Research has shown for decades that early childhood education contributes to long term increases in student achievement for all children, but what is motivating the current movement toward universal Pre-k? This study used a content analysis of five major print media sources to explore how the media is framing the public pre-K movement.We looked…

Schools and professionals respond to statute in different ways. However, professional activity is more than mediated response to policy. Versions of pedagogy are not simply envisaged on high and enacted in the workplace. This paper examines how professional views formulate policy imperatives. It proposes that to understand pedagogy requires an…

Drawing on ESRC-funded research this paper considers some characteristics of the policy process in schools using the construction of behaviour policy in four English secondary schools as a case in point. It argues that behavior policy, like other policies, is enacted in particular and distinct institutional contexts with their own histories; that…

My aim in this paper is to analyse Spanish non-sexist language reform from a language-planning perspective. Supportive of the intent of the official policy, I will first criticize it for its failure to analyze the conditions in which it is to be implemented and for the lack of provision for its implementation. I will also show the tensions between…

This article aims to analyse the interrelationship between the Copenhagen Process, EU vocational education and training policy, and Danish initial vocational education and training policies in order to shed light on the role of EU policies in policy and institutional change. The article points to the complexity of policy-making and the…

This article presents lessons learned from a story of a snowy and dangerous intersection where there was no way for pedestrians to cross. The basic theme of this paper is that if political economy is preoccupied largely with the measurement of externalities, then a goal for the testing and assessment policy community should be to devise strategies…

This paper explores the role of media in shaping adult literacy discourse and policy in Canada. The authors show how journalists, newspapers and other media personalities have directly and indirectly influenced (1) government and public perception of adult literacy and (2) the creation of the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development's…

Educational reforms are crucial in a country if the reforms benefit the intended target group. One of the educational reforms in Kenya was the introduction of Free Primary Education. This was informed by the need to improve access and equity in provision of education. Informed by the need to eradicate ignorance, poverty and disease, the…

Cognitive framing theories explain how individuals understand and apply information in relation to existing experiences and beliefs. Yet these theories have rarely been applied to explore the interpretation and application of evidence in policy development. This paper undertakes a critical discourse analysis of interviews and texts surrounding a…

This article examines the continuing gap between institutional practice and pedagogy, research and scholarship, and policy formation and analysis of equity and diversity in higher education. The article also provides brief summaries of the four major contributions of higher education scholars to this edition concerned with exploring different…

Educational intermediary organizations, as defined by Honig (2004a), are characterized by their internal placement within schools as they mediate change among groups during the policymaking process. As intermediary organizations work to bring about internal changes, however, they are still performing their core external functions by operating as…

Bullying is a major threat to school safety and appears to be increasing at alarming rates. Leaders throughout the entire school community need to understand the implications and ramifications of bullying on both the student who bullies and students who are bullied. This imperative mission calls for transformational leaders, armed with strong…

Congress completed the fiscal year 2012 appropriations process on December 17th, 2011, finalizing annual funding for federal education programs through September 30, 2012 at $68.1 billion, down $233 million from the prior year. It is the first year since 2007 that Congress did not increase total appropriations for education programs. This issue…

While population mobility is a fundamental component of the lived experience of many Australian Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander families, the ways in which educators and education systems respond (or fail to respond) to mobility demonstrates that there is very little understanding of this social and cultural phenomena. At the local school…

Higher education institutions take strategic decisions regarding their engagement with government policy, with choice of strategy structured by the character of the national system and notions of what is appropriate in given contexts for the institution. In this study a series of factors influencing institutional strategy in response to the higher…