The effective design,implementation and enforcement of socio-economic equality duties: lessons from the pupil premium

Abstract

The UK has extremely high levels of socio-economic inequality, which are predicted to rise over the next five years. Traditionally, equality law was seen as inappropriate to address socio-economic inequality but in the last decade, a growing number of equality duties have been introduced to address this persistent form of inequality. There is, however, little research on the principles that underpin these duties. This article seeks to address this gap through the use of data from interviews conducted with primary school personnel implementing the pupil premium. The article explores understandings of socio-economic inequality by individuals in schools; policy conflicts; the wider context of action to address socio-economic inequality; different decision-making processes; and accountability mechanisms. On the basis of the findings of this study, broad principles are outlined to inform the design, implementation and enforcement of socio-economic equality duties in the future.     

The Organization of Purchasing at German Universities: An Empirical Investigation

The objective of this article is two-fold: first, it studies how German universities organize their purchasing activities, and, second, it identifies patterns in the structure of the purchasing function and analyzes factors that influence the design of purchasing. For this purpose, the article develops an analytical framework based on ideas of contingency and organization theory and presents the results of an empirical study which analyzed the purchasing organization of 65 German universities. The results of the study indicate that German universities use a medium level of centralization and specialization to organize their purchasing activities, and that the purchasing process is highly formalized in most universities. As to influential factors of the structure of purchasing, the study indicates that the number of employees, the number of employees with purchasing-responsibility, the purchasing volume, and the number of students enrolled at the university influence the structural variables.     

Public Participation and Public Service Modernization: Learning from New Labor?

The public participation agenda is a significant element of public service reform in Europe and beyond. This article examines how citizen participation in local public services was conce ived and enacted under successive New Labor governments in the UK during the period 1997–2010. It is suggested that the emphasis on public participation was central to the ethos of New Labor. This accounts for the persistence of the participation agenda even in the face of scant empirical evidence that specific engagement and empowerment initiatives were successful. Significantly, there was no single New Labor participation narrative. There were instead several distinct strands, drawing variously from the Party's received traditions of State welfarism, corporatist central-local relations, municipal socialism, Blairite managerialism, and, lastly, mutual cooperativism. The article assesses the legacy of New Labor and public participation in the UK before drawing wider conclusions relating to international experience.     

NPM Reforms and Professionals in Health and Higher Education in Portugal

The aim of this article is to analyze comparatively how academics, physicians, and nurses positioned themselves in relation to the reconfiguration of power structures and decisional processes, under New Public Management influence, in the hospitals, and higher education institutions. The empirical data are gathered from a survey applied to the three professional groups. Quantitative results show that the three groups have similar positions concerning power concentration at institutions’ top governance. However, relevant differences emerge in their views concerning the organization and control of the social division of work and also of their professional practices.     

文化传承创新视域下的高校思想政治教育

高校开展思想政治教育工作的重要目的是为了实现文化的传承创新,两者之间是辩证统一的关系。从高等教育的基本职能、大学生思想现状等来看,高校在开展思想政治教育工作时,需要通过以下三个方面加强文化传承创新：一是要增强思想政治教育的人文内涵和底蕴,不断加强校园文化建设;二是要坚持思想政治教育课程改革创新,以文化教育为载体,做到政治性与文化性兼具;三是要坚持以人为本,培养大学生文化自觉和自信,以实现思想政治教育、自我教育双赢。     

高职毕业生创办微小企业的立体支持体系构建

我国每年的高职毕业生中,选择自主创业的人数占总毕业生人数的比例较少,并且创业成功率较低。导致高职学生创业率低和创业成功率低的原因较为复杂,亟须构建包括高职院校、政府、社会、高职学生在内的创办微小企业的立体支持体系。     

论高等教育评估的民主化策略

高等教育评估的民主化是当前高等教育发展不可阻挡的历史潮流,评估权力需要由政府向公民社会让渡。具体的民主化策略包括:发挥评估利益相关者的作用;加强评估自组织建设;加强评估信息的公开性。在发挥评估利益相关者的作用方面要疏通表达渠道,让其参与评估决策和评估监督,并且需要从观念、制度和形式上给予保障;在评估自组织的建设上既要重视高校内部和外部自组织的建设,也要重视评估中介自组织和社群组织的建设;在信息公开方面,既要公开高校的基本信息,也要公开评估的过程和结果等相关信息。只有实现了高等教育评估的民主化,高等教育评估才能健康发展。     

高职教育法律课程的探索与创新

我国高职教育已经占据了高等教育的半壁河山,高等教育已经大众化,同时高职教育结构体系逐渐完善.但作为高职教育之一的法律高职教育在发展过程中还有一些不尽如人意的地方.通过对高职教育法律课程设置目的的分析,就高职教育法律课程内容、方式的创新进行探讨.     

The Spiritual Well-Being of African-Americans

SUMMARY

This multi-method study explored the relationship between gender, spirituality, spiritual well-being, and several indices of religiosity including religious participation and religious motivation. Different patterns of relationships among these indices emerged for men and women. For men Spiritual Wcll-Being was related to the presence and influence of church-oriented socializing agents as well as to the belief in God's power to influence the course of events. Mean scores on measures of the importance of religion, current religious participation, religious motivation, as well as spiritual well-being were not significantly different for men and women.     

Linking Academics and Social Learning

Abstract

This article examines how school staff conceptualize their work with youths in an alternative school for weapon policy offenders after having undergone at least one year of a whole-school violence prevention program conducted by the Syracuse University Violence Prevention Project. The article examines the intent of school staff, their ideas, perspectives, and language about youths, violence, and schooling, and provides insights into the challenges and benefits of a whole-school approach to violence prevention. Their insights highlight what is needed for a violence prevention program to be successful. A major issue raised in the article is the importance of linking social learning and academics in violence prevention strategies, and of sustaining collaborative efforts that connect conflict resolution to acts of justice and support for youths' intellectual and emotional lives.