Contemporary discourses of educational philanthropy highlight the increasing role that benefactors play in shaping schools' policy and practice. In Australia, there have been growing ethical concerns about the model of school funding and the attention it attracts from billionaire edu-philanthropists to support faith-based private schools as highly…

This article is premised on a view that early childhood education (ECE) is a public good and a child's right. As such, there is no place for ECE services to be treated as a private commodity that is bought and sold in the marketplace. Yet, despite policies to transform its ECE system under some enlightened governments, no substantive attempts have…

Success in the competition for external grants has become an important indicator when progressing in academic careers. Drawing on interview data with academics across various career stages and academic fields at one Finnish university, the study identifies four discourses that elucidate why research grants are deemed significant in advancing an…

Dissemination and evaluation of the PAX Good Behavior Game (PAX GBG) have produced a body of published and unpublished literature that, if mapped, can provide valuable insights for future expansion and evaluation efforts. Conducting a scoping review of implementation and dissemination studies and gray literature (i.e., "sources"), we…

Embezzlement of funds is a global problem that occurs continually, with increasing complexity and intensity when turbulence and multiple deprivation rage. The embezzlement of funds is becoming more complex and intense; hence, exploring and discussing it is necessary before it festers more. Embezzlement is not only infesting schools but has also…

Doctoral education in the United States blends medieval European formal debate, nineteenth-century German research ideals, and contemporary expectations for coursework, research ethics, and public dissemination. This integrative review traces that lineage and translates it into actionable guidance for dissertation chairs and doctoral candidates.…

Fifty years after the Supreme Court issued its ruling in "San Antonio Independent School District v. Rodriguez," the trajectory of school finance desegregation has shifted from expansive federal hopes to narrower state efforts. Attempts to address many of the disparities continue to be constrained by the complex and intersecting nature…

Performance-based funding (PBF) policies that closely link higher education funding to performance metrics are common in the United States. Similar to other performance management systems, evidence suggests PBF policies have unintended impacts, such as cream-skimming. More specifically, evidence shows the fiscal incentives of PBF encourage…

School funding formulas built upon historically inequitable foundations, such as the property-tax-based system in Texas, warrant continuous monitoring to understand the degree to which they contribute to inequity. Following a review of the political and legal history of the state's school funding formulas and the most recent school finance changes…

A new state school finance policy--even one that is student-centered--does not guarantee that student outcomes will improve. What happens after the policy win determines whether new or reallocated state dollars translate into results. While the real work of leveraging resources to drive improvement happens at the local level, policymakers, state…

This report provides a comprehensive review of the research on the effect of K-12 school funding on student outcomes. In other words, does money matter in education? This is the third edition of this review, with the first two editions having been published in 2012 and 2016. In the previous edition of this report, the authors reviewed the evidence…

Understanding how urban school districts allocate their education funds can help school leaders create more effective budgeting strategies and provide a basis for advocating for additional funding when necessary. This report provides an overview of how urban districts distribute their financial resources, highlights key areas of spending, and…

At their best, K-12 public school systems can be engines of social and economic mobility. Unfortunately, schools in lower-income districts -- whose students have the greatest academic needs -- often receive less funding than their counterparts in more affluent districts. Discussions about closing these funding gaps usually zoom all the way out to…

This paper identifies which investments in school facilities help students and are valued by homeowners. Using novel data on school district bonds, test scores, and house prices for 29 U.S. states and a research design that exploits close elections with staggered timing, we show that increased school capital spending raises test scores and house…

The reinstatement of Pell grant eligibility for incarcerated individuals marks a pivotal moment in the landscape of higher education in prison (HEP) programming in the United States. However, despite this promising development, financial barriers persist, hindering the growth and sustainability of HEP initiatives. This qualitative study delves…