The purpose of this study was to examine the nature of distributed leadership at the University of ABC's SCPS, as the School worked to transform itself through reorganization. The study examined the perceptions of key leaders and members of the implementation team as they sought to understand the implementation of a more participative approach to…

The author reports on the largest-ever federal investment in fixing low-achieving schools that is now flowing to states, raising the pressure on district leaders to make tough--and quick--decisions about firing principals, replacing teachers, or shutting down schools entirely. Since March, the U.S. Department of Education has been sending states…

The author, a teacher-activist with Teacher Action Group-Philadelphia (TAG), presents her views on the need for teachers to get involved in the battle for public education. She expresses her concerns about the political games being played to advance a neoliberal agenda that seeks to dispossess students of their right to a quality education and…

Recent years have seen a growing push toward Portfolio Management Models that incorporate a variety of "providers" operating public schools. One rationale for this is that such organizations can offer distinct and innovative educational practices. This article describes the Diverse Provider Model implemented in Philadelphia from…

This paper analyzes drivers and impediments to secondary school reform in Trinidad and Tobago during the period from 1999 to 2009. International assessment data suggested limited progress on improving system quality and equity. Several policy levers and barriers have been defined in current system reform theory. However, explanations for the…

In 2008, the U.S. Department of Education (the Department) launched a differentiated accountability pilot to allow states to distinguish between those schools identified for improvement in need of substantial help and those closer to meeting achievement goals. In July 2008 and January 2009, the Department approved waivers to give nine states the…

Following the end of World War I, the Ontario Department of Education initiated a series of reforms aimed at both elementary and secondary schooling. This article examines the reforms that were made to elementary school curriculum and pedagogy. These were initiated within the context of a call for a general reconstruction of education and society…

In the context of government decentralisation and integration of services, over the last 15 years Sweden has been developing an all-day school based on inter-professional teamworking and adopting a holistic approach to working with children. The article describes these recent educational reforms in Sweden, which have sought to re-structure the…

This analysis of postupheaval educational change examines the extent to which massive changes in a school system's sociocultural environment lead to changes in the structure and practice of schooling. Framed broadly within systems theory and complexity theory, this examination of two cases of postupheaval educational change--post-1989 Czech…

As charter schools multiply, public school teachers and administrators need to understand the policy landscape in which charters are skimming money from their traditional local public schools, making scarce resources even scarcer. In this essay, the author discusses a related phenomenon that is part of some school reform plans--the reconstitution…

The objective of this article is to critically examine a school reform effort that has taken hold in New York City over the past seven years. A largely privately funded venture, the New Century Schools Initiative (NCSI), opened hundreds of new small high schools in poor urban communities in New York City starting in 2002. The theory behind opening…

Every day, principals across the country are taking courageous action to reform struggling schools and make a difference in students' lives. As the assistant secretary of education for elementary and secondary education, the author has been fortunate to meet with school and district leaders and see some of those transformations firsthand. The…

This paper examines the options available to states to redefine their accountability systems as they begin to implement the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA). The new law provides the possibility that states can create more balanced systems of support and accountability focused on educating young people so they can become productive, engaged…

This paper discussed the need to restructure STM (science, technology, and mathematics) education to reflect entrepreneurship. This is because the present STM education has not achieved its aim of making graduates self-reliant. Entrepreneurship education if introduced in the STM education will produce graduate who can effectively manage their…

A tight race for governor, the heavy burden of rebuilding a school funding system recently declared unconstitutional, and a fourth ballot measure in two decades on charter schools has placed Washington state on an intense--and unpredictable--road for education this year. Washington is one of nine states that do not allow charter schools, and the…