As of September 2012, only Alaska, Minnesota, Nebraska, Texas, and Virginia had not adopted the Common Core State Standards (CCSS). Yet empirical evidence that demonstrates the efficacy of the initiative remains elusive. The Emperor has no clothes (Tienken 2011a). This latest installment of standardization and centralization of curriculum and…

On the verge of signing a contract to help design assessments for the common standards, ACT Inc. has withdrawn from the project amid conflict-of-interest questions sparked by its own development of a similar suite of tests. Even though it involves only a small subcontract, the move by the Iowa-based test-maker, and the questions from the state…

Digital, online, and other electronic technology has transformed the nature of social work practice. Contemporary social workers can provide services to clients by using online counseling, telephone counseling, video counseling, cybertherapy (avatar therapy), self-guided Web-based interventions, electronic social networks, e-mail, and text…

This paper, which was given as the Dudley Allen Sargent lecture at the 2012 conference of the National Association for Kinesiology and Physical Education in Higher Education, discusses the politics of physical education. It examines how both national politics and local/campus politics affect the discipline. Drawing from the history of national…

The major purpose of this article was to disclose the quality of education in the Muslim world and try to clarify the misperceptions in the West and in the Muslim world about Islamic education. It also tries to highlight the efforts of Islamic scholars in filling the gaps between them. Education in the Muslim world and Islamic education have…

Academic institutions modified their financial conflict of interest policies (FCOI) in response to the Public Health Service's (PHS) 2011 revised regulations (42 CFR 50 Subpart F) on "Responsibility of Applicants for Promoting Objectivity in Research and Responsible Prospective Contractors" (45 CFR 94), which were to go into effect on…

Does the internationalisation of Asian higher education give preference to Western faculty members, especially against the backdrop of internationalisation trends that call for an importation of Western pedagogical practices, ideas, and standards? This article seeks to complicate such a claim through close examination of the Western faculty…

The Vietnamese government aims to expand the scale of Naturland certified organic production in integrated shrimp-mangrove farming systems across the coast of Ca Mau province by 2015. In doing so the division between public and private regulation has become blurred. We analyze the government's goal by examining the regulatory challenges of using…

Inspired by real-life events, this case describes the dilemma of a novice assistant principal who must balance her role as an administrator at her high school campus where a cousin's son, Eddie, recently enrolled and is proving to be disruptive the first month of school. Troubled by questions of ethics and loyalty, the issue is complicated after…

Catholic colleges and universities are caught between two competing pressures. On the one side the church hierarchy, especially the Vatican, wants to make certain that these institutions of higher learning remain faithful to the intellectual tradition and the teachings of the church. On the other side these institutions exist in a postmodern world…

In 2012-2013, a working group of grassroots organizers and leaders from around the country met under the auspices of the "Annenberg Institute for School Reform" (AISR) and "Communities for Public Education Reform" (CPER) to explore the impact of rapid charter expansion on parents, students, and communities. The participants,…

The Forum on Education Abroad was formed by educational institutions and study abroad program provider organizations committed to academic excellence and superior professional program management in higher education abroad. As the organization recognized by the U.S. federal government as the standards setting authority for the field, the Forum and…

Heightened commercialism on campus is pulling universities and their faculties away from higher education's core commitment to academic research, teaching, and the production of reliable public knowledge. Nearly a century ago, similar threats led to the birth of a new faculty organization--the American Association of University Professors…

Being a good board member is a tough responsibility these days. Boards are under increased scrutiny in the wake of recent events regarding inappropriate oversight. Organizations send board members an ever expanding volume of material to facilitate informed decision-making. There's mounting pressure for governing boards to be strong and effective.…

When Chiquita Brands considered relocating its corporate headquarters, competing cities started Twitter campaigns to influence the decision by communicating directly with the chief executive officer. As he used the new microblogging channel, some of his previously private communication became public, some personal communication became…