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Tracing activity in 15 Indian state assemblies from 1967 to 2007, we find that overall legislative activity declined but there was also considerable variation across states. States with large electoral constituencies and politically fragmented assemblies showed the worst performance, which suggests a link between political fragmentation and institutional performance.

A central claim in favor of decentralization is that it will improve access to public services, but few studies examine this question empirically. This paper, the policyoriented companion to Faguet and Sánchez (2009), explores the effects of decentralization on the uses and spatial distribution of public investment, and on access to health and education services in Colombia. I show that investment shifted from infrastructure to social services and human capital formation, and resources were rebalanced in favor of poorer districts. Decentralization improved enrollment rates in public schools and access to public health services. In both cases, poor people benefitted most. Four important lessons emerge. For decentralization to work well, (i) local governments must face harder budget constraints; (ii) central government must be scaled back; (iii) decentralization is composed of distinct, separable components, the sequencing of which is important.

Globalisation, widespread immigration and despair about totalising ideologies have led to a reconsideration of religion and secularism. Previously, civic education, while respectful of religious beliefs and practices observed in the private sphere, endorsed secular perspectives for the public sphere. Currently, the growing presence of religion in political discourse raises questions about its impact and consequences in the social sphere in general and education in particular. Interest in this topic developed recently but has not yet led to an increase in research studies of civic and religious education and is especially rare with regard to marginalised migrant and minority families. In this article, we show why the family is important for understanding religious and civic education and discuss how they are relevant to migrant and minority family life. We conclude that there is a need for more comprehensive research into religious and civic education that includes the migrant and minority family as a highly important factor in education. (DIPF/Orig.) ; Globalisierung, weltweite Migration und die Verbreitung totalitärer Ideologien haben zu veränderten Auffassungen über Religion und Säkularität geführt. Während zuvor eine zivilgesellschaftlich-demokratisch orientierte Bildung säkulare Perspektiven im öffentlichen Raum unterstützte, zugleich aber religiösen Glaubensvorstellungen und Praxen Respekt entgegenbrachte, nimmt aktuell die Präsenz des Religiösen in den politisch-gesellschaftlichen Diskursen zu. Es stellen sich neue Fragen hinsichtlich des Einflusses und der Folgen dieser Entwicklung für Bildung und Gesellschaft. Zwar ist das Interesse an dieser Thematik gestiegen, allerdings gilt dies noch nicht für die Forschung. Es fehlen insbesondere Studien zur Bedeutung von Religion in Zusammenhang mit zivilgesellschaftlicher Bildung für Familien in der Migration und Familien in der Minderheitensituation. Im vorliegenden Beitrag zeigen wir, warum die Familie für das Verständnis religiöser und zivilgesellschaftlicher Bildung wichtig ist, und diskutieren dies bezogen auf marginalisierte Familien. Deutlich wird der Bedarf an Studien, die Familie im Kontext von Migration und Minderheitensituation als zentralen Faktor von Bildung fokussieren. (DIPF/Orig.)

This essay provides a theoretical examination of the law regulating sex education and focuses in particular on the way in which it responds to teenage pregnancies. Adopt ing a post-structural approach, it seeks to demystify the 'common-sense' political consensus in Britain that the current rate of teenage pregnancies is a 'problem', by examining how they are problematized by the social constructions, and moral and economic values and calculations within dominant political discourses. It then demonstrates how these constructions translate into conflicting solutions, or pro grammes, of health education and moral education. In demonstrating how these pro grammes are deployed to govern child sexuality, this essay identifies a variety of techniques of government, such as how different meanings and attributes are given to words like 'children' and 'parents' and 'health' and 'biology'; how the knowledge and expertise of health professionals are legitimized within a particular location and how the curriculum structure itself performs a particular function. In examining the role of law throughout this process, this essay demonstrates how the law concerning sex education operates outside of a repressive juridical model and is able to connect the aspirations and aims of the state with more positive uses of power.

