The article provides a century-long sociocultural history as it relates to curriculum and educational leadership. Not every historical dialogue between the two fields has been productive: that is, in addition to holding this complicated conversation, there needs to be a focus on the meanings of the public good inside national contexts, in our…

This article presents some of the main results from the project about early childhood and adolescent education of Nobel laureates in science: the exceptional roles of parents and of teachers in developing scientific talent. Winning a Nobel Prize represents the pinnacle of accomplishment possible in one's field of expertise. Despite the…

Is public education equitable and does it provide an equal opportunity to all children and youths? Equity in public school funding is a critical issue facing all communities and has been addressed by the courts in all but five states. A key focus is on funding gaps between rich and poor school districts. Recently, attention has turned to the…

This paper views seeking the optimal balance between state strengths and the scope of state functions for "good governance" as the formation of a homogenization-heterogenization matrix of policy initiatives in different social settings. Homogenization refers to a global tendency for institutional changes and governance framework to…

The Delors report remains a timely and challenging agenda for shaping education from the earliest years. This article reviews the status of basic education, defined as a passport to life in the report. Despite progress toward universal primary education and gender parity, countries are still far from education targets adopted in 2000. Lack of care…

The author provides notes on the historical context and membership of the consultative committees chaired by Sir W. H. Hadow, summarises each of the six reports produced between 1923 and 1933, and assesses the extent to which they informed the development of education in England, noting that the Plowden Committee felt compelled to reiterate many…

Whether to adopt national standards and tests has long been a subject of lively debate in the United States. With 47 states now participating in the Common Core State Standards Initiative, and a commitment from Education Secretary Arne Duncan to allocate hundreds of millions in stimulus funds to the development of common tests, the country is…

As the field of school administration gravitated toward conceptions of leadership based on business management and social-science research, its educational roots atrophied over the course of the 20th century. This paper makes the case for a new conceptual foundation for the profession and presents a possible framework for recasting the concept of…

The author analyzes three basic periods in the development of the level of education of the population of Russia over the span of a hundred years. The first period runs from 1897, when a nationwide census was carried out for the first time, to 1917. The second period, the Soviet era, runs from 1917 to the late 1980s. The third period started with…

We welcome you to the International Conference on Education and New Developments 2014, taking place in Madrid, Spain, from 28 to 30 of June, 2014. Education, as an important right in our contemporary world, began since we exist. Knowledge and skills were passed by adults to the young, and cultures began to extend their experiences through various…

This paper examines the last 2 decades of basic education reform in Chile with an emphasis on institutional and political dimensions. Chapter 1 centers on how the government has reoriented the formal and informal rules and incentives governing the behavior of teachers, parents, and administrators in an effort to produce greater system efficacy and…

In this seventh and final State of American Education Address, Secretary Richard W. Riley discussed the progress that has been made in education since his first address and challenged schools and communities to renew their commitment toward ensuring that all students achieve their fullest potential in the 21st century. Highlights include: "the…

Examines the conformity of national education policies of UNESCO member states to the principles of UNESCO's Convention against Discrimination in Education (adopted in 1960). Argues that international organizations play an important role in defining, transmitting worldwide, and institutionalizing (primarily Western) educational principles and…

Describes the four priorities of Ernest Boyer's "Basic School": the school as community; climate for learning; a curriculum with coherence; and a commitment to character. Suggests that the Basic School framework and the principles of "Information Power" are mutually supportive in developing a learning community characterized by…

Examines the World Bank's 1995 policy statement, "Priorities and Strategies for Education: A World Bank Review." Reviews the bank's evolving policy of the past 35 years. Interprets the statement in light of recent structural adjustment strategies and end of the Cold War, which have sharpened bank attitudes about economic, social, and…