Die ?sterreichische Studierendenanwaltschaft: ein effizientes Beschwerdeinstrument oder Multifunktions-Hybrid?

Bereits 1997 ist im damaligen Bundesministerium für Wissenschaft und Verkehr die Studierendenanwaltschaft, ?hnlich wie andere Sonderanwaltschaften des Bundes, eingerichtet worden. Mit der Einführung von Studiengebühren an Universit?ten und Fachhochschulen 2001 wurden ihre Agenden von einer reinen Informations- auf eine ministerielle Beschwerdestelle zur Meldung und Behebung von Missst?nden und Unzul?nglichkeiten ausgeweitet. Nach zehn Jahren T?tigkeit zeigen die Erfahrungen aus dem Alltag, dass überwiegend informelle Individualhilfe im Vordergrund der T?tigkeit dieser Einrichtung steht. Systemm?ngel sind schwerer zu beheben, da solche meist ressourcenbedingt oder mit einander konkurrierenden gesetzlichen Regelungen verbunden sind und es keine festgelegten Normen des Einschreitens innerhalb der offiziellen Rechtsaufsicht des Ministeriums gibt. L?sungen sind von der Kooperationsbereitschaft der Verantwortlichen vor Ort abh?ngig.     

The limited value of planning in education: Getting back to the basics isn't all about curriculum

In these times of tight budgets and political intoleance for taxation, public schools, particularly urban public schools, will continually have to look for ways in which to spend less while dealing with ever-increasing societal problems. While the ability of schools to improve the overal “product” with less resources is highly suspect, this article addresses one way in which spending less might actually improve school perfomance. The best planners in the best schools should be the administration, techers, students, parents, and the comminitu at large, and not outside esxperts hired to improve a school's “comprehensive” or “strategic” plan. By forcing the segments of the public that have the largest stake in the educational outcomes of schools to work together to plan for the future, schools will improve the efficacy of their staffs, their students, and allow parents the self-satisfaction of playing an important role in their children's education. An improtant side effect of such a method may be an increasing awareness by the public of the difficulties that schools face, and perhaps a better understanding of the important need for higher expenditures. His research interests include professionalism, collective bargaining, and educational reform. His articles have appeared inPeople and Education, and a recent article has been aceepted for publication in theJournal of Collective Negotiations in the Public Sector.     

A systematic follow‐up approach for mainstreaming students with behavior and emotional disorders

The Behavior Intervention Centres are part of the Houston Independent School District's (HISD) Special Education Department. Their purpose is to provide educational services to elementary and secondary students, aged 3 through 21, who exhibit either severely aggressive or severely withdrawn behaviours. This article describes a formalized follow‐up service considered by the authors to be a critical component of the BIC program.     

A Vote for Consensus: Democracy and difference in Japan

How evident is democracy within education in Japan, and is current practice different from elsewhere? This paper assesses the perception that Japanese political and educational practices are not fully 'democratic'. The first part examines the Japanese perspective on democracy, and then considers democracy and education in Japan. From a school-based study, the second part discusses examples of class practice concerning decision-making. The paper concludes that democracy is deeply rooted in Japanese history, but not in a form that is readily recognisable to Western observers. Consensus has been more significant than voting. The view that the US administration had a strong influence probably reflects policy rhetoric, not the reality in schools. But this rhetoric may have led to a belief that 'democracy' is not an appropriate term within contemporary Japanese education. However, what happens in Japanese classrooms equates with 'democratic' practice elsewhere.     

Books and articles of academic interest

Books and articles of academic interest