but is also a factor inunintended side effects. Forms of resourceallocation influence the behavior of academicsand managers in higher education, particularlytheir levels of activity as well as the kindsof activities they engage in and their ways ofdealing with risks. Empirical analyses partlyconfirm these hypotheses. It can be shown thatchanges in resource allocation have an impacton the level and type of activity academicsconcentrate on but not on the long-term successof universities.     

Family, community, and educational outcomes in South Asia

In this article, we review research on the economics and sociology of education to assess the relationships between family and community variables and children’s educational outcomes in South Asia. At the family level, we examine the variables of family socioeconomic status (SES), parental education, family structure, and religion and caste. At the community level, we assess the limited research on the relationships between economic, cultural, and social characteristics and children’s educational outcomes. The literature presents several consistent relationships between the roles of family and community characteristics in determining educational outcomes and reveals several possibilities for further research.     

Loan burdens and educational outcomes

There is widespread concern among educators, policy makers, and students that the current generation of college graduates is being unduly burdened with debt. This study examines the impact of debt on the educational outcomes of recent graduating seniors from a set of private, expensive, highly selective colleges and universities. In particular, I investigate the relationship between borrowing levels and the likelihood of pursuing a graduate degree, a professional degree, and the career plans of the college class of 1998. The central conclusion drawn from this analysis is that students do not appear to be significantly influenced by their debt.     

教育资源配置与教育机会均等

教育机会均等作为教育民主化的一个重要方面，是当今国际教育界普遍关注的课题，也是许多国家教育政策追求的主要目标之一，本文从教育资源配置的角度阐述了教育机会均等的内涵，提出了为追求教育机会均等，配置教育资源时所应遵循的原则，以及在当前情况下如何优化配置教育资源以促进我国教育机会均等的实现。     

教育资源配置与教育机会均等

教育机会均等作为教育民主化的一个重要方面 ,是当今国际教育界普遍关注的课题 ,也是许多国家教育政策追求的主要目标之一。本文从教育资源配置的角度阐述了教育机会均等的内涵 ,提出了为追求教育机会均等 ,配置教育资源时所应遵循的原则 ,以及在当前情况下如何优化配置教育资源以促进我国教育机会均等的实现     

Child fostering and the educational outcomes of Jamaican children

The practice of informal fostering is prevalent in many developing regions of the world. Our paper investigates the effects of this practice on school attendance in Jamaica using a rotating panel data set of children constructed from the 2004, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, and 2010 rounds of the Jamaican Survey of Living Conditions. Using panel data allows us to deal more effectively with the problem of endogeneity by being able to control for household and child fixed effects. Our findings indicate that the effect of fostering on school attendance depends on whether the household is a beneficiary of PATH, a conditional cash transfer programme instituted by the Government of Jamaica in 2001. We find that a foster child that lives within a non-PATH household is associated with being less likely to be absent from school than a foster child who lives in a household that benefits from PATH. This is true especially for foster girls. Although the PATH programme generally appears to be linked to the improvement in school attendance of Jamaican children, the benefits of the programme may be skewed towards biological children.     

Migration,remittances and educational outcomes: The case of Haiti

This paper empirically investigates how migration and the receipt of remittances affect educational outcomes in Haiti. Based on a theoretical approach it tries to disentangle the effects of both phenomena that have mostly been jointly modeled in previous literature. The results suggest that remittances play an important role for poor households in alleviating budget constraints. Household wealth, captured via an asset index, is found to have a significant impact on education as well, supporting the idea that budget constraints play a crucial role in schooling decisions in Haiti.     

高校内部资源配置研究

当前高校的内部资源配置工作还存在着很多问题,而这些问题会成为教学改革的最大阻碍。因此,为了更好的提高教学成效,深化教学改革,采取必要的策略做好高校内部的资源优化配置势在必行。     

谈新课改背景下的教育资源配置

2006年福建省开始实施的高中新课改,是一场既广泛又深入的教育创新,这次的课改涉及到培养目标的变化、课程结构的调整、课程内容的更新等,教育资源亟待重新配置.在新课改背景下必须结合校情,遵循市场配置与计划配置的经济理论,努力做好物质教育资源、非物质教育资源的重新配置与优化组合,才能获取最佳的课改效果.     