A demanda por cursos a distância entre os profissionais que trabalham em tempo parcial ou integral e que necessitam de atualizações contínuas em uma modalidade de aprendizagem conveniente, flexível, acessível, disponível a qualquer tempo e lugar defronta-se com barreiras à permanência dos alunos nesses cursos e, consequentemente, com altas taxas de evasão. O destaque dado à evasão e as razões para a sua ocorrência decorrem, em grande medida, da expansão da educação online e sua associação à qualidade dos processos de aprendizagem em ambientes virtuais. Entretanto, a diversidade de modelos teóricos utilizados, a extensa lista de variáveis apontadas como preditoras e o número expressivo de investigações que apresentam resultados divergentes acerca das causas da evasão sinalizam para o caráter complexo e multidimensional desse fenômeno. Esse artigo de revisão tem como metas discutir os diferentes conceitos e modelos teóricos e as variáveis identificadas como preditoras nos estudos sobre abandono em ambientes virtuais, bem como assinalar as estratégias para reduzi-la.

Myanmar is transitioning to democracy after five decades of military rule. The government plans to strengthen the national capacity for social welfare and social work training. Drawing on their experiences in developing and teaching Post-Graduate Diploma in Social Work in Yangon since 2006, the authors consider what forms of social work are relevant to Myanmar in its context as an emerging democracy in the Asia-Pacific region. The authors contend that, grounded in principles of human rights and social justice, Myanmar social workers have key roles to play in determining the future of social work and development in Myanmar.

Twenty years after South Africa's democratisation, Nelson Mandela's passing has prompted scholars to examine his legacy in various domains. Here we take a look at his legacy in education discourse. Tracing Mandela's thoughts and pronouncements on education we find two major emphases: a view of education as a practical means to economic development, and education as a means to social justice, human rights, and democracy. Assessing the legacy of these twin emphases, we conducted qualitative and quantitative content analysis of turning point documents in education policy and annual reports from the respective South African ministries of education over the last two decades. Our analysis reveals that although a focus on education policy for economic development has consistently remained strong, Mandela's view of education serving to foster social justice, inter-racial equality, human rights, and a deepening of democracy has faded from official educational policy discourse.

Since 1999, there have been changes in Venezuelan higher education, such as the establishment of new forms of university access, attempts to reform Universities Act, enacting a new Organic Education Law, among others. Consequently, one wonders what the real situation of Venezuelan higher education subsystem is and whether it has been building a new model of higher education in the last decade. In the present study, we attempt to answer these questions, in light of specific policies and plans established by the State regarding the education sector, quality management strategies, administrative‑governance organization basic forms, and the methodological framework for assessing quality.

<i>Subjectivity in education is not a new issue. It defines the position and role of participants
in educational processes (teacher, students). However, education combined with problems
of security may raise some doubts in interpretation. It is about identifying the subjects of
security. If you adopt the premise that a set of security subjects is not restricted to man and
social groups, then security education should also consider other subjects. Moreover, the
hazard society, as a product of the postmodern era involves the need for scientific research
and public discussion about man as the subject in the process of education and social
relations in general.</i>

Der Beitrag erörtert Fragen "politischer" Erziehung vor dem Hintergrund der Debatten um eine "zivile Bürgergesellschaft", dem "neuen" Republikanismus und "reaktivierten Kommunitarismus" gegenüber dem traditionellen Liberalismus und dem früheren Kollektivismus des "untergegangenen" real existierenden Sozialismus und Kommunismus. Indikatoren für diesen Diskurs sind die "Neuerfindung von Bürgerschaftlichkeit", die "neue Bürgerlichkeit" und die "Revitalisierung einer moralischen Erziehung zu politischen Handeln". Letztendlich geht es dem Autor hier um die Frage nach einer "lebendigen" Demokratie und politischen Kultur, die die heutige Jugend für die mannigfaltigen Herausforderungen durch die Globalisierung wappnet. Im Gegensatz zum Konzept der "politischen" Erziehung, wie sie durch die politische Didaktik an den deutschen Hochschulen vermittelt wird, plädiert der Autor für das Konzept einer "lernenden Demokratie" als einer Lebensform, einer Form der Gesellschaft und einer Form des Governance. (ICA).;;;[The author tries to clarify] the difference between citizenship education in the UK and the US on the one hand and political learning, as it has been propagated in Germany for the past decades, on the other. The Year 2005 has been declared "The European Year of Citizenship through Education" by the Council of Europe. It is certainly worthwhile to carry out research on this subject, while keeping in mind that "democracy develops from the bottom to the top and from the inside to the outside". ... No one is born to be a democrat. It is a matter of education. (DIPF/orig.).