Who's In Charge Of Quality? The Governance Issues In Quality Assurance

Tertiary Education and Management - This essay, exploring the general question of how quality assurance has changed the relationship between government and higher education, discusses two important...     

Buying power? Some outcomes of income for women

Proponents of income generation as a development strategy for women assume it will foster independence and economic power. However, household relationships affect women's ability to control their income. Prevailing codes of gender relationships may place the husband in control of all income. Women's participation in income generating projects may be inhibited if they do not expect to control the proceeds of their effort. Case histories from eastern Kenya of the Giriama and Mijikenda demonstrate how husbands control not only income but even group membership and participation. While household heads control the labor and income of other household members, how they choose to exercise these rights may vary. The wife's participation is viewed as withdrawing labor and cash from the household, so the husband has a claim on her income. The arrangement usually functions to benefit the household and ensure its success. Conflicts arise when the wife perceives that the arrangement is not beneficial to the household. Cultural differences between different ethnic groups may result in very different patterns of expenditures of women's income. Women are invariably in a subordinate position, dependent on their husbands to fulfill their share of the household responsibilities. Income generation enthusiasts are often ill informed about the context in which their programs operate.     

变革与绩效:高等教育的质量保障

随着高等教育规模和数量的扩大，世界各国都越来越关注高等教育的绩效和质量保障，采用各种方法来进行质量控制。文章介绍各国的经验和做法，指出由于高等教育的复杂性，不可能只有一个质量保障的方法，而由于每种方法都有其缺陷，评价绩效和质量保障必须采用多种方法。     

“角逐卓越”:美国奥巴马政府中小学教育改革新动向

美国的奥巴马总统在2009年提出了"角逐卓越"计划,以竞赛的方式评定各州的基础教育改革计划,并以此来分配改革基金,以期在全国范围内促进教育质量的提升。2010年的首次实施取得了预期的效果,极大地促进了各州在竞争机制下创新改革教育的积极性,并在保持教育分权的基础上有效地引导了各州教育的发展方向,但同时也存在着各州间实际差异考虑不足的问题。