河南省教育资源均衡配置研究

文章根据教育资源的内涵,建立了教育资源综合评价体系,构建了教育资源水平评价模型,并运用此模型对河南省18个地市的教育资源水平进行核算。结果表明:河南教育资源配置状况存在明显的差距,郑州、济源两市教育资源配置水平最高,周口、驻马店、商丘三市最低。据此,提出了五个统一的教育资源均衡配置理念,通过优化配置物质资源、优化配置教师资源,达到均衡配置河南教育资源的目的。     

论高等教育资源配置的利益主体博弈与教育公平

教育公平是目前社会普遍关注的一个问题,本文从博弈论的角度对高等教育主体间的资源配置过程中的博弈行为及利益取向进行了分析,并通过博弈主体的利益要素和制度的创新,高等教育各主体间的博弈均衡对如何有效的配置提出优化配置教育资源与实现教育公平的政策制度。     

基于资源配置的农村职业教育公平探析

农村职业教育是真正的"平民"教育,发展农村职业教育事业,可以促进农村经济发展,提高农村人口素质,缩小城乡差距,有助于解决"三农"问题,也从真正意义上实现了教育公平。文章以农村职业教育公平的内涵为切入点,从资源配置的角度分析我国农村职业教育公平的问题,剖析农村职业教育不公平的原因,提出了促进我国农村职业教育公平的对策与建议。     

论学生差异资源的教育学价值

个体的差异性和独特性是人类社会文化多姿多彩的重要源泉,是人类社会文明不断进步的推动力。差异是教育教学生态系统发生发展的基本条件,没有差异课堂生态也就失去了存在的基础。尊重差异,把学生带来的东西作为一种学习环境的资源,其教育学价值就是促进主体间互动、激励、协作和共生共长,追求高水平、高质量,促进每个人最大限度的发展;教师是学生差异资源的促进者、开发者和组织者。     

利用军校教育资源,促进高等教育大众化

军队院校是高等院校的一个重要组成部分，拥有相当数量的教育资源。在地方院校办学条件难以全面适应高校扩招需要的情况下，通过多种途径，充分利用军队院校教育资源，将对我军高等教育大众化的实现起到积极的促进作用。     

Long-term outcomes of educational action research projects

The outcomes of action research are examined through the 90 projects supported by the Action Learning Project. This was an initiative that aimed for quality enhancement of teaching and learning through supporting academics to engage in action research projects addressing some aspect of courses they taught. The evaluation of the individual projects indicated that almost all were successful in introducing the promised reform or innovation and of impacting for the better upon the learning of students enrolled in the target courses. There were also longer-term outcomes associated with engaging in the process of action research. The large majority of the participants felt that they perceived the following longer-term benefits: a lasting improvement to their teaching; a knowledge of how to conduct action research; development of their capacity to monitor and reflect upon their own teaching; and better teamwork skills. About half the participants felt they had also had some impact upon others in their departments. Overall, these longer-term outcomes indicate that action research by teachers is a highly cost-effective means of enhancing the quality of teaching and learning.     

Education,Accountability, and the Ethical Demand: Can the Democratic Potential of Accountability Be Regained?

This paper analyzes the impact of the idea of accountability on education. It considers the kind of relationships that are promoted or produced by the culture of accountability, both in order to understand what kind of relationships are made possible and to understand what kind of relationships are made difficult, or even impossible, as a result of the accountability regime. The paper explores how the managerial uses of the idea of accountability have become pervasive in contemporary education and how this has changed relationships among students, parents, teachers, and the state. Ultimately, accountability erodes relationships of responsibility. Zygmunt Bauman's "postmodern ethics" is used to gain a detailed understanding of why it has become so much more difficult to develop relationships of responsibility under the accountability regime. Bauman's proposal that we should take responsibility for our responsibility also suggests a starting point from which the democratic potential of accountability might be regained.     

The financial and educational outcomes of Bachelor degree non-completers

Student attrition is an area of constant concern for higher education managers and policymakers alike, yet little is known of the outcomes of those who depart higher education prematurely. We examine the educational and financial outcomes of students who start, but do not complete, a Bachelor-level course using data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics. We find that the number of non-completers is remarkably high, but also that the majority of Bachelor non-completers have completed some other form of tertiary-level qualification. Consistent with other research, we also find that Bachelor non-completers report higher incomes than those who have not attempted a Bachelor degree. The results suggest that the current sectoral focus on preventing student attrition is limited. Further strategies are required to re-engage students who have withdrawn from higher education and to understand the trajectories of partial completers and the impacts of partial completion.