This paper discusses the phenomenon of teacher awards with particular reference to one bestowed in Spain. This phenomenon is analysed in line with the consequences of free market ideology in education and the ideology of influencers and followers. Drawing on qualitative research based in participant and non-participant observation, in-depth…

The process of accreditation in higher education, which is the primary gatekeeper of federal financial aid dollars, is overdue for reform. The Trump administration has committed to using accreditation reform to overhaul the system of accountability for college and universities. An executive order in April 2025 indicated that among other changes,…

This article develops a militant teaching humility regarding the foundational aggression and violence of a neoliberal worldview within late capitalism. Mainly the article shows how such aggressions and violence take shape as schooling the self-interested consumer within a school market. This article also shows how such self-interest understands…

With the rise of accountability policies since the early nineties, the daily operation of English schools has profoundly changed. Through the in-depth analysis of ability grouping practices in one English secondary school, this paper aims to explore how the accountability shift and datafication impacted the practice of student grouping and…

New analyses by researchers across the ideological spectrum have found that increasing overall funding for schools can improve student achievement, particularly for low-income students. However, the growing consensus is that strategic state policies are needed to substantially increase the size of the impact of additional funding. These policies…

Various changes in the spheres of education policy and school management over recent decades have sparked a renewed interest in the issue of school culture and its potential to understand processes of leadership and academic performance. What are the contributions and potentialities of organizational culture for understanding school organizations…

This paper explores what underlies the recent introduction of a Higher Education Teaching Excellence Framework (TEF) in England. Related changes to the higher education landscape are discussed: the 2017 Higher Education Act and creation of a new HE regulator, the Office for Students. How TEF works and some of the consequences of TEF are outlined.…

Yong Zhao is Foundations Distinguished Professor in the School of Education with an appointment in the School of Business at the University of Kansas. Prior to joining KU, he served as the Presidential Chair, Director of the Institute for Global and Online Education, and Associate Dean in the College of Education, University of Oregon, where he…

When the District of Columbia's city councilors handed Mayor Adrian Fenty control of the city's public schools in 2007, they were hoping for salvation. Or maybe just absolution. Fenty appointed Michelle Rhee, then-president of The New Teacher Project, as chancellor. She and her longtime colleague and eventual successor Kaya Henderson spent the…

Improving public education has long been a cornerstone of the Democratic platform. Because progressives understand that access to a quality education is the gateway to a better life, their decades-long struggle to promote equal rights and opportunity for all Americans has been deeply tied to their struggle to create an effective public school…

As 21st century school systems continue to emerge, low-income parents will continue to regard public charter schools as the means through which their children have equal access to quality education. This report is a response to the National Education Association's (NEA's) policy statement on charter schools. In the statement, the NEA calls for a…

This chapter will explore the experience of educational leadership in state schools in England. It begins with a brief outline of the history of state education before assessing how education currently operates as part of the political-economic shift to a competition state. School leaders in England work in a culture described as high…

The federal role in higher education has grown over the past two decades, and now a new administration has the opportunity to strengthen policies that support students and their colleges and universities. To help inform these decisions, the Urban Institute convened a bipartisan group of scholars and policy advisers to write a series of memos…

Education reformers have spent decades doggedly working to improve student outcomes in K-12 education by championing policies spanning federal, state, and local jurisdictions. Higher education is a much different story. Policy ideas at the federal level are plentiful; however, state- or institution-level policies are examined and implemented far…

This chapter aims to define comparative and international higher education (CIHE), describe its orientation and application, and reflect on research trends of the past five years. Research trends were identified through the review of panel sessions of the Higher Education Special Interest Group at the Annual Conference of the Comparative and…