101Book reviews / International Journal of Educational Development 22 (2002) 95–105

the developing context that universities are andwill increasingly be operating in as the 21st centuryunfolds. With information and knowledge beingthe catalyst for future prosperity, it is argued thatuniversities are perfectly placed to play a centralrole in the establishment of knowledge-basedinformation-intensive economies. This is followedby an excellent overview of the current state ofuniversities in the Commonwealth, which managesin barely twelve pages to synthesize much of whatis currently taking place in university educationspanning a grouping of nearly thirty independentdisparate nations with over 400 universities. Therefollows a chapter that argues for a new emphasison the development of science education and advo-cating that each university develop its own individ-ual Science and Technology niche that takes cogni-sance of local circumstances. This sentiment isfurther echoed by Ruth Pearson (Director of theCentre for Development Studies, Leeds University,UK) who advocates a rethink of the university mis-sion within the local context, while at the sametime taking due cognisance of recent developmentsin the new information and communication techno-logies. The possibility of creating graduateemployment is always a concern, and the nextchapter reviews the relationship between graduateoutput and the labour market. An emerging under-standing in economic development is that edu-cation is positively associated with income growthand university education is the most significantvariable. As a matter of economic strategy, it there-fore seems logical that one of the critical successfactors for future prosperity will be throughincreasing the opportunities to participate in uni-versity level education. After a penultimate chapteron university networking, the report closes with anall-important section on financing. Expanding uni-versity education is a fairly easy argument to make;dealing with the questions of how much it willcost, how it will be financed and who will pay israther more difficult. This final chapter providesthe usual recipe of cost sharing and revenue diver-sification, and proposes a range of cost-efficiencymeasures. Unfortunately the author does not comeout strongly enough to argue that the principal ben-eficiaries, the students, will inevitably have to carrya greater burden for the financing of their studies,

for it is principally through a strategy of real tuitionfees and student loans that the growth and develop-ment of universities can be realistically achieved.

This is an interesting read and a good introduc-tion to the debate on the role of university edu-cation which will hopefully contribute to thereawakening of some of the Commonwealth’spoorer institutions which have been allowed towither through the neglect of previous policies.

Richard NeillDeputy Director (Institutional Research),

University of Botswana, Postbag 0022,Gaborone, Botswana

E-mail address: neiljr@mopipi.ub.bw

PII: S0738- 0593( 01 )00022-0

Needs-Based Resource Allocation in Educationvia Formula Funding of SchoolsKenneth N. Ross and Rosalind Levacic (Eds.);International Institute for Educational Planning,UNESCO, Paris, 1999, pp. 257, paperback, ISBN92-803-1171-9

Since the late 1980s and during the 1990s, therehas been increased emphasis on decentralisation offinancial decision-making to the school level, inthe environment of a move towards market-basedapproaches within the education sector. In this con-text, the book traces the conceptual, methodolog-ical and empirical evolution of different stages offormula funding for schools. It is divided into threemain parts. First, an overview of the policy contextand basic principles and criteria for assessing fund-ing formula are provided (Chapters 1–3). Secondly,the book offers an analysis of the four maincomponents of formula funding (in relation tobasic student allocation, curriculum enhancement,school sites needs, and student supplementary edu-cational needs) (Chapters 4–6). Thirdly, it includesan empirical analysis of the application of formula

* Corresponding author.

102 Book reviews / International Journal of Educational Development 22 (2002) 95–105

funding, using four case studies from Australia,England and Wales, USA and Canada, and NewZealand (Chapters 7–10).

The book highlights the increasing sophisti-cation of formula funding over the last decade,concluding that the more developed formulae offerconsiderable benefits in terms of improvements inequity, efficiency, effectiveness, transparency andaccountability. The case studies provide a practi-cal, detailed description of the application of for-mula funding in different contexts, highlighting thesuccesses and limitations of different approachesin practice. In particular, technical and politicalconstraints to their implementation are indicated.However, although the case studies note the impor-tance of assessing formula funding in relation toeducational outcomes, no systematic evidence isavailable.

Policy makers, educational planners and school-based practitioners have much to gain in readingthe book, as it provides useful ideas for developingneeds-based funding formulae for schools. Thebook argues that there is a widespread acceptanceof the rationale for, and advantages of, formula-based funding, and that is set to continue in thecontext of the current drive towards educationaldecentralisation and school-based management. Akey lesson of the book for policy makers and edu-cational planners is the challenge they face in bal-ancing ‘simple’ with more ‘sophisticated’ andcomplex models of funding. School-based prac-titioners may, however, require more concreteadvice than is provided to enable them to applydevolved budgeting formulae successfully, as thebook notes that such a process is crucial indetermining educational priorities. The book alsolacks consideration of change management stra-tegies which will be necessary to enable policymakers, planners and practitioners to develop andimplement needs-based formula funding.

A number of issues are apparent for those inter-ested in international educational development.Given the focus of the International Institute ofEducational Planning (IIEP — the publisher of thebook), it would have been instructive for the bookeither to include examples of applications of for-mula funding approaches from developing coun-tries and/or to include a discussion of the appropri-

ateness of the examples provided to the developingcountry context. The book does suggest that thefirst generation of formula funding (usingpupil/teacher ratios and small per pupil allowancesfor consumable items as the basis for determiningfunding) is applicable to developing countries. Onthe one hand, the desirability of this method, parti-cularly in relation to ensuring the achievement ofequity objectives, is subject to debate. On the otherhand, the application of more sophisticated fundingformulae in the context of developing countriesmay be problematic, as the criticisms raised inrelation to their practical application in developedcountries are likely to be even more evident.

Two assumptions that underpin the book areopen to question, and these have important impli-cations for the adoption of needs-based resourceallocation formulae in both developed anddeveloping countries. First, formula fundingrequires a more sophisticated and robust manage-ment and information system at all levels of aneducation system (national, regional/provincial,local/district and school) than is commonly avail-able. Secondly, the book asserts that the variousfunding formula models may be applied to central-ised education systems, but this argument is notadequately developed. Furthermore, there is con-siderable policy debate about the efficacy anddesirability of adopting formulae that presume ahigh degree of decentralisation which is notadequately addressed in the book. These debatesrelate in particular to the policy values such as equ-ity, efficiency, liberty, and economic growth andproductivity, which the authors discuss in Chap-ter Two.

The book is a timely contribution to rethinkingthe funding of education in relation to needs-basedresource allocation, and provides an importantfocus for considering the further development offunding formulae for school systems in thedeveloped world. The implications for funding ofother sub-sectors of the education system, such ashigher education, are not, however, dealt with inthe book. In addition, to the extent that more soph-isticated approaches to formula funding might beconsidered appropriate for developing countries,attention to the particular constraints they face isrequired. The success of the complex formula

103Book reviews / International Journal of Educational Development 22 (2002) 95–105

funding approach which is advocated cruciallyhinges on the extent to which there is the politicalwill and capacity to implement it, which goesbeyond consideration of its design.

Pauline Rose*

Institute of Development Studies,University of Sussex,

Brighton, East Sussex BN1 9RE, UK

Yusuf SayedCentre for International Education,

University of Sussex,Brighton, East Sussex BN1 9RE, UK

PII: S07 38- 0593 (01)00 024- 4

Routledge International Companion to Edu-cationBob Moon, Sally Brown and Miriam Ben-Perez(Ed.); Routledge, London, 2000, pp. 1006, ISBN9780415 118149

In order to review this book, one has to thinkabout the audience, and not be tempted to imaginewhat one would have compiled for oneself givena free choice. With 58 contributions and 1006pages, this is clearly a library volume, which stu-dents of education would consult in the main,together with lecturers looking for the ‘state ofplay’ in a field. It aims to capture ‘new workaround the key educational debates’ , asking ‘auth-oritative’ authors to provide a contemporary analy-sis of a field and look forward to where newinsights might come from. No single reviewer canassess whether such new work and authoritativeanalysis is the case in all the individual chapters,given the diversity. I can merely try to put myselfin the place of my international students and mycolleagues, and assess its usefulness in the questfor contemporary information and critique.

The volume is divided into five sections: Foun-dations; Processes; Substantive Issues; Sectors; andSubjects. The opening section ‘Foundations’ wouldbe expected to cover the key ‘discipline’ areas

within education, and indeed begins with philo-sophy, followed by moral education. There arethree chapters broadly within psychology(cognition and learning), one on classroom teach-ing, one on language, one on economics of edu-cation and one on comparative education. There isno chapter on sociology of education, which is acurious omission. I suspect that this may bebecause of the UK bias to the book, where socialsciences have been consistently suppressed by con-servative governments, and are only now begin-ning to find favour again with the advent of cit-izenship education. But the volume may miss outon the Japanese market as well as the Eastern Eur-opean market, where sociology of education ishighly valued and promoted.

‘Processes’ , secondly, are ‘ the means by whicheducational purposes are enacted’ , covering areassuch as management, policy, curriculum andassessment, as well as community schools, schooleffectiveness and educational research. It is goodto have a contribution on ‘didactics’ , which is adifferent European discourse (and one also used inSouth Africa). ‘Substantive issues’ , thirdly, is awonderful collection of often contested areas: stan-dards, mainstreaming, home-schooling, peace edu-cation, feminism, multiculturalism/anti-racism,environmental education, media, health educationand computers. ‘Sectors’ then divides up educationby age and place, moving from primary educationto adult and higher education, and includingteacher education and the interface between edu-cation and work. Finally, ‘Subjects’ includes mostof the traditional school curriculum (language,maths, science, history, geography, citizenship,technology, foreign languages, drama, arts andmusic). Political education does not receive aspecialist mention, but, more strangely, nor doesreligious education or personal/social education.

The coverage is good, but a missing area for theworld in 2001 is something on education in tran-sitional societies, or education in disaster or post-conflict societies, or refugee education: there islittle acknowledgement of the major patterns ofmovement and migration, except in the chapters inmulticultural education.

My concern in the main is how far this is trulyan ‘ international’ companion. The editors reported