When political knowledge is scarce, affective attitudes, which can consist of emotion-driven feelings regarding political figures, government, country, and foreign nations, often assist policy judgment. Based on pre- and post-surveys administered in Introduction to American Politics courses, fall 2003-fall 2005, this study examines how political…

This article considers policies and strategies employed to professionalise the early childhood workforce in England since the Labour government took office in 1997. The term "professionalisation" is associated here with moves towards creating a graduate early years workforce, which could have implications for training, pay and employment…

In recent years, the rigor and quality of educational research have drawn much attention. This increased interest has been driven by state efforts to collect student achievement data, the creation of the Institute of Education Sciences (IES), the explicit call for"scientifically based research" written into the No Child Left Behind (NCLB) Act,…

This article explores the policy implications of internationalisation of higher education in post-apartheid South Africa. It uses several of the country's policy documents and analyses what they infer about the process of internationalisation and its role in the transformation of South African higher education and society. The particular policy…

The United States has the highest incarceration rate of any country. The causes for the large number of prisoners can be traced, in part, to a politicized war on crime that resulted in harsh sentencing and high recidivism rates. Prisoner education provides the potential for slowing the revolving door of prison by helping to create engaged…

In this policy brief the authors present an overview of the current state of school leadership in California. They examine the challenges that California must overcome to recruit, hire, train, and retain strong and talented principals, with a particular focus on the limitations of current state and district policies. They also propose a set of…

This paper uses a multicountry perspective spanning four countries--the United States, Mongolia, South Africa, and Ukraine--to highlight a number of strategies and challenges related to the creation and implementation of suitable higher education finance polices. It draws attention to the financial imperatives that affect higher education in the…

This important new work from Rebell and Wolff, authors of the groundbreaking volume "Moving Every Child Ahead: From NCLB Hype to Meaningful Educational Opportunity", brings together the nation's leading researchers and thinkers in the field of educational equity to provide a range of provocative critiques that go well beyond what has…

This paper offers a historically comparative picture of the latest waves of policy and technological changes that have occurred between 2000-2006 and discusses their impact on the practices of secondary school English in the UK. It draws on data from two previous research projects to explore significant moments of micro-interaction in a classroom…

The concept of diversity has been part of the Australian government's higher education agenda for several years, but empirical studies on the actual state of diversity in the sector are limited. This situation raises questions regarding the factual basis for the policy claims made. With this in mind, this paper seeks to assess the degree of…

This article discusses global education in Finnish basic education with the help of two major publications in the field: the National Core Curriculum (2004) and the Global Education Programme (2007). The core values and goals of these documents are considered in the light of selected learning theories, and ongoing research is presented which…

This paper reviews the use of extended case studies as a teaching method to deeply engage students in the learning and understanding of policy theory. Discussion commences with a review of the literature on the use of case method as an approach to teaching and learning and then critiques the results of student surveys that questioned their…

This paper is a research-informed response to the paradigm shift that has taken place in the world of teacher education for the further education sector in England during the last few years. We begin by outlining the various changes that have taken place in terms of regulation of the sector and show how this has impacted upon the agency of those…

This article examines the role of market-based policies in special education, focusing on the case of voucher programs. It examines the nature of contemporary social reforms, while discussing school choice as the theoretical linchpin of a market model for educational reforms. Moreover, it includes analysis of why the market-driven rationale of…

In England, part-time students have to pay their fees up-front, they can't take out a government-supported loan, and their chances of securing any financial support are depressingly slim. While all full-time students are entitled to some state support, Parliamentary questions have revealed that nine out of 10 part-time students receive nothing at…