This paper reports on research aimed at investigating the ways in which teachers in Portugal and in England are experiencing recent changes in the policy environment which have affected their sense of professionalism and their professional identity. Data were collected through questionnaires and focus group interviews. Findings suggest the…

Background: This study examines the results of federal legislation on the content and quality of policies written in 2005-2006 by Utah school districts (n = 30). Methods: Policies were gathered by phone call requests to school districts or obtained on district Web pages. Content was compared to requirements outlined in the Child Nutrition…

One of the ultimate goals of policy makers is to enable citizens to take advantage of a globalised world economy. This is leading them to focus on the improvement of education policies, ensuring the quality of service provision, a more equitable distribution of learning opportunities and stronger incentives for greater efficiency in schooling.…

This chapter is organized as follows. The first section examines the evolving state and federal role in education and the implications of an expanded federal role on the structure of the educational system. It pays particular attention to how the debate on the causes and solutions to school reform has shifted and the impact this has had on school…

Throughout the history of publicly-funded voucher programs--enacted and proposed--the impact on taxpayers has been a recurring issue. As the nation's longest-running program, the Milwaukee Parental Choice Program (MPCP) provides an important case study. The fiscal impact of Milwaukee's program has evolved in very significant ways over its 18-year…

This paper aims to inform federal education policy by examining Title I of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA), the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), and two federal efforts to improve teacher quality, the Eisenhower Professional Development Program and the highly qualified teacher provisions of the No Child Left…

This white paper proposes bringing the federal government, state governments, and the private sector together as part of a new approach to making high-speed Internet services available across the country. It proposes the creation of a new federal Universal Broadband Fund (UBF) that, together with matching funds from the states and the private…

Many educators, parents, and policymakers continue to call for reforms to the California High School Exit Exam (CAHSEE), citing concern about the 10 percent of California students who do not graduate because of their failure to pass the test. By law, current funding for tutoring those at risk of failing the CAHSEE is targeted at those in grade 12…

There is currently movement internationally towards the integration of services for young children and their families, incorporating childcare, education, health and family support. Shifting service provision towards partnership between services, and between these services and families, has been the subject of policy formation at various levels.…

Context: Pregnant women in rural areas may give birth in either rural or urban hospitals. Differences in outcomes between rural and urban hospitals may influence patient decision making. Purpose: Trends in rural and urban obstetric deliveries and neonatal and maternal mortality in California were compared to inform policy development and patient…

The paper considers the broader policy context in which English Post Compulsory Education and Training (PCET) is placed, examining the model of class implicit within policy documents and particular currents within new Labour thinking. It notes that class relations and patterns of inequality have deepened. Class as a structural feature of the…

"From the Courtroom to the Classroom" examines recent developments pertaining to school desegregation in the United States. As the editors note, it comes at a time marked by a "general downplaying of race and ethnicity as criteria for the allocation of public resources, as well as a weakening of the political forces that support…

This dissertation problematizes the "state dossier system" (SDS): the production and accumulation of personal information on citizen subjects exceeding the reasonable bounds of risk management. SDS--comprising interconnecting subsystems of records and identification--damage individual autonomy and self-determination, impacting not only…

To give states the information they need to sustain hard-fought education reform effectively, Achieve conducted research on state education reforms that have been sustained successfully for over a decade or more. Funded by the GE Foundation, Achieve hopes this work will help other state leaders, wherever they may be on their road to reform,…

To give states the information they need to sustain hard-fought education reform policy changes effectively, Achieve conducted research on state education reforms that have been sustained successfully for over a decade or more. Funded by the GE Foundation, Achieve hopes this work will help other state leaders, wherever they may be on their road to…