Based on a survey of rural school districts in Western China, this essay explores the effects of fiscal centralisation on the relationship between local governance and school district management, most particularly on how managerial power is distributed in the rural education sector. The essay also examines some of the possible effects that changes…

National policy discourses imply rational and positive pathways to greater equality and inclusion for public sector workers, including those in education. However, radical feminist and critical race theory suggests that whatever measures are undertaken to disassemble systems which impact negatively on those who are minority or excluded, systems…

This article argues that in Britain dominant educational discourses of "the ideal pupil" exclude minority ethnic pupils and prevent them from inhabiting a position of authentic "success". It suggests that "the successful pupil" is a desired yet refused subject position for many minority ethnic young people--even for…

Based on Foucault's discourse on freedom and empowerment, this article addresses his understanding of power and knowledge. By critically examining the negative impact of the "No Child Left Behind Act of 2001" on education, the author discusses the transformative power of Foucault's pedagogy for educational reform in which students,…

This study aimed to identify the main features of career well-being and the emotions people experience as they navigate their careers. Data from 89 individuals working in various occupations suggested seven features of career well-being involving the following: career transitions, interpersonal relationships, relationship with the organization,…

The present paper explores the conceptual limitations of the bully discourses that ground UK anti-bullying policy frameworks and psychological research literatures on school bullying, suggesting they largely ignore gender, (hetero)sexuality and the social, cultural and subjective dynamics of conflict and aggression among teen-aged girls. To…

Much of L2 teacher feedback research is conducted with advanced students in process-oriented classrooms in the United States. There is less published research about how school teachers in EFL contexts respond to student writing. Specifically little is known about why teachers respond to writing in the ways they do, and if discrepancies exist…

In this article, the authors describe Web 2.0 as tools that have increased the urgency for students' and teachers' critical literacy skills and have also participated in the implementation of critical literacy. The authors define and position both Web 2.0 and critical literacy. Further, students' and teachers' power dynamics within both critical…

This paper argues that the texts, conversations, writings, and professional activities that construct our understanding of leadership come from an embedded, privileged perspective that has largely ignored issues of status, gender, and race. This perspective insidiously perpetuates a view of leadership that discourages diversity and equity. Two…

This document contains two extended papers and one shorter commentary that reflect a continuing debate between two schools of thought on literacy that have been called the "autonomous" and the "sociocultural.""The Persisting Power and Costs of the Literacy Myth" (Harvey J. Graff) argues that current discourse on…

This paper examines and analyzes a Human Services reform initiative in West Virginia and shows how various components responded to the reform particularly in identity construction. The analysis used an immunological metaphor within a Foucauldian understanding of power and knowledge. The study gathered data through participant and observer…

Evaluators frequently experience the dilemma of how to empower a program staff if the staff and other stakeholders are compelled to participate in activities that they don't believe they need or believe may actually harm the program. A framework is proposed to empower program staff and other stakeholders and to reduce potential dilemmas. The…

Schools have been intractable to change and the attainment of goals set by reformers. A major failure has been the inability of reformers to confront this intractability. As a result, each new wave of reform learns nothing from earlier efforts and comes up with recommendations that have failed in the past. Nine chapters explore why reform efforts…

Strategic planning is a rational, private-sector planning model that results in a document outlining the "ideal vision" for the individual, organization, and society. Public schools gained familiarity with strategic planning through the American Association of School Administrators, who sponsor the activity as a combination of rational…

The loosely coupled organizational approach is evaluated in this paper. This essay evaluates this line of research by focussing on an analysis of schools, which are usually considered to be the epitome of loosely structured organizations. It is argued that distinguishing the mode and degree of organizational coupling and control depends on where,…