Perhaps no school reform has generated as much interest and controversy in recent years as the proposal to have parents select their children's schools. Opponents of school choice fear that rolling back the government's role will lead to profit-driven financial scandals, sectarianism, and increased class and racial isolation. School choice…

On June 16, 2006, a panel of experts briefed members of the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights on affirmative action in American law schools. The panel convened to debate the empirical strength of the research on the effects of racial preferences in law school admissions and the legal and policy implications of the American Bar Association's…

The expansion of the American community college has not been matched by the rapid, or even consistent, progress of all entering students toward postsecondary credentials. Instead, a significant proportion of students enrolled in community colleges appear "stuck" on the road to completion. This lack of progress is due to the complex ways in which…

This paper presents composite indicators of the institutional and policy characteristics of educational systems, collated from the questionnaire responses of 26 Member countries. These indicators provide an overview of the institutional framework in the primary and secondary education sector and are constructed so as to be used for the analysis of…

Society is becoming increasingly aware of the need for education to play a key role in integrating knowledge and understanding about sustainability into practical, vocational skills which can be used in the workplace. Education for sustainability is now a widely accepted concept which seeks to promote and develop sustainability skills and…

This collection brings together many of the world's leading sociologists of education to explore and address key issues and concerns within the discipline. The thirty-seven newly commissioned chapters draw upon theory and research to provide new accounts of contemporary educational processes, global trends, and changing and enduring forms of…

As of October 2007, 54 interdistrict magnet schools enrolling 18,928 students were operating in Connecticut. The bulk of these schools are located in the Hartford and New Haven areas--21 in the Hartford area and 17 in the New Haven area. Interdistrict magnets also serve significant numbers of students in the Waterbury region. In keeping with the…

The articles in this book examine the prominent elements of the Improving America's Schools Act, including the reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA). They describe how the large federal aid-to-education programs were brought into accord with the new agreement contained in Goals 2000. The book begins with a preface by…

This book surveys major trends in the politics of education over the last 25 years. Chapters synthesize political and policy developments at local, national, and state levels in the United States, as well as in the international arena. The chapters examine the emerging micropolitics of education and policy-analysis, cultural, and feminist studies.…

This report examines the roles and functions of state coordinating and governing boards of higher education. Data are from a study reviewing 20 years' worth of data and a current survey. After an introductory section, the first section analyzes historical trends which suggest modest growth in appropriations over the period. Section 2, based on the…

School districts often find themselves in a double bind when dealing with the public: they seek public input, but also are vulnerable to manipulation by organized interest groups that are not representative of the entire community. The dilemma is how to procure the overall community's public judgment of a topic and allow widespread participation.…

The inclusion of students with disabilities in assessment is deemed critical to improve the quality of educational opportunities for these students and to provide meaningful and useful information about students' performance to the schools and communities where they are educated. This inclusion raises important questions, however, concerning the…

Across the United States, nearly 50 million students are served by 96,000 public schools. Federal policymakers cannot be expected to diagnose the diverse learning needs of these students and to craft solutions adequate to meet all of them. Four decades, eight reauthorizations of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act, and expenditure of…

This brief details the history of the federal government's stance with language minority students, and analyzes the implications of changes to its guiding principles made by the No Child Left Behind (NCLB) Act of 2001. With every federal re-authorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act prior to 2001, the importance of bilingual…

This report sheds light on the use of contract teachers with a particular focus on Cambodia, Nicaragua and India--countries that have all relied on contract teachers at some point. The report documents the use of contract teachers in Cambodia, Nicaragua and India and outlines the experience of contract teachers in West Africa. It also discusses…