Background: In 2009, the Obama Administration announced its intention to rapidly "turn around" 5,000 of the nation's lowest-performing schools. To do so, it relied on the School Improvement Grant (SIG) program to provide temporary funding for states and schools, and to mandate drastic, school-level reforms. Most of these reforms require…

This policy profile on education in Japan is part of the "Education Policy Outlook" series, which presents comparative analysis of education policies and reforms across the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) countries. Building on the OECD's substantial comparative and sectorial policy knowledge base, the…

This policy profile on education in the Slovak Republic is part of the "Education Policy Outlook" series, which presents comparative analysis of education policies and reforms across OECD countries. Building on the OECD's substantial comparative and sectoral knowledge base, the series offers a comparative outlook on education policy by…

Education is a human right. The Convention on the Rights of the Child and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights recognize the essential role education plays in human and social development. As stated in article 26 of the Declaration, "Everyone has the right to education. Education shall be free, at least in the elementary and fundamental…

This report examines state and school district implementation of the Education for Homeless Children and Youth (EHCY) program, based on surveys of state EHCY coordinators and district homeless liaisons and analysis of extant data. The study included state and school district surveys to examine program implementation during the 2010-11 school year;…

January 2014, Governor Jerry Brown announced in his budget proposal an unprecedented line-item designation for student equity in community colleges. His proposal of $100 million for student equity set the stage for the past year and a half of enhanced activities locally and statewide on student equity issues. Most prominently, the 112 community…

To get a picture of the impact of the current economic and financial crisis on educational building programmes so far, the OECD Centre for Effective Learning Environments (CELE) has been conducting a survey of member countries and regions. The survey focuses on three main issues: the impact of the crisis on publicly funded projects, the impact on…

Last summer, California and Massachusetts became the sixth and seventh states--along with Hawaii, New Mexico, Vermont, Rhode Island, and Maryland--to send a resolution to the U.S. Congress calling for a constitutional amendment to (1) end the court's extension of personhood rights to corporations, and (2) enable the government to definitively…

Purpose: To gather STEAM school experts' responses on (a) instructional delivery methods of arts education fostering achievement, innovation, and creativity in students; and (b) to examine support and facilities needed for these programs. Research Questions: Nine areas were addressed in the research questions regarding STEAM schools: (a)…

This study focused on the perceptions of six superintendents regarding the state of the profession as of 2012, and it reports their thoughts and suggestions as to what preparation is needed by superintendents for the 21st century. The participating superintendents, who were all members of the Western States Benchmarking Consortium, were employed…

The purpose of this study was to examine how successful FGCS in community colleges addressed challenges they face in order to complete their degree programs. This study was based upon Titno's (1993) Model of Student Departure and explored what methods and programs were most beneficial in helping FGCS overcome the challenges they faced as they…

Education is the cornerstone of a nation's culture and an absolute necessity for economic prosperity and development. There is hardly any household in this country that is not concerned about the state of our education system particularly the secondary system. The structure is in a deplorable condition. Teachers are demoralized and disenchanted,…

Singapore, like Australia, is one of the world's most prosperous countries. However, the basis for Singapore's prosperity is quite different from that of Australia's and for this reason it provides an interesting and complementary case study. While much of Australia's current affluence flows from its rich endowment of mineral resources,…

The Obama administration's Race to the Top competitive grant program initiated an unprecedented wave of state teacher-evaluation reform across the country. To date, most of the scholarly analysis of this activity has focused on the design of the evaluation instruments or the implementation of the new evaluations by districts and schools. But…

Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders represent the fastest growing demographic in the country today. The federal government has responded to this 21st century reality by creating the Asian American and Native American Pacific Islander-Serving Institution (AANAPISI) federal program. This program is a competitive grant process for institutions with…