Jennifer's first years as a middle school principal occurred during a time of transformation initiated by the federal No Child Left Behind Act and further intensified by demographic changes within her Midwest suburban district of 25,000 students. In the context of national educational reform during this time period, Tom Erb asked, "Who will…

Several New England states have been rethinking the system whereby small towns make the key decisions about school budgets and staffing under the banner of local control. Maine already has mandated a reduction in the number of local school districts from 290 to 80, allowing localities to vote on the larger districts. This consolidation, unpopular…

This article utilizes social movement theory to analyze policy change created by site-based educators. The author uses a qualitative case study to examine how an organization comprised of teachers and administrators in New York State used protest to protect a waiver, which exempted students in their schools from having to pass statewide graduation…

This study focuses on the Soviet introduction of local studies to Ukrainian schools during the 1920s. It argues that, through their efforts at pedagogical reform, educational planners sought a fundamental re-imagining of place. The Ukrainian Commissariat of Education asked teachers and their students to engage the "productive" world…

From a slogan that, from 1945 to 1954, had limited significance in education practice and, from the 1950s through the 1970s, had a small place in education histories, since 1980 life adjustment education has become, for historians, an anathema representative of the worst reform impulses in American education. By interpreting life adjustment…

The financial state of the nation's public pension funds--which provide the retirement incomes for all state employees but in most states are dominated by teachers, administrators, and other school employees--has gone from bad to worse, and is projected to continue to worsen in coming decades. A perfect storm of factors has combined in the past…

"California in a Time of Excellence" follows the Golden State's efforts to reform its public school system from 1983 to the present. Beginning with progressive curriculum reform initiatives that were launched even before the National Commission on Excellence in Education (NCEE) issued "A Nation at Risk" in 1983, James Andrew…

The purpose of this study is to examine the problem of research quality in social sciences at higher education. Quality of research produced at higher education started to be questioned more often as research became the major factor determining academics' promotion and fund allocation to universities. In the study, we aimed to reveal how academics…

"Perspective" is a monthly e-newsletter presenting news and views from Achieve. This month's issue commences with a commentary assessing the meaning of college- and career-readiness. In doing so, it addresses some of the questions Achieve gets asked most frequently, including: What subjects are most important in defining "Readiness"? What does…

In December 2007, political violence erupted in Kenya after a general election. Both Kenya and the international community were confronted with the question as to why citizens of a hitherto peaceful nation would engage in acts of hooliganism and violence after exercising a democratic right in a national election. This paper examines how new…

Although framing as a process is value neutral, since it can be put to any political, commercial, or ideological purpose, this article shows how it can be used to engage Americans in discussions of public life and how it might be improved. By offering readers a deeper understanding of the pictures in people's heads that often prevent engagement in…

The keynote address on which this article is based considers four stages or types of studies that qualitative researchers undertake in the field of education. The reason that I explored this focus was to illustrate the benefits and the dangers of designing studies to serve policy makers. The research that I selected sought to uncover information…

This story describes how my immigrant parents from Mexico City transmitted their Mexican cultural knowledge to their U.S. born children to inspire us to understand the wealth of our culture. Their experiences and stories helped us to navigate as bilingual and bicultural Chicanos. We were a family that was very proud of our Mexican heritage; we…

The purpose of this article is to analyze the demand-driven extension approach based on empirical evidence of a case study of the National Agricultural Advisory Service in Uganda. This research found several problems rooted in differences between the assumptions of demand-driven extension and the perspectives of farmers. Many farmers did not place…

In this article, the author explores the explicit as well as the implicit connection between the media, education and power. He examines data drawn from two Master's level Sociology of Education classes at a university in Ohio with students who are already teachers. The course raises important questions about the potential for doing critical media…