This book investigates the ways in which new developments in areas of language teaching practice, such as policy-making, planning, methodology and the use of educational technology are locally adopted, adapted, and initiated and implemented in the four nations of the United Kingdom: England, Northern Ireland, Scotland, and Wales. By looking at the…

Louisiana has received recent attention for some of its new education policies and promising early results. In this report, RAND researchers provide an in-depth description of Louisiana's approach to improving student outcomes since 2012. The authors examine how the state has used various policy levers -- including mandates, resource alignment,…

Since 2013, states have witnessed significant legislative activity related to secondary- and postsecondary-level career/technical education (CTE). One key goal of much recent policymaking activity has been to improve alignment between high school and postsecondary CTE programs, including by developing state or regional structures to design career…

Minnesota needs drastically different and better approaches to learning in order to meet the needs of all students, and the challenges of the 21st century. That will require a move to more student-centered learning--that is, learning that is built on a foundation of strong relationships, responsive to basic needs, driven by students, respectful of…

"The demographics of families in poverty around the globe may be diverse, but parents' dreams for their children are similar everywhere: good health, a good education, economic stability, and a better future." This new report from the Bernard van Leer Foundation and Ascend at The Aspen Institute develops a "two generation"…

After more than a decade of dedicated investment, state funding to assist local California school districts in the construction, modernization, and maintenance of their school facilities has come to a halt. As the Governor, the legislature, and other stakeholders debate the future of the state's K-12 school facility funding role, a big unknown…

After decades of dedicated investment, state funding to assist local California school districts in the construction, modernization, and maintenance of their school facilities has come to a halt. As the Governor, the legislature, and other stakeholders debate the future of the state's K-12 school facility funding role, a big unknown exists:…

Civil rights, business, and education advocates are warning that Congress and the Obama administration may be willing to defang a key portion of the No Child Left Behind Act in their quest to make the law more flexible, shortchanging racial minorities and other historically overlooked student subgroups in the process. Their concern comes amid…

The country has entered an era of education reform with an extensive focus on how well it is preparing students to succeed in postsecondary education and careers in a rapidly changing economy, as well as to become thriving, contributing members in its democracy. Although these aims have recast the national conversation in important ways, they have…

The Elementary and Secondary Education Act will be coming up for reauthorization amid a number of contentious issues, and debates over these issues are likely to more heated leading up to the 2012 elections. If ESEA is to be renewed, the President must make it a high priority, Republicans will need to work with Democrats, and national education…

K-12 public schools across the country have begun to deploy law enforcement agents on school grounds in growing numbers. In 2004, 60% of high school teachers reported armed police officers stationed on school grounds, and in 2005, almost 70% of public school students ages 12 to 18 reported that police officers or security guards patrol their…

Over the previous two years, Innosight Institute has published a series of case studies about the fast-growing field of online learning in K-12 education. One aim of this effort was to identify policies that had either positive or negative ramifications for students. This policy brief, sponsored by the Joyce Foundation, summarizes some of that…

This report uses the three-component framework to categorize and synthesize major recommendations to Congress for the ESEA (Elementary and Secondary Education Act) reauthorization and briefly analyzes them from the perspective of the third component. The analysis illuminates fundamental gaps in the prevailing recommendations. In particular, this…

Online learning and our current system of local education governance are at odds with one another, to say the least. In this paper, John Chubb examines how local school district control retards the widespread use of instructional technologies. He argues that the surest way to break down the system's inherent resistance to technology is to shift…

Scholarly analysis in the sociology of education has burgeoned in recent decades. "Frontiers in Sociology of Education" aims to provide a roadmap for sociologists and other social scientists as they set bold new directions for future research on schools. In Part 1 of this forward-looking volume, the authors present cutting-edge research…