The phrase "21st-century skills" is everywhere in education policy discussions these days, from faculty lounges to the highest echelons of the U.S. education system. Broadly speaking, it refers to a push for schools to teach critical-thinking, analytical, and technology skills, in addition to the "soft skills" of creativity, collaboration, and…

This article presents a game theory analysis of legislating private education in China, based on set of primary and secondary documents related to this issue. The article argues that shaping educational legislation is a dynamic, repeated game of negotiation, cooperation, and/or competition on multiple occasions among various interested actors,…

In the latest sign of the growing national prominence of community colleges, President Obama has named the chancellor of a two-year-college district to the government's top postsecondary-education position. The nominee for under secretary of education, Martha J. Kanter, is head of the Foothill-De Anza Community College District, in Silicon Valley.…

This article analyses the ways in which policy entrepreneurs have recently influenced physical education (PE) policy and practice in England and Scotland and discusses some of the implications this might have for students' learning opportunities within comprehensive schools in future years. And, while considerations of this sort raise a plethora…

The author has known Gary Nash as a friend since 1969, but she only began to work with him as a colleague in 1989, when he invited her to join the National Center for History in the Schools (NCHS) as it was just forming. During the seven years she spent as Assistant and then Associate Director of the NCHS, they shared the extraordinary experience…

Public presentations of research about charter schools have been politicized, polarized, and personalized, fueling cynicism about whether research can generate objective knowledge and promote the collective good. This article draws two distinctions: between politics as a corrupting force and politics as a healthy and necessary component of…

This article summarizes and evaluates two "Off-the-Shelf" school finance reforms that gained then waned in popularity over the past several years. The 65 percent solution claims that requiring all public school districts to allocate 65 cents of every education dollar "to the classroom" would drive substantial additional resources to children…

"Education Matters" is the monthly newsletter of the Association of American Educators (AAE), an organization dedicated to advancing the American teaching profession through personal growth, professional development, teacher advocacy and protection. This issue of the newsletter includes: (1) The Big Shift: Changing Demographics in the…

There was only one Karl Marx, but there have been a multitude of Marxisms. This concise, introductory book by internationally renowned scholar Jean Anyon centers on the ideas of Marx that have been used in education studies as a guide to theory, analysis, research, and practice. "Marx and Education" begins with a brief overview of basic Marxist…

What drives governments with similar revenues to publicly provide very different amounts of goods for which private substitutes are available? Key examples are education and health care. This paper compares spending by Brazilian municipalities on pre-primary education--a good that is also provided privately--with spending on public infrastructure…

In this paper, the author reviews the history of English language teaching English as a second or foreign language in schools and colleges in Nepal. Teaching English language and literature in Nepal is of about a half a decade, starting from the mid of twentieth century. English learners in Nepal do not have enough exposure to various techniques…

In this paper, the author explored the teachers' experiences and their views regarding how assemblies are conducted in Botswana public schools. The author indicates that assemblies are a common feature in Botswana primary and secondary schools. The author adopted the Christian Privilege as the conceptual framework as espoused by Blumenfeld (2006)…

"Straight A's: Public Education Policy and Progress" is a biweekly newsletter that focuses on education news and events both in Washington, DC and around the country. The following articles are included in this issue: (1) All I Want for Christmas: Congress Continues Deliberations on Fiscal Year 2012 Funding; Education Programs Potentially Facing…

President Barack Obama submitted his third budget request to Congress on February 14th, 2011. The detailed budget request includes proposed funding levels for federal programs and agencies in aggregate for the upcoming 10 fiscal years, and specific fiscal year 2012 funding levels for individual programs subject to appropriations. Congress will use…

This article is linked to the theme of the special issue through its focus on micropolitical analysis of the changing role of "policy drivers", mediating national policy through interactions with primary school heads and teachers. The central arguments draw on case studies undertaken in two primary schools where changes related to…