In this article, the author discusses the implications of the absence of democracy that surrounded the policy evolution in Galena Park regarding desegregation in 1970. A brief description of narrative analysis, as methodology, is reviewed before discussing policy development. In conjunction with the Galena Park setting, the construct of…

This study of Egyptian aesthetics interprets the historical and political context of artistic discourse in the early twentieth century. In a period marked by intense struggle between landlords and rural laborers during the Depression and World War II, the author compares the rise of the Egyptian Surrealists, from the late 1930s, and the…

In this paper we argue that the inherent flaw in the current Ontario civics curriculum is that it is too heavily influenced by the functional aspects of "what is" Canada, rather than giving the opportunity to experience the emotional qualities of what it means to be Canadian. Creating a community of learners based on the caveats of…

Evaluation in environmental education is fairly nascent despite decades-long attention to its importance. In setting the context for future chapters appearing in this special issue of the "Journal of Evaluation and Program Planning," attention is devoted to the political circumstances associated with retrenchment in the public sector and increased…

This paper highlights the active role played by various pedagogic agents in contesting the state educational reforms for madrasahs in Singapore. Drawing upon Basil Bernstein's pedagogic device, the paper identifies tensions and challenges that arise from the attempts by the state to implement curriculum reforms. The paper contends that the stakes…

Despite the scholarly attention on the effects of merit aid on college access and choice, particularly on the significant effect that states' varied eligibility criteria play, no studies have examined the policy process through which merit aid criteria are determined. This is surprising given the recent attention to state-level policy dynamics and…

Language can provide an entree into an academic discipline, but can also serve as a barrier to exclude newcomers. How does this apply to academic developers trying to promote teaching and learning on their campuses? Using an online survey, academics at two institutions in the UK and USA were asked to describe their typical and ideal reading in…

In the 1920s the question of kindergartens was actively discussed in Finnish teachers' journals. The concern was with social and educational demands that kindergartens and lower elementary schools should be combined in the public educational system. Elisabeth Alander (1859-1940), the grand pioneer of the Finnish kindergarten pedagogy, opposed the…

Countries hoping to demonstrate an adequate educational infrastructure need a national framework that meets Bologna requirements, a national accreditation agency which sets out the approved framework, and national accreditation processes by which individual institutions can be measured against the standards set by the national accreditation…

For more than a decade, Florida's legislators and governors--first Jeb Bush and then Charles Crist--have pushed one of the nation's most ambitious education reform agendas: grading the performance of schools before No Child Left Behind was even an idea. Florida may be more known to outsiders for everything from its Indian River citrus crop to the…

Grounded in activism--fighting the implementation of Department of Defense-run schools in a public schools system; organizing to fight the largest national teacher education accreditation agency's removal of sexual orientation and social justice from its accreditation standards; and protesting a state's decision to hold a public meeting for…

Ontario's new Character Development Initiative is analyzed to determine whether it can be characterized as political spectacle. Examination of official policy texts, media reports, speeches, web pages, webcasts, and events at the Character Development Symposium suggests that the Initiative contains many elements of political spectacle; however,…

This article constitutes a short personal tribute to Len Barton in honour of his work and our collegial relationship going back over 30 years. It covers how Len saw his intellectual project of providing critical sociological and political perspectives on special education, disability and inclusion, and his own radical political perspectives. Len's…

Recent education policies focus on making youth pathways more transparent while addressing skills shortage. However, there appears to be ambivalence about the target audience for "new vocational" programmes in secondary schools and how they should be organized. This paper begins from the observation that Canadian policy-makers, like…

A widely accepted result in the literature is that the majority of voters are against the introduction of universal vouchers. Chen and West (2000) predict that voters' attitudes towards selective vouchers (SV) may be different. They claim that voters are indifferent between the no-voucher and SV regimes, unless competition leads to a reduction in…