Like many other states, Massachusetts enacted numerous changes to teacher certification policy during the 1980s and 1990s. During the summer of 1998, the state legislature and Department of Education made two especially significant changes: a signing bonus of U.S. $20,000 for an elite group of new teachers, and a state-funded alternative…

This paper draws attention to the politics of knowledge. My strategy for enacting the politicization of knowledge is through an experimental form of research reporting. Couching the provocational format within post-structural theories of meaning making and subjectivity, I present an interview, taken from a data set of research on mathematical…

This paper focuses on two theoretical frameworks of integration (neo-functionalism and liberal inter-governmentalism), exploring their implications for current trends of integration in European higher education: the marketization of and trade in educational services, the involvement of supranational institutions, and the focus on quality…

Much of the discussion in the news, schools and statehouses about the NO Child Left Behind Act has focused on testing and accountability, and whether there is enough money to fund the act sufficiently. However, bubbling underneath this publicity is a term that has the potential to cause a minor ripple on the surface or to erupt like ah underwater…

Despite Head Start's long history and ever-expanding budget, the achievement gap between advantaged and disadvantaged, between white and minority, is still substantial. Proposes keeping Head Start but letting a few states have more control of funds, carefully studying their subsequent reforms, and then determining future policy based on solid…

Examines interconnections between accountability, power, and control within the British education system, focusing on the 5-18 education. Although some of the structures and processes are very similar to those of the U.S. K-12 system, the British national system is highly centralized and highly market-driven, with a strong emphasis on parental…

Chronicles the history of two Ohio Valley school districts. The creation of one black and one predominantly white district is a history of segregation, while the merger of the two 20 years later tells a story of desegregation. Primary and secondary historical data provide accounts from various perspectives of school segregation and desegregation,…

This paper examines notions of 'educational time' with particular reference to the work of Basil Bernstein. It focuses closely on the 1967 Plowden report as a particularly appropriate policy case study to demonstrate how different constructions of time can exist within the same document. It then develops educational models originally mapped out by…

Policies that mandate in-grade retention of low-performing students have become central components of standards-based reforms across the country. While educational researchers have extensively studied the student-level correlates of retention and the consequences of retention for student achievement, little attention has been focused on…

The Department of Education has issued final rules underscoring that school districts must accommodate the Boy Scouts of America and certain other youth groups that ask to use schools for meetings and recruitment. Schools risk loss of their federal education aid if they do not comply with the requirement included in the No Child Left Behind Act.…

In this article, the author traces the history of Canadian post-secondary education. The author observes how the development of the country's post-secondary education reflects the changes of its socioeconomic priorities. Two relatively calm beginnings characterized by the construction of the first universities, the period of expansion of the…

Substantial literature suggests that parent participation is beneficial to student success. Latino parents, however, have traditionally been underrepresented in their children's schools. Historically, this phenomenon has been explicated using deficit perspectives which have viewed Latino parents as culpable for their children's academic and social…

This article describes the elements of Bolman and Deal's (1991) political frame, which are widely discussed and written about among enrollment managers. Whether it is under the guise of managing change, getting things done, understanding institutional politics, or soliciting campus-wide involvement, the issues are often thorny and leave many…

During 2002, the Australian Education Minister conducted a year-long review of tertiary education under the title "Higher Education at the Crossroads." The policy statement arising from that review was released on 13 May 2003. It incorporates a combination of new financial incentives on students and universities, potential expansion of…

This paper examines the evolution of government policy in England on widening participation. It traces government policy on widening participation in relation to social class from Robbins (1963) through Dearing (1997) to "The Future of Higher Education" (2003) and the passing of the Higher Education Act (2004). The paper concludes that…