If the U.S. is to increase the number of college graduates and boost our national competitiveness, we must redouble our efforts to ensure all students graduate from high school prepared for postsecondary learning and careers. This means creating comprehensive education systems that provide learning options that enable a range of pathways to…

Viewers tuning into the Republican presidential debate on September 22, 2011, witnessed Texas Governor Rick Perry repeatedly defend his state's policy of offering in-state tuition to some undocumented students against a wave of criticism from the other candidates. The sight of a staunchly conservative governor, a champion of small government,…

The author reports on the reigning economic calculus that helps to drive constant expansion and poor utilization of space on many campuses. The author states that colleges could charge for utilities, which might encourage departments to save energy. Most American colleges do not charge for space--in part because doing so would raise the hackles of…

Since the late 1980s, there has been a resurgence of regionalism in world politics. Prospects for new alliances are opened up often on a regional basis. In East and Southeast Asia, regionalization is becoming evident in higher education, with both awareness and signs of a rising ASEAN+3 higher education community. The quest for regional influence…

When a new superintendent is hired, Tom Thompson, middle school principal, is squeezed between complying with the demands of the district and cultivating a positive culture in his school. He wrestles with the stress of facing tough leadership choices that take a toll on his physical and mental health. Tom realizes that a career-ending move might…

No Child Left Behind and its draconian test regime started more than 10 years ago, and in many states the testing juggernaut was already well under way. Due to a combination of their own constrained vision and current educational policy, in most cases students have this testing-is-the-only-option pedagogy reinforced when they get into classrooms.…

This article examines the focus on teacher policies and practices by a range of global actors and explores their meaning for the governance of teachers. Through a historical and contemporary reading, I argue that an important shift in the locus of power to govern has taken place. I show how the mechanisms of global governance of teachers are being…

The Coalition came to power in 2010 with a radical, controversial vision for education and set about transforming the UK landscape. The Secretary of State described how, in future, autonomous schools and colleges would compete with one another to raise standards, high performers would expand and others improve or disappear. His aim is for children…

In the UK, and in many other countries, policy makers and funding bodies emphasise the importance of the STEM disciplines (science, technology, engineering and mathematics), as opposed to the HASS disciplines (humanities, arts and social sciences), in higher education. Yet an examination of the biographies of UK members of parliament (MPs)…

Candidates for public office in the United States frequently justify their positions on education policy priorities by stating the need to strengthen the nation's economic competitiveness against new global challengers. In this article, the authors investigate the consequences of this form of policy motivation for attitudes toward and support of…

The Congress for Cultural Freedom is remembered as a paramount example of the "cultural cold wars." In this paper, I discuss the ways in which this powerful transnational organization sought to promote "science studies" as a distinct--and politically relevant--area of expertise, and part of the CCF broader agenda to offer a renewed framework for…

In nearly 40 years of legislative advocacy, the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC)--a free-market, limited-government group now drawing intense scrutiny for its support of a controversial self-defense law--has had a significant influence on K-12 education through its model legislation and work with state lawmakers to promote such…

In 2007 the Labor Government came to power with the promise to bring to Australia an "Education Revolution". More than four years later we are still waiting for the full impact of this series of policy initiatives. Among the various facets of the Education Revolution was the assurance that the Education Revolution would focus on the most…

The present essay discusses the value of citizenship as shared fate in sites of ethnic conflict and analyzes its implications for citizenship education in light of three issues: first, the requirements of affective relationality in the notion of citizenship-as-shared fate; second, the tensions between the values of human rights and shared fate in…

This article interrogates the workings of the Broad Superintendents Academy, as a specific illustration of the influence of venture philanthropy in American public education. It introduces the Broad Foundation's agenda for educational leadership training, foregrounding how it frames the problem of leadership and the implications of such training…