With the failure of the No Child Left Behind policies of the 1990's, educational reformers wished to establish a "new and improved" set of standards for the United States to follow. However, since their inception in 2006-2007, the new Common Core State Standards have become increasingly unpopular due to the fact that they remain largely…

The paper draws on findings from three case studies on the changing role of Local Education Authorities (LEAs) in England and explores the degree of LEA effectiveness, their contribution to school improvement, and the nature of their leadership. The context for the study is one in which, over the years, the powers and responsibilities of LEAs have…

This ethnographic account of community development relates the successful efforts of Shiloh County (a pseudonym for a small, rural political subdivision in the American South) to achieve local autonomy while using external resources to meet local needs. The study describes the political influences of family, religion, neighborhood, community and…

Examines Colombia's efforts to halt escalating violence and social destruction through political and educational decentralization aimed at bolstering participatory democracy. Discusses the efficiency and anticorruption goals of centralization policies of the 1970s. Describes lack of shared vision and other national and local barriers to…

Case study describes the efforts of Kuinerrarmiut Elitnaurviat, the K-12 school in Quinhagak, Alaska, to implement school reform initiatives that support the merging of school and community values and priorities. Despite nearly a century of outside acculturation efforts, the Yupik people of Quinhagak are attempting to integrate their language,…

The systemic reform exemplified by the Kentucky Education Reform Act of 1990 (KERA) requires the coupling of top-down state mandates with bottom-up advocacy and leadership. This research on an Eastern Kentucky school district details the dynamics at the district's main high school, as people struggle to build both a community of learners within…

Examines the coincident nature of recent educational reforms (multiculturalism, skills training, curricular redesign, school choice) in Canada and four other Anglophone democracies as related to two forms of globalization: economic globalization and global rationalization and standardization. Concludes that globalization is transforming education…

This dissertation, which won the Dissertation of the Year Award, examines how stakeholders in an Appalachian Kentucky high school addressed educational problems that they had targeted for reform. Set against the backdrop of the Kentucky Education Reform Act (KERA), this ethnographic study describes the challenges of effectively coupling top-down…

A year-long ethnographic investigation examined how stakeholders in an Appalachian Kentucky high school addressed educational problems that they had targeted for reform while resisting state priorities and policies mandated in the Kentucky Education Reform Act (KERA). Contrasts KERA objectives with cultural themes prominent in this poor…

China's "minban" (people-managed) schooling was an important instrument for delivering educational and political values to poor areas during Mao's era. Despite national policy aimed at eliminating poorly-qualified minban teachers by 2000, rural communities have been reluctant to dismiss such teachers, given the rural teacher shortage and…

Reports on a study of the impact of attending restructured schools on the achievement and engagement of 8,845 eighth graders from public, Catholic, and independent schools. Finds modest, but consistently positive, effects on both achievement and engagement. Also finds that students attending smaller schools demonstrated more academic achievement.…

This paper discusses the impact that recent educational reforms by the New Zealand government had on Maori individuals involved in community decision-making processes, focusing on one predominantly Maori rural community. Three strands of recent educational change in New Zealand are the move to self-managing institutions; ongoing debate over…

Available evidence suggests that Islamic (or Quranic) schools, as the primary contemporary example of indigenous schooling, have made major changes in various countries where they remain active. These include changes in the nature of instruction, style of teaching, and teacher corps. In general, these changes have been made in response to social…

This paper examines the Botswana government's objectives and implementation strategies in the development of community secondary schools. With a population of 1.5 million and an annual growth rate of 3.5 percent, Botswana is one of the fastest growing countries in the world. Recent dramatic economic growth, largely due to diamond revenues, has not…

This report explores the individual and social benefits of citizen participation in educational decision-making. This exploration combines democratic theory, historical and cultural determinants, practical experience and public opinion, and research and evaluation. Citizens participate politically in school affairs to effect changes in policy,…