Resources, unit costs and the curriculum : an analysis of changing priorities in local education authority secondary schools in England
There are major variations in education provision between areas yet their analysis remains undeveloped. This thesis examines variations in resources and the curriculum in English education in the early 1980s. It argues that these variations are one of the major outcomes of the relationships between actors in the education service established in the post-war era. Despite their importance, the patterns of provision have been subject to little previous systematic empirical assessment. The first part of the thesis develops a framework for analysis of the relationships between actors in education: central government, local authority and school. This framework provides the structure for the empirical analyses which follow. A hierarchical research design is adopted which facilitates the examination of the effect of each level on the distribution of resources and their translation into curricula. Four contrasted case studies were selected for analysis. The results of original surveys are drawn upon to examine the management context. The second part of the thesis presents an original analysis of the impact of changes to the system of central grants to local authorities. National data sources are used to examine in detail the impact of these changes on secondary education expenditure. The focus then shifts to examine the distribution of resources within the four case study areas and their relationship to the socio-economic characteristics of school catchments and 'technical' factors such as size. Having established the patterns of resource distribution, the thesis moves to an original examination of the translation of these resources into curricula. The curriculum profiles of the case study authorities are compared, and, for two areas, changes over time are analysed. In the final section, the thesis examines variations in the curriculum between schools, examining their relationship to school background factors and resource levels.
THE FINANCE OF LOCAL GOVERNMENT IN ENGLAND AND WALES SINCE 1948: Part III
(1) Is it practicable and desirable to increase the relative share of rates in the revenues of local authorities? (2) Is it practicable and desirable to find some new sources of local revenue? (3) Is it practicable and desirable to change the present balance between general and specific grants? (4) Is it practicable and desirable to use grants to equalize the fiscal resources of local authorities? (5) Is it practicable and desirable to regulate local authorities' capital expenditure by controlling their access to outside funds?
Child psychiatry curricula in undergraduate medical education.
OBJECTIVE
To review the literature describing the content and time allocated to undergraduate medical education curricula in child and adolescent psychiatry and make recommendations about child and adolescent psychiatry teaching goals and curricula content.


METHOD
A literature search from 1970 to February 2007 using the key words undergraduate, curriculum, teaching, education, psychiatry, child, adolescent, and medical school, was conducted using PubMed, PsycINFO, and Web of Science.


RESULTS
There is limited agreement about curricula content for undergraduate child and adolescent psychiatry teaching programs in medical schools, with a wide range of objectives identified by different programs. On average, the time allowed for teaching child and adolescent psychiatry is small. There is also great variation in the time allocated by different medical schools. In many countries, the number of child and adolescent psychiatrists with academic appointments is limited, and child and adolescent psychiatry programs are developed and taught by a small number of teaching staff at each medical school.


CONCLUSIONS
Medical schools should reconsider the relatively low priority given to teaching child and adolescent psychiatry to medical students. The child and adolescent psychiatry profession must identify clear learning goals for a longitudinal developmentally appropriate model of child and adolescent psychiatry education commencing at an undergraduate level in medical schools and continuing through residency and fellowships. There is a need to promote national and international standards for teaching in this area and to encourage stronger collaborations between teaching staff across different medical schools.