This article analyses how the teaching profession takes shape when policy demands on increased documentation in preschool is interpreted and enacted by teachers. The profession and professional identities take shape in the tension between two forms of professionalism: occupational professionalism, based on collegial authority, and organizational…

Further education typically represents the vocational, technical and practice-based forms of education, but this is now being repositioned in a neo-liberal era that is driving a performance-based and market-orientated vision of education in the Republic of Ireland and elsewhere. The implacable drive of neo-liberal economics in everyday practice is…

This article builds on Darling-Hammond, Wilhoit, and Pittenger's (2014) new paradigm on "Accountability for College and Career Readiness" by focusing on one of its three pillars--professional accountability. The article begins by offering a conceptual framework for professional accountability for improvement. Next, it highlights slices…

Accreditation serves as both a quality assurance and accountability mechanism for our learning institutions. It is a voluntary process of self-regulation and non-governmental peer review supported, in general, by providers of tertiary education and examines the philosophy, goals, programs, facilities, resources, and financial viability of the…

In this paper, the authors engage in a collaborative inquiry illustrative of a dialogical process of meaning making addressing the future of teacher education in times marked by uncertainty, intense public and political scrutiny, changing policy, and imposed learning standards. The authors urge teacher education programs and teacher educators to…

Over the past several decades, numerous arguments have been made advancing the notion that the failings of the public education system in the United States have placed the nation's national security or economic prosperity at risk. This article will examine some of these "crises" and explore how arguments claiming that the shortcomings of…

Purpose: As state and federal accountability systems have increased demands for evidence of student achievement, the use of data to inform practice has become more prevalent. More research is needed to understand not only "what" organizational factors shape data-use efforts but also "how" these factors enable or constrain…

In the age of accountability, schools are struggling to reach every student to bring them up to the high academic standards mandated by the federal and state governments. Teachers must use research-based strategies to help decrease the learning gap for all students (Kimmelman, 2006). While the use of technology to engage students is a popular…

In the current context of high stakes testing, school literacy is often defined by standardized literacy assessments--most state tests require students to demonstrate proficiency on specific kinds of writing tasks and reading material. Today, where schools and teachers exist in an environment of increased accountability, stakeholders who…

Free after-school tutoring, known as supplemental educational services (SES), was brought to life by the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) in 2002. SES was designed to provide extra academic assistance to low-income students in schools failing to make accountability targets. SES is a cautionary tale, for there has never been an experiment like it in…

Current educational policy in the United States supports the standardization of school curricula and promotes a high-stakes testing culture that reinforces the ideologies of market fundamentalism. This accountability movement has resulted in school curriculum that aims to transcend children's diverse lived experiences and the local contexts in…

The Workforce Investment and Opportunity Act (WIOA) funds programs that connect and assist job seekers with training, support, and education services so that they can find and maintain employment. Services funded by WIOA will be available to job seekers of all ages, including the chronically unemployed, the disabled, displaced workers, and…

This paper proposes a taxonomy of school funding formula elements which distinguishes between funding based on individual student needs and the needs of populations of students based on particular characteristics or labels. This builds on the theoretical approach proposed by Caldwell, Levacic and Ross (1999) where school funding formulae can be…

In Senate Bill (SB) 2 (83rd Texas Legislature, Regular Session, 2013), the Texas Legislature added Texas Education Code (TEC) § 12.1013 (a)-(d). This legislation required that charter school performance to be compared to comparable traditional public schools. This report responds to that mandate, using Texas' P-20/Workforce Repository data for the…

The Common Core State Standards, released in 2010, were rapidly adopted by more than 40 states. Champions maintained that these rigorous standards would transform American education, but the initiative went on to encounter a bumpy path. A decade on, what are we to make of this ambitious effort? What kind of impact, if any, has it had on the…