This student survey was a response to the French youth unrest in 2005 and 2006. It considers the degree to which French higher and secondary education institutions create social cohesion. Focusing on three distinct higher-education institutions: "L'institut d'etudes politiques de Paris" (Sciences Po), "Ecole Normale…

As the small states that line the Arabian Peninsula spend billions of petrodollars picking up luxury hotels, satellite television stations, first-class airlines, and high-tech weaponry, three of the emirates (Dubai, Abu Dhabi, and Qatar) are engaged in a high-stakes game of one-upmanship involving universities, American universities in particular.…

For this 50th anniversary edition, "FORUM" invited a group of readers, many of whom were teaching 20 years ago, to reflect on the implications of the 1988 Education Reform Act from a personal viewpoint. The resulting symposium brings together a rich, unique and often candid collection of thoughts and reflections written from a wide variety of…

When it came to benefits for employees, higher education used to be at the head of the class. Back in the 1950s, academe was one of the first fields to embrace health-insurance coverage for illnesses that do not require hospitalization, and it later led the way toward long-term disability insurance. Universities and colleges approved…

Road safety is of increasing concern in developed countries because of the significant number of deaths and large economic losses. One tool commonly used by governments to deal with road accidents is the enactment of stricter policies and regulations. Drunk driving is one of the leading concerns in this field and several European countries have…

The failure to ensure that all of the nation's classrooms are staffed with qualified teachers is one of the most widely discussed, but least understood, problems facing elementary and secondary schools. In recent years, dozens of reports and reform initiatives have sought to solve this problem. Unfortunately, the array of recent efforts do not…

Recent moves in Australia to institute a national curriculum emanated from federal governments of ostensibly different political persuasions in the period from 2003, building on developments that go back over 25 years. This article traces continuities and new developments, meditating on two questions: whether the current moves are politically…

Background/Context: This study examines education in the context of neoliberalism and how current educational policies such as high-stakes testing and mandated curriculum create schooling environments hostile to social justice education. Relying on education for liberation literature, teacher education for social justice scholarship, and work on…

Recent social policy reforms have sought to overcome the limitations of "First Way" strategies emphasizing the welfare state and "Second Way" approaches advocating markets. Scholars and policymakers instead have begun to explore optimal synthesis of the public and private sector in a new "Third Way" of leadership and change. According to one line…

In this policy brief, the author explores the problems with attainment measures when it comes to evaluating performance at the school level, and explores the best uses of value-added measures. These value-added measures, the author writes, are useful for sorting out-of-school influences from school influences or from teacher performance, giving…

In 2002, voters in Massachusetts passed a referendum, commonly referred to as "Question 2," requiring that, "All children in Massachusetts public schools shall be taught English by being taught in English and all children shall be placed in English language classrooms" (M.G.L.c.71A section 4). This dissertation investigates the…

Transmountain Early College High School (TMECHS) opened in August 2008, created by a partnership between the El Paso Community College (EPCC) and the El Paso Independent School District (EPISD), and supported in its conceptualization, start-up, and first few years operation by grant funding and guidance from the Texas High School Project (THSP)…

This paper provides a review of recent policy initiatives to reform teacher compensation systems and evidence regarding the effect of these policies. The first section examines the current structure of teacher compensation in the U.S. K-12 public education system. The compensation "system" for teachers is fragmented and uncoordinated. Teacher…

This dissertation is structured as a critical policy analysis employing historical methods. It examines how the post apartheid government's economic growth and development polices have informed the higher education system and how this has changed women's financial, occupational, political, social, and educational prospects in South Africa. Through…

The K-12 Common Core State Standards (CCSS) represent a major advance in standards for Mathematics and English Language Arts. They are grounded in evidence about what it takes for high school graduates to be ready for college and careers and build on the finest state and international standards. The Common Core State Standards offer an…