The Need for Comprehensive Evaluation in Science Education

This article argues for policies regarding the implementation of evaluation as an integral part of science education reform. Approaches to evaluation should be made comprehensive enough to include multiple methods and, through their use, to gain in‐depth information on large‐scale science education programs and projects. There must be a sustained commitment from stakeholders such as the National Science Foundation to support the training of specialists in the evaluation of science education. Specialists who are able to arrive at independent conclusions that are meaningful and beneficial for science teaching and learning are needed. Evaluation recommendations posited by the authors should be put through careful analysis and feasibility testing before moving to widespread adoption.     

CHILDHOOD AND ADOLESCENT PREDICTORS OF PHYSICAL ASSAULT: A PROSPECTIVE LONGITUDINAL STUDY*

Data gathered over the course of an 18‐year prospective longitudinal study of more than 1,000 New Zealand children was used to examine the contextual, lifestyle, and childhood risk factors associated with young people's exposure to physical assault in late adolescence. Twenty‐three percent of males compared with 14% of females reported an assault between the ages of 16 and 18 years. However, although the prevalence and nature of young people's physical assault experiences differed in gender specific ways, the concurrent and antecedent risk factors that placed males and females at risk of physical assault were similar. The major predictors of physical assault during late adolescence included childhood measures of behavioral disturbance and parental dysfunction, in addition to measures of adolescent participation in a delinquent lifestyle, such as violent offending, status offending, and the misuse of alcohol. These findings support previous research suggesting a strong link between juvenile delinquency and victimization risk, and they contribute to an understanding of the role of gender and childhood experiences in predicting later risk of physical assault.     

Not a G2 But a Trio

The new world order has three major players:Europe,China and the United States on the occasion of the London I summit on April     

DECENTRING POLICY NETWORKS: LESSONS AND PROSPECTS

This Conclusion reflects on the contributions the various articles in this special issue have made to decentred studies of policy networks. It concentrates on three areas: the role of meaning in action in shaping networks; new research agendas that have been potentially opened; and key theoretical debates. In considering the theoretical debates, this Conclusion considers various criticisms of the decentred approach to exploring policy networks, before offering some suggestions for those who want to undertake decentred studies of policy networks.     

In Extremis: a Self‐defeating Element in the ‘Preventing Violent Extremism’ Strategy

The main policy reaction to the terrorist attacks of 7/7 and 21/7 of 2005 has been the development of the £6 million ‘Preventing Violent Extremism’ (PVE) initiative which aims, as part of the government's broader counter‐terrorism strategy (CONTEST), to tackle support for, and the promotion of, violent Islamist ideologies within British society. One crucial component of this strategy is providing support for Muslim groups and individuals to tackle radicalisation and extremism directly at the local level. Funding and charitable status for mosques, Muslim community and youth groups and initiatives, ‘forums against extremism’, anti‐extremism ‘road shows’, and the training of imams are included as part of this strategy. This article argues that this aspect of PVE is not only ill‐advised, but potentially deeply counter‐productive. It takes issue with two reasons that inform the PVE strategy: first, that what motivates individuals to join extremist groups are the religious ideas themselves; second, that government intervention or involvement is an effective method for rendering the moderate antidote attractive. Arguably, neither of these assumptions is warranted in the face of contrary evidence. Consequently, this arm of PVE is, at best, barking up the wrong tree; at worst, fuelling extremism.     

Economic Conditions and State and Local Education Revenue

This article uses information on state and local education spending from 1989–1990 through 2005–2006 to examine the impact of economic conditions on the pattern of real revenue per student. We find that typical economic and other observable education demand determinants are significant in explaining the pattern of real revenue per student before and after the 2001 recession. We also find that there is no economically significant change in how governments responded to economic conditions after the 2001 recession. Finally, our results provide strong evidence that local governments attempted to offset state declines in revenues by increases in local revenues.     

POLITICS BY HEURISTICS: POLICY NETWORKS WITH A FOCUS ON ACTOR RESOURCES,AS ILLUSTRATED BY THE CASE OF RENEWABLE ENERGY POLICY UNDER NEW LABOUR

Policy network analysis is criticized for being a ‘heuristic’ device, yet ‘heuristic’ methods may be essential to achieve detailed understandings of specific policy outcomes. Rational choice modelling alone cannot perform a similar function. This paper develops a ‘heuristic’ policy network approach that focuses on the analysis of actor resources. Changing contexts can alter the resource distributions of actors within a policy community. This can lead to new policy outcomes. Policy networks can therefore be rescued from criticisms made by, for example, Dowding, by re‐visiting Rhodes's earlier emphasis on analysis of actor resources. This approach is illustrated in the case of UK renewable energy policy under the UK government of New Labour. Changing contexts have strengthened the resources of the main renewable energy interest groups to achieve higher targets and more technology‐specific means of financial incentives. The Renewable Energy Association has achieved legislation favouring feed‐in tariffs as is the practice elsewhere in Europe for small renewable generators.     

Smoke but No Fire? The Politics of a ‘British’ Bill of Rights

This article systematically explores the political context behind Labour and the Conservatives' new commitment to a British Bill of Rights. This is linked to conflicting incentives to resist the current trajectory towards rights constitutionalism (‘Constitutional Freeze’), to further encourage further rights constitutionalism (‘Constitutional Fire’) and to engage in largely cosmetic change (‘Constitutional Smoke’). Ultimately, the latter has proved dominant for both parties. This demonstrates the difficulty of building political momentum behind significant revision of institutional responsibility for protecting human rights in stable, democratic settings. It specifically illustrates the strong barriers which both a hegemonic policy preserving and an ‘aversive’ constitutionalising dynamic must overcome to succeed.     

An Analysis of the Time to Adoption of Local Sales Taxes: A Duration Model Approach

The timing of the decision of local governments to adopt a local sales tax is explored in a duration model with time‐varying covariates. Our framework suggests a set of factors associated with the decision to adopt a local sales tax and we find empirical support for these factors. We also consider whether the adoption by one jurisdiction depends on the adoption by neighboring jurisdictions and find empirical support for interdependency of behavior